Housing diversity needs and affordability strategies were the core concerns in Buckeye's updated Housing Action Plan, approved by City Council on Dec. 16.
“The city of Buckeye has undertaken a housing needs assessment and action plan to better understand our current housing conditions and guide our future policy decision,” said Andrea Marquez, the city's senior planner for special projects. “This effort combines data analysis, community engagement and implementation strategies to ensure that Buckeye’s growth remains inclusive and that the housing is affordable for residents across all income levels.”
The Housing Action Plan (HAP) is updated every five years and provides an "forward-looking framework for implementing strategies and policies to ensure Buckeye’s housing supply meets the needs of current and future residents," according to the city document. It is completed with data from the Housing Needs Assessment (HNA), which is completed annual, as required by Senate Bill 1162. The HNA assesses the current housing market, who lives in Buckeye, what types of housing they can afford and what kinds of housing are available. With these data, the HNA identifies where supply does not meet demand and what gaps in housing are most pertinent.
The HAP update was completed by the City of Buckeye in partnership with the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and Matrix Design Group, funded through a MAG grant. The methodology included analyzing statistics from federal, state and local datasets. Additionally, the research team gathered 617 resident survey responses and conducted two city hall meetings in May. These resident surveys yielded the following data:
- 77% of respondents reported they wanted to prioritize senior living facilities
- 34% wanted more apartment housing; 32% wanted more single-family housing; and 20% wanted more duplex, triplex and townhome housing
- 65% reported concern regarding inadequate senior housing; 63% reported unaffordable rent concerns; 52% reported believing that young people were priced out of the city; and 59% reported concern regarding rising utilities costs
- 61% wanted greater variety in housing options
- 81% were concerned with traffic and 69% were concerned with the strain of development on water and utilities services
- 62% wanted increased developer incentives from the city; 87% wanted increased senior services; and 79% wanted improved transit services
Based on all the collected data from multiple research avenues, the final assessment identified four key findings:
- Rapid growth and changing demographics
- Modern but undiversified housing stock
- High homeownership and rising costs
- Rental market pressures
Key Findings No. 1: Rapid growth and changing demographics
Since 2010, Buckeye's population has more than doubled, according to the HAP, with households representing an increasingly diverse population. Households are increasing in size, said Marquez, with more people living under one roof. While data showed that the income per household had increased, she said the overall data suggested this is because residents are increasingly forced to combined multiple incomes to afford basic needs. Currently, the average Buckeye household consists of 3.11 persons, higher than state and national norms. Two-person households still remained the largest at 34%, followed by 20% of houses consisting of five or more individuals.
“What this means is many households are relying on multiple incomes to keep up with the rising housing cost,” Marquez said. “As housing prices and rents increase, affordability becomes more challenging for single-income households, seniors, entry-level workers, just reinforcing the need for a range of housing types and price points.”
The data showed that 35% of Buckeye renters are cost-burdened. Cost-burdened is a term defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as an individual who spends more than 30% of their total income on housing. For renters this includes rent and utilities. For home owners, this includes mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities and potential HOA fees.
“When households exceed the 30% threshold, they have less income available for essential needs such a food, health care, transportation and child care,” Marquez said.
Out of all Buckeye residents, either renters or owners, 67% have a household annual income of more than $75,000; 16% have income between $50,000 and $74,999; and 17% have income of $49,000 or less.
Key Finding No. 2: Modern but undiversified housing stock
According to the HAP, most of Buckeye's housing was built after 2000 and is "heavily skewed toward larger, single-family homes" with 83% of total units in 2022 having three or more bedrooms. While multi-family housing construction was up by 10% in 2024 from 2017, there continues to be a need for the "missing-middle housing." The assessment identified a gap in this category which includes duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and other types of high-density housing.
The need for smaller, affordable rental housing is pertinent along with offering larger housing options for the increasingly larger households consisting of five or more people.
“It also shows not only do we need smaller units, workforce units, but we also need larger types of housing as well," Marquez said.
With a significant increase in new development in Buckeye, housing vacancy was high for a time, though the current assessment showed that trends are moving closer to national averages, Marquez said, and now match the region.
Key Finding No. 3: High homeownership and rising costs
In 2022, Buckeye's homeownership rate was above regional averages at 85%.
"However, rapid home value appreciation (with median prices exceeding $400,000) and increased median monthly owner costs (rising to $1,680 by 2022) throughout the County present substantial attainability and ownership barriers," reads the HAP.
The majority of these Buckeye homeowners (69%) earn above $75,000 annually as a household. The assessment identified a need for entry-level ownership options for moderate-income families.
Key Finding No. 4: Rental market pressures
In the third-quarter of 2025, the median rent in Buckeye was $1,680, an improvement over previous years, though still creating a need for more affordable renter options for households within the $50,000 to $75,000 income range. There is also a demand for smaller rental units, larger units with three to four bedrooms and affordable rentals for low-income households.
Strategies
Based on the findings, Marquez presented six strategies to potentially address the identified concerns.
Strategy No. 1, catalytic development areas: Catalytic development areas such as The Landing and downtown appear to be ideal locations for high-density, mixed-use development that include housing, commercial and community uses.
"These locations, guided by Community Master Plans," reads the HAP, "offer the City a strong foundation to support attainable housing through a range of housing options, from mixed-use multifamily developments to 'missing middle' housing."
Strategy No. 2, development incentives: These could include due diligence assistance; density incentives; a waiver of reduction of development related fees to lower up-front development costs; and potential reimbursement of development impact fees for qualifying housing projects.
Strategy No. 3, development code updates: Make policy updates that aim to streamline approvals and permitting steps, adjust density standards and balance parking standards.
Strategy No. 4, accessory dwelling units: Accessory dwelling units are housing built alongside existing housing, such as small cottages or "grandma houses" located on the same property as a single-family home. They are often lived in by seniors, caregivers or young adults living on their parents' property. Marquez suggested the City consider developing pre-approved accessory dwelling unit designs that "could help reduce time and allow families to create additional housing options on their existing property."
Strategy No. 5, down payment assistance: The HAP suggested connecting individuals to down payment assistance programming already provided by state and regional organizations such as MAG's HOME Consortium.
Strategy No. 6, Human Services Division: Increase prevention and assistance resources and provided more education on available resources to Buckeye residents. This could include eviction prevention and rental assistance programs; senior and disability assistance; programs education renters on tenant rights and financial literacy; and resource fairs.
