TUCSON, AZ (March 15, 2024) -- Rent Cafe is reporting, the higher-than-average lease renewal rate coupled with a slowdown in apartment construction has led Tucson to rank as the 39th most competitive small rental market at the start of 2024.
Here are the highlights:
- The percentage of Tucson renters that opted to stay put remained high at 65% at the start of 2024, which is above the national benchmark of 61.5% and the highest lease renewal rate among all small Western markets. Consequently, the competition remained tough, with 5 applicants per vacant unit.
- At the start of 2024, the share of newly built apartments that came online was a mere 0.20% —down from 0.44% compared to last year and considerably lower than the national average of 0.67%. The insufficient influx of new apartments kept the occupancy rate high at 92.8%.
- Moreover, Tucson apartments are rented out in 44 days — a similar vacancy rate as one year prior, yet three days longer than the national benchmark at the beginning of 2024.
- All these metrics combined resulted in a Rental Competitiveness Index (RCI) score of 7 (out of 100) for Tucson, while the national competitivity score stands at 73.4, indicating a moderately competitive market. However, Tucson is the 3rd hottest small Western market, surpassing Boise, ID; Colorado Springs, CO; and Reno, NV.
Here is the full report with interactive maps for a quick comparison between the rental markets’ competitiveness at the start of 2024 versus one year prior.