Maricopa County has the highest vacancy rate in the country

> Maricopa County has the highest vacancy rate in the country (Alberta Times) Data released last Thursday showed that the Phoenix metropolitan area, excluding Pinal County, has had the highest vacancy rate since 2000...

> Maricopa County has the highest vacancy rate in the country (Alberta Times) Data released Thursday showed that the vacancy rate in the Phoenix metropolitan area, excluding Pinal County, has climbed 4.5% since 2000. In Maricopa County, almost 14% of homes are empty. According to last year’s census data, 227,696 houses (including single-family homes and apartments) were unoccupied. Compared to Tucson, which now has 230,000 residential units, the area of ​​vacant houses in Maricopa County is as large as a city the size of Tucson. Relative to 10 years ago, Maricopa County's population has grown by 24%, while its housing stock has grown by 31%. Most economists and real estate observers are not surprised by this ranking. Data as early as March showed serious vacancy rates. In some Valley cities, particularly in newer fringe suburbs, the vacancy rate is nearly double that of Maricopa County. Real estate analysts say most of these vacant homes were built in recent years and are related to speculation and population expansion. More than 10 detached houses were built between 2004 and 2006, but most of them are still unoccupied. In addition, the unemployment caused by the economic recession and the introduction of SB1040 caused a large number of Latinos to leave the state, making foreclosures in Phoenix even worse.