By Real Estate Daily News
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) region is entering 2026 with three big storylines that cut across housing supply, homelessness response, and long-range transportation investment: elevated vacancy that doesn’t necessarily translate into available homes, the Valley’s annual Point-in-Time homelessness count, and the first wave of projects tied to Proposition 479.
Vacancy looks high—until you factor in seasonal and investor-owned housing
Housing vacancy rates are often cited as a simple indicator of whether a market has “enough” housing. But MAG is underscoring a key nuance in metro Phoenix: a meaningful share of vacant units are not sitting empty and available for new full-time residents. Instead, seasonal occupancy, short-term rentals, and second-home or investor ownership can inflate headline vacancy while leaving the effective supply of year-round housing far tighter than the raw numbers suggest.
