Key takeaways
- NexMetro opened pre-leasing for a 214-home build-to-rent community in Buckeye, Arizona.
- The company pointed to Buckeye’s population growth and ongoing development activity as signs of housing demand.
- Phoenix leads the nation with about 33,000 build-to-rent and for-rent townhouse units.
A national leader in built-to-rent communities has long circled Buckeye, Arizona, as a logical fit for a new neighborhood.
NexMetro Communities tracked a 34.3% population spike over the last five years in the west Phoenix city and opened pre-leasing this month for more than 200 homes for rent.
Avilla Marigold, NexMetro's 26th BTR community in Phoenix, consists of 214 single-story, cottage-style homes with private entries and backyards.
The community is located on 19 acres in one of Buckeye's more established housing and employment corridors. Avilla Marigold is just east of Verrado, a more-than-8,000-acre master-planned development in Buckeye that's matured but still growing.
Buckeye saw its population grow to over 125,000 residents in 2025, and the city is planning for more growth in the decades to come. Buckeye, which covers more than 600 square miles of planning area, is attracting major development for commercial and residential projects. Leading the way is Howard Hughes Communities' 37,000-acre Teravalis master-planned community.
The population spike and surrounding new development showed NexMetro the sustained demand to move forward with Avilla Marigold.
"Our site selection process exists to find those pockets of genuine, durable demand, and Buckeye is a prime example," Jared Geisler, regional managing director of development for NexMetro’s Phoenix and Denver divisions, said in a statement.
BTR remains a priority in Phoenix's housing market
NexMetro offers three floor plans at Avilla Marigold, which range from a 690-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit to a 1,265-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home.
Base rents start at $1,399 and go up to $1,949 for an 18-month lease term, according to the community website.
That compares with an average monthly asking rent of $1,758 across all apartments in the West Maricopa County submarket, where Avilla Marigold is located. Asking rents in West Maricopa County are about $200 above apartments across Phoenix, according to CoStar.
Geisler added that traditional apartments alone won't meet the demand for Phoenix's growing population. The BTR path is also attractive to renters by choice, including downsizing baby boomers, newcomers to the market and workers in transient industries such as travel nurses or the military.
As of July, Phoenix leads the country with some 33,000 units across BTR and for-rent townhouse stock, according to CoStar.