Kevin McGourty - Moving Help - nationwide

As we know, one industry that has been feeling the affects of this past recession is the multihousing (apartment) industry. According to the Arizona Multihousing Association, the Arizona vacancy rate is at an unprecedented level of over 15%, which is more than double the preferred ceiling of 5%.

The 15.7% in Arizona is also higher than the national vacancy average, which has been approaching 11%. If less people are living in apartments, then where are they living? Many are now renting or buying houses. That is good news for Realtors. The bad news is the apartment industry is now fighting hard to regain their residents by offering very attractive concessions -- lower monthly rates, free utilities, free cable, etc....

The challenges are in front of all of us, but then so are the opportunities.

Forbes.com discovered which cities in the U.S. were the best for SINGLES in 2008. It was based on the following categories -- Coolness, Cost of Living, Culture, Job Growth, Online Dating, Nightlife and Singles (ratio).

(source)

If you happen to be in one of these twenty five cities, then you should consider doing some "tribal marketing" to this group. It does not mean you need to limit selling real estate to just this group, but rather develop a strategic marketing approach that meets the particular needs of this group, while also marketing to other groups. We try to do that at MovingHelp.com.

I believe one of the biggest mistakes we make in marketing is taking a "Shotgun" approach --- blasting out marketing materials hoping "One Size Fits All." Instead, we need to develop marketing campaigns that are focused on one group of consumers at a time. For those in these cities --- start marketing to singles.

Which city on the list surprises you? I am surprised Las Vegas was ranked so low (24th).

Top 25 Cities for Singles.