Measured market data · updated 2026-07-27

House sitting is 49x harder in some cities than others

In Paris, 71% of listings — about 7 in 10 — fill to the application cap within 48 hours. In Fort Collins, 0% do. Everyone in this market guesses at that number; these are measured.

One table, two readings. A high fill rate is good news for an owner ("you will have applicants — likely several") and a warning for a sitter ("apply early here"). Click a column to re-sort; click a city for its full report.

City	%	Owner had a choice	Completed · 12 mo	Gapless days	Homes	n
Paris	71%	92%	510	26	7	160
Copenhagen	61%	91%	485	20	13	185
Brooklyn	59%	95%	2,536	62	93	1,047
Madrid	59%	90%	447	24	8	169
Barcelona	58%	89%	665	32	14	235
Manhattan	57%	90%	448	31	11	142
New York City	56%	92%	1,871	39	51	785
Amsterdam	54%	93%	1,088	30	22	427
Berlin	51%	89%	1,928	46	61	672
Miami	47%	87%	289	15	6	105
Genève	42%	89%	388	11	8	120
Zürich	41%	83%	458	45	9	148
Brussels	41%	89%	401	11	6	154
Santa Monica	40%	91%	359	24	16	157
Vancouver	37%	84%	1,167	130	67	443
Los Angeles	35%	86%	1,797	308	72	795
Vienna	33%	90%	366	24	10	130
Munich	32%	82%	382	43	16	167
North Vancouver	32%	80%	261	38	21	130
San Francisco	29%	84%	3,205	92	132	1,282
San Diego	19%	79%	1,745	45	78	678
Carlsbad	14%	77%	269	42	20	127
Victoria	14%	74%	584	37	27	251
Santa Cruz	13%	65%	520	24	15	203
Boston	13%	76%	659	61	28	288
Mill Valley	12%	70%	380	53	17	166
Berkeley	11%	69%	714	98	35	341
Oakland	10%	65%	1,545	58	89	709
San Rafael	9%	67%	270	15	10	117
Washington	8%	62%	1,842	72	122	832
Seattle	8%	61%	3,087	160	192	1,346
Portland	7%	58%	2,807	108	191	1,138
Dallas	7%	53%	443	24	25	179
Boulder	5%	58%	1,050	51	59	448
Alexandria	4%	45%	224	18	27	141
Denver	4%	48%	2,824	125	232	1,290
Tacoma	4%	38%	196	22	22	112
Bend	3%	41%	1,006	133	125	452
Bellingham	2%	42%	352	36	43	175
Santa Fe	2%	43%	731	73	69	328
Arvada	2%	31%	211	26	19	108
Durango	1%	43%	295	33	24	137
Fort Collins	0%	22%	225	37	33	104

Each listing was watched from the moment it had zero applications. "Filling to the cap" is the share that reached five applications — the point at which a listing stops accepting more. "Owner had a choice" is the share that received at least two applications inside the same 48-hour window. Both are 48-hour rates — speed, not eventual success. "Completed · 12 mo" counts sits that provably happened in the last year (a confirmed sitter or a written review) — a floor, and never comparable as a rate. Rates shown only where at least 100 resolved listings back them.

These rates are floors, not estimates. A listing enters measurement only if we saw it at zero applications and at least 48 hours before it started, and fast-filling listings are the ones most likely to be missed — so the true figure in a contested city is higher than the one shown, and the spread between the top and bottom of this table is wider than it looks.

Also tracked

Cities with open listings but not yet enough resolved outcomes to state a rate — the slot stays empty until the sample is real. What can be counted is shown: supply, chaining, and provably completed sits (a confirmed sitter or a written review — proof the market fills even where the 48-hour rate is not yet publishable).

City	Homes	Completed · 12 mo	Gapless days
Colorado Springs	28	194	40
Arlington	20	155	113
Longmont	20	116	22
Salida	19	162	49
Eugene	18	184	45
West Seattle	18	240	35
Lakewood	16	117	11
Silver Spring	16	121	17
Santa Rosa	15	208	26
Westminster	15	105	20
Hood River	14	124	42
Littleton	14	66	16
Napa	14	176	37
San Jose	14	207	22
Olympia	13	123	33
Bainbridge Island	12	164	32
Eastbourne	12	96	26
Anchorage	11	136	23
Golden	11	212	21
Long Beach	11	156	12
Aurora	10	60	11
Evergreen	10	162	17
Kirkland	10	117	57
Langley	10	86	22
Redmond	10	37	17
Ventura	10	120	18
Edmonds	9	91	26
Hamburg	9	224	24
Petaluma	9	132	17
Steamboat Springs	9	148	15
Utrecht	9	139	18
Gig Harbor	8	69	21
Loveland	8	47	18
Takoma Park	8	57	22
Bonney Lake	7	59	33
Poulsbo	7	71	9
Rotterdam	5	136	17
San Marcos	4	33	7