Coming soon listings are changing the rules of the home
The real estate industry loves to frame "coming soon" listings as a gift to buyers. Early access. A head start. The inside track. But the reality of how
Arizona market guides & analysis by Paul Howe
197 guides on Arizona
The real estate industry loves to frame "coming soon" listings as a gift to buyers. Early access. A head start. The inside track. But the reality of how
Mortgage rates have swung more than two full percentage points in the span of about 18 months. That's not normal volatility. That's a market that can't
Home equity investment — you may have heard it called an HEI or a shared equity agreement — is one of those financial products that sounds almost too
A lot of homeowners don't know these programs exist until they're already 60 days behind. That's the gap I want to close with this guide. Mortgage relief
Climate risk has moved from a talking point to a transaction variable. In Phoenix, I'm seeing it show up in offers, inspection negotiations, and financing
Roughly half of American renters are now considered cost-burdened — meaning they're spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing. That's not a
Nationally, new home supply is sitting around 8 to 9 months — a level that hasn't been sustained this long since the post-2008 correction. Builders are
Eight and a half months of supply. That's where the new home market stands right now, and it's a number that should get your attention whether you're
Median down payments in the US just hit their highest level on record. The typical homebuyer is now putting down roughly $67,500 — about 18.6% of the
Mortgage rates don't move in a straight line, but sometimes the bond market gets a jolt that sends them lurching upward in a matter of days. That's
When the story broke, most people couldn't believe it was legal. An HOA in Arizona had moved to foreclose on an ailing couple's home — a property worth
Arizona has one of the fastest-growing senior populations in the country. The Phoenix metro alone added tens of thousands of residents over 65 in the last
A recent survey found that nearly half of Americans are open to buying a 3D-printed home. That's a stunning number when you consider that most people have
Everybody knows Scottsdale. Everybody knows Sedona. And that's exactly why the returns are compressing. The investors quietly outperforming the market in
The shiplap was supposed to be a punchline. For a solid decade, the modern farmhouse aesthetic was shorthand for a certain type of aspirational renovation
A 2019 study by ATTOM Data Solutions found that homes within a one-mile radius of a Costco sold for a median price of $604,000, compared to $363,000 for
In Phoenix, a refrigerator working hard at 115°F in July is not the same animal as one sitting in a climate-controlled kitchen in Seattle. The compressor
America is about to run out of places to put its elderly population — and the real estate market is nowhere near ready. Projections from senior housing
Foreclosure filings climbed 13% year-over-year in the most recent reporting period — and if you've been watching the market closely, that number probably
Homebuilder sentiment just dropped to its lowest point in a year, and if you're shopping for new construction in the Phoenix metro, this matters more than
Across a growing number of US rental markets, landlords are no longer calling the shots. Vacancy rates have climbed enough that property owners —
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate just hit 6.95% — an 18-month high triggered by the latest Fed rate hike. That's not just a number on a screen. For a buyer
Families do this all the time in the Phoenix metro. A parent needs memory care or assisted living, the bills are coming fast, and there's a house sitting
Mortgage rates topping 7% tend to produce a lot of breathless headlines. Rate shock. Buyer paralysis. Market freeze. Most of that commentary focuses on
Phoenix homeowners are sitting on serious equity right now. Even with the market cooling from its 2022 peak, the median home value in Metro Phoenix is
A homeowners association in Arizona foreclosed on a couple's home — a home they'd owned for years — because of $977 in unpaid fees. Not thousands. Not a
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has climbed to 7.28% — the highest level in months — and the Fed hasn't even made its next move yet. For buyers already
A new survey puts a number on something most buyers already feel in their gut: 70% of homebuyers describe the transaction process as a hassle. Not
Rates crossing back above 7% aren't just a headline. For a lot of buyers I've been talking to lately, it's the number that makes them close the browser
Seller impersonation fraud has more than doubled since 2024. That's not a slow-moving trend you can afford to monitor from a distance — it's an active
DSCR loans have quietly become one of the most powerful tools in the Arizona investor's toolkit. They've also become one of the most inconsistently
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have officially opened the door to VantageScore 4.0 from any approved lender — and that's a bigger deal than most buyers
There's a house in Glendale that real estate agents whisper about. Not because of a dark history or a legal dispute — but because of what it represents
The Federal Reserve's policy meeting is here, and buyers across the Phoenix metro are doing the same thing they've been doing for the past two years
Make a simple fruit fly trap with apple cider vinegar, learn where to place it, and remove the breeding source so fruit flies stop returning.
Park Street Homes is doing something the big national builders largely refuse to do: drop a new home on a forgotten infill lot in the middle of an
Home sales just posted their worst monthly reading in over a year. That's not a blip. That's buyers looking at rate sheets, running the math, and walking
As of Q2 2026, the average American homeowner is paying $209 per month for homeowners insurance — that's $2,508 per year, a new record high. To put that
A new study from AD Mortgage just put a number on the "wait for better rates" strategy — and it's not flattering for the waiters. Across 61% of the
When the 30-year fixed rate pushes toward 7%, something shifts in buyer behavior. People stop waiting. They start adapting — and sometimes that means
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act is clear: lenders cannot deny you a mortgage because you're 70, 80, or even 90 years old. Full stop. Age is not a legal
Mortgage rates just hit their highest level of 2026. The 30-year fixed climbed to 6.71% as of recent market data — not because the Fed raised rates, not
Phoenix is sitting on rising inventory. Denver is watching price cuts creep back into listings. Austin has given back a significant chunk of its
The Phoenix metro added roughly 100,000 new residents in 2023 alone. A meaningful slice of that growth came from foreign-born workers on employment-based
Learn how to remove dried pen ink from clothes, treat stains that have been through the dryer, and know what to try when rubbing alcohol is not suitable.
Immigration enforcement has moved from political headline to real operational crisis for homebuilders across the Phoenix metro. I'm hearing it directly
Mortgage application volume ticked up 0.8% last week, according to recent Mortgage Bankers Association data. That's a modest number on its face. But pair
Rates below 7% feel like a gift right now — but gifts have expiration dates. The 30-year fixed has been flirting with the 6.5%–6.9% range for several
The numbers are staggering. Over the next two decades, American Baby Boomers are expected to pass down somewhere between $70 trillion and $90 trillion in
Every year I talk to buyers who've run the numbers on a second home and feel good about the math. Mortgage payment, estimated rental income, maybe a
Adjustable-rate mortgages have a PR problem. Most people hear "ARM" and immediately think of the foreclosure crisis, of teaser rates that reset and buried
Military families get orders and they move — fast. The timeline doesn't care whether you've had a chance to fly out and walk through potential homes. I've
The credit scoring world is about to get more complicated, and for most Arizona homebuyers, that's actually good news. The Federal Housing Administration
Arizona has a labor problem hiding in plain sight. Drive past any active subdivision in Queen Creek or Surprise on a Monday morning and the job sites that
Homebuilders spent the better part of three years riding a shortage. Low resale inventory, pent-up demand, and buyers willing to wait six months for a lot
The math has gotten brutal. As of recent market data, the typical American family is spending 36% of their gross monthly income just to cover a mortgage
Foreclosure activity climbed again in July. According to ATTOM's latest data, filings rose 10% compared to the same month last year. That's a real number
New survey data reveals something that every lender — and every buyer — should be paying attention to. Roughly 1 in 3 homebuyers say they would drop their
A 6.7% jump in material costs over 12 months doesn't sound catastrophic until you run the math on a $400,000 home. That's roughly $26,800 in added
Remote work didn't just change where people work. It changed where people live, and the ripple effects are still reshaping new-home communities across the
Carrington Mortgage Services just moved the floor. The lender quietly expanded its non-QM (non-qualified mortgage) guidelines, dropping the minimum FICO
The numbers were already ugly. Now Congress made them uglier. Single-family rental home construction — one of the fastest-growing corners of the housing
New home sales prices have fallen to their lowest point in five years, and the response from buyers has been a collective shrug. That's a strange dynamic
Veterans who fell behind on their VA loans during or after financial hardship have a new lifeline sitting right in front of them. The VA's new partial
Sitting on the sidelines has felt like the smart play for the past two years. Rates were high, prices hadn't collapsed the way everyone kept predicting
Roughly 17,000 structures were destroyed or damaged in the January 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires — and nowhere took a harder hit than Altadena. What was
Phoenix has become one of the most data center-dense metros in the country. Hyperscale campuses are stacking up along the Loop 303, out in Mesa's Elliot
Finding accessible housing in the Phoenix metro is hard enough without feeling like you're navigating a bureaucratic maze just to figure out who can help
Arizona homeowners are sitting on a remarkable amount of equity right now. The run-up in Phoenix metro values over the past four years pushed median home
Arizona has been borrowing water it may not always have. That's not a political statement — it's hydrology. And right now, with the latest round of
Fifteen years ago, a builder in the East Valley could put up a 1,400-square-foot home in Queen Creek for around $140,000 and still turn a reasonable
Across the country, a quiet but significant shift is happening at the ballot box. Multiple states are putting property tax relief measures for seniors to
Nationally, the housing market looks like a single story. In Phoenix, it's two completely different ones happening at the same time — and they're moving
During the pandemic frenzy of 2021 and 2022, cash buyers were everywhere in the Phoenix metro. You'd list a home in Chandler or Gilbert, get twelve offers
Housing starts fell in July, and the number tells a straightforward story that nobody in the market particularly wanted to hear. Total starts dropped to a
Builder sentiment across the country has dipped back into pessimistic territory, and if you're paying attention to the Phoenix new-home market, the
For the past three years, renting made cold financial sense in most major markets. Monthly ownership costs — mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA — ran 30% to
Inventory is creeping up. Rates are staying stubbornly high. And Phoenix buyers are caught in the middle, trying to figure out whether this moment is an
Foreclosure filings climbed 21% in the first half of 2026. That headline has been making the rounds, and predictably, the doom-and-gloom crowd is treating
LGI Homes has been watching the same movie play out for two years: a qualified buyer walks a model home, loves it, then disappears back into their
Plenty of homeowners find out the hard way that their front yard isn't entirely theirs to do with as they please. You own the land, you pay the water
A major national homebuilder recently said the quiet part out loud: it is "incredibly difficult" to make a profit building a traditional starter home
Jensen Huang didn't mince words at a recent industry event when he described the AI data center build-out as one of the greatest job creation engines in
As of recent market data, roughly one in four active Phoenix metro listings has seen at least one price reduction. That number doesn't scream "crash." But
Forget Florida. The migration story that's actually reshaping real estate in 2026 involves two massive generations — 73 million Baby Boomers and roughly
Spend any time reading housing market headlines and you'll hit a wall of contradiction. Inventory is down year over year — supposedly bad for buyers. But
Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service has named Jeff Bosch as its next Chief Executive Officer. If you're a buyer, seller, or agent in the Phoenix
A bill working its way through Congress would double the capital gains tax exclusion on home sales — from $250,000 to $500,000 for single filers, and from
Arizona is ground zero for the data center explosion happening across the Sun Belt. Microsoft, Google, Meta, and a roster of hyperscale operators have
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spent years building guardrails around the mortgage market after the 2008 collapse exposed just how badly lenders
The headline number is staggering: American homeowners collectively hold roughly $18 trillion in home equity. That's not a typo. It's a figure that
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been flirting with 7% for months. By every traditional measure, that should have crushed housing demand. It hasn't
The off-MLS debate has been simmering for years inside real estate circles. Now it's moving to Capitol Hill, and that changes everything about how agents
When two major homebuilders shake hands on a $2.2 billion deal, it's not just a Wall Street story. It lands directly on subdivision streets in Surprise
Arizona has a land problem. Not a shortage of it — we have plenty of desert. The problem is who's claiming it fastest, and what they're building on it
The U.S. economy shed 23,000 jobs in July — and while that number sounds abstract, it lands differently when you're trying to price a home in Gilbert or
Pennymac, one of the country's largest VA loan servicers, has officially launched a VA partial claim option for eligible borrowers facing mortgage
In Phoenix, two homes priced identically, sitting five miles apart, can feel like completely different climates. One subdivision bakes at 112°F all
Student debt and homeownership have always had a complicated relationship. But recent research is putting hard numbers on something I've watched play out
The Mortgage Bankers Association just dropped another cold-water number: overall mortgage demand fell 2.9% last week as the average 30-year fixed rate
Plenty of people assume that filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy means they're locked out of homeownership for a decade. That's not true. The real
Home prices nationally are rising again. Not everywhere, not evenly — but the trend is real enough that buyers who've been sitting on the sidelines are
There's a number floating around that gets repeated so often it sounds like law: spend no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on housing. If you
The Phoenix metro had a simple script heading into summer 2026: inventory stays tight, demand holds, prices creep up. That script isn't playing out. Price
Most people think their IRA is locked up until they're 59½ — a box you fund, forget about, and crack open in retirement. But there's a lesser-known
The national headlines keep telling us that artificial intelligence is transforming real estate. That's true. But here's what those headlines miss: the AI
When people talk about artificial intelligence reshaping the housing market, they tend to paint it with the broadest possible brush. Tech is booming, they
The second half of 2026 has been a strange place to be in real estate. Prices are still elevated. Rates are still stubborn. And buyers who kept saying
Arizona is not a state that can afford to be casual about water. We get roughly 8 inches of rain a year in Phoenix. The Colorado River has been carrying
June brought a number that caught my attention: the national median mortgage payment dropped to $2,191, according to recent mortgage application data
A new study is making some financial planners uncomfortable — because it challenges one of the most repeated rules in personal finance. For years, the
Arizona homeowners are sitting on serious equity right now. The median home value in the Phoenix metro has climbed sharply over the past several years
Mortgage application volume dropped 6.4% in a single week after the 30-year fixed rate climbed to 6.76%. That's not a massive number in isolation, but
Mortgage rates are on the move again. The 30-year fixed has been edging back toward the 7% threshold — a level that, not long ago, was supposed to stop
The mortgage lock-in effect gets talked about mostly as an inventory problem. Sellers won't list because giving up a 3% rate for a 7% rate costs them $800
New York City is moving toward requiring landlords to disclose when listing photos have been altered by artificial intelligence — a policy push that's
Heading into early 2026, there was genuine momentum. Inventory was climbing. Sellers who'd been frozen in place for two years were finally listing. Buyers
Michigan passed legislation in 2024 that restricts large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes in the state. It's a direct shot at
A funny thing has happened over the past couple of years. First-time buyers who parked their down payment savings in an S&P 500 index fund instead of a
There's a common misconception I hear from buyers almost every week right now: "I'm going to wait and see what the Fed does, then lock my rate." It sounds
Phoenix's housing inventory has improved from the historic lows of 2022, but "improved" is relative. As of recent market data, active listings across
There's a straightforward-sounding solution to the housing shortage: build more homes. Obvious, right? Yet homebuilders across the country — including
Foreclosure filings are up. The headlines are alarming. And somewhere in Scottsdale or Chandler, a would-be buyer is sitting on the sidelines, convinced
As of recent market data, home sales across the Phoenix metro are running ahead of where most pessimists predicted they'd be at this point in the rate
Deed theft sounds like something from a true crime podcast. It's not. It's a real, documented, and accelerating crime in which someone forges or
Mortgage rates haven't moved much. That sounds like stability. It isn't. At 6.6% on a 30-year fixed as of recent market data, rates sit in a zone that's
Mortgage rates don't just move on Fed decisions and jobs reports. Sometimes geopolitics does the heavy lifting — and right now, the escalating conflict
Conflict in the Middle East has a way of showing up in the strangest places. Right now it's showing up in your mortgage payment. With Iran-related
PulteGroup just made a move that deserves more attention than it's getting. The nation's third-largest homebuilder is leaning hard into a build-to-order
Having a kid changes everything — including, quietly, the math on where you live. The house that was fine for two adults and a dog suddenly gets a hard
The Federal Housing Administration has quietly put forward one of the more consequential changes to its loss mitigation playbook in years. The proposal
Demand has softened. Rates are still stubbornly high. And yet, not every housing market is feeling the same pain. Pull back the national headlines and a
The Trump administration's latest round of tariffs on Canadian imports hit softwood lumber at rates some analysts peg above 30% when combined with
Millennial homebuyers built the Phoenix market's post-pandemic surge. Now a slow-moving credit crisis is threatening to pull them out of it. Student loan
Remember when the narrative was that affordability would self-correct? Rates would ease, prices would cool, inventory would climb back, and buyers sitting
For most of the 2010s and early 2020s, if you were a first-time buyer with a budget under $300,000 in the Phoenix metro, builders essentially told you to
New data puts a hard number on what first-time buyers already know in their gut: the entry-level housing market isn't just tight, it's structurally
In San Jose, the median starter home now costs over $900,000. In Austin, a 1,200-square-foot ranch that sold for $280,000 in 2020 is listed at $490,000
Phoenix homeowners have been sitting on a quiet windfall. Median home values across the metro have climbed dramatically since 2020, and even with the
The ROAD to Housing Act is getting attention in Washington — and real estate circles — as a serious attempt to crack the affordability code that's been
The story sounds like a reality TV pitch: a 28-year-old content creator buys a home in a 55-plus community, starts posting about neighborhood life to her
The single biggest reason housing is unaffordable in most American cities isn't land cost or lumber prices. It's time. Every month a builder spends
A 19% jump in housing starts doesn't happen quietly. The June numbers landed like a signal flare — the kind of data point that changes how you read the
Real estate math is rarely straightforward, and right now it's producing something counterintuitive: affordability is quietly improving even as home
Foreclosures are climbing again. Nationally, filings in the first half of 2026 are up 21% compared to the same period last year — and the stress isn't
Nationally, active inventory has climbed back toward levels not seen since 2020. Headlines are declaring the return of buyer power. And in some markets
Builder confidence dropped again in July. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index slipped to 42, down from 43 the
Pending home sales dropped 5.4% in June. At the same time, the national median home price climbed to a record high. Those two things happening
ViaWest Group has acquired the Ahwatukee Golf Club for $5.3 million. That number is what stops me every time I look at this deal. In a submarket where
Pinal County doesn't always make the front page. For years, it played second fiddle to Maricopa — the sprawling metro machine that captured every headline
Phoenix is in the middle of one of the most sustained building booms in its history. Industrial campuses, master-planned communities, data centers
Metro Phoenix just posted home sales growth that's running well ahead of the national average. While much of the country is stuck in a holding pattern —
A growing number of people aren't moving across the country anymore. They're moving across town. Sometimes just a few miles. They're downsizing the
There's a category of homes sitting on the MLS right now that most first-time buyers ignore on instinct. Not because the price is wrong. Not because the
Fire 'N Ice Arena is about to change the conversation about North Phoenix — and not just for hockey parents. The $190 million sports complex, developed by
For the first time in several years, the math on buying a home in the Phoenix metro is starting to work in buyers' favor. Wages are rising faster than
Arizona's construction pipeline isn't slowing down — it's accelerating. From build-to-rent communities in the West Valley to massive industrial campuses
Asking prices just posted their steepest single drop since 2017. That's not a rounding error or a seasonal blip. That's sellers finally doing the math and
Tempe doesn't do things halfway anymore. The city that built its identity around Arizona State University and Mill Avenue has been quietly stacking one
The old wishlist was simple: granite countertops, stainless appliances, a three-car garage. That was enough to move a house in Chandler or Gilbert five
It happens more than you'd think. A homeowner in a Gilbert master-planned community gets hit with a $200 fine for parking their truck on the street
Foreclosure filings across the US hit their highest level in seven years in recent months, as pandemic-era forbearance programs finally exhaust their
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community doesn't do things halfway. A newly announced ground lease agreement is set to bring a 1 million-square-foot
In the early 2000s, landmen were knocking on farmhouse doors across North Dakota and West Texas before most people had heard the word 'fracking.' They
Arizona's legislature doesn't usually get credit for creative thinking on housing finance. But a new piece of legislation quietly expanding the state's
The Biden-era income-driven repayment plans that let millions of borrowers carry student loan debt at artificially suppressed monthly payments are
There's a brutal math problem playing out in Phoenix-area loan offices right now. A buyer walks in with solid income, decent savings, and a pre-approval
There's a type of buyer that walks into a real estate transaction with a clear budget, solid financing, genuine urgency, and zero tolerance for an agent
Stos Partners just added another piece to its Arizona industrial portfolio — a small-bay industrial building in Tempe. On the surface, this looks like a
Veterans make up roughly 7% of the US population. But VA loan usage consistently trails what it should be, given how many eligible service members and
Someone in Maricopa County lost their vacation home last year — on paper, at least — without ever signing a single document. A fraudster used AI-generated
Phoenix hit a median home price of around $435,000 this spring — and on paper, that number looks stable. But strip out inflation, and something more
There's a real gap between what $1,500 a month gets you in Scottsdale and what it gets you in Surprise. Same metro area, same budget — completely
Surprise, Arizona just got a little harder to leave. A new build-to-rent community called Avilla Foothills is adding 108 single-family style rental units
Buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a break finally have something real to talk about. Median listing prices across the US dropped
Most people assume cheap oil means cheaper mortgages. Right now, oil is sitting below $70 a barrel, inflation looks like it's cooling, and the Fed has
I once had two clients buy homes on the same street in Chandler within the same month. One called me three times a day with questions. The other sent me a
Eighteen months ago, a client of mine bought a duplex in Mesa with 20% down, locked in a 7.4% mortgage, and projected a monthly cash flow of about $400
Most Phoenix homeowners sitting on $200,000 or more in equity don't realize they're already holding the key to their next home — they just haven't used it
A lot of Phoenix homeowners leave $20,000 to $40,000 on the table every time they sell — not because the market is soft, but because they guessed wrong on
Every buyer I talk to right now asks the same question: why is my mortgage rate still sitting at 7% when the Fed stopped raising rates? It's a fair
Five years ago, $1 million in Phoenix bought you a sprawling 4,500-square-foot estate in Scottsdale with a resort pool, a four-car garage, and enough
Something big is coming to Maricopa, and if you've been sleeping on this city, now is the time to wake up. The planned Maricopa Entertainment Center — a
If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for housing costs to drop, a new piece of federal legislation might finally give you a reason to pay
Something is shifting in the southeast Valley — and if you're paying attention to where industrial money flows, you already know that the Signal Butte and
If you served this country and planned to use your VA loan benefit to buy a home in Arizona, pay close attention to what's moving through Congress right
Glendale just landed one of the largest single industrial financing deals in the West Valley's history. A $122 million construction loan is now fueling
Luke Air Force Base has always been the heartbeat of the West Valley — but the commercial real estate story unfolding just outside its gates is turning
Three golf courses. $57 million. One buyer. When a single transaction moves that much capital into Metro Phoenix leisure real estate, it tells you
Most buyers tour homes in spring — comfortable temperatures, blooming desert landscaping, everything looking its best. That's exactly why you shouldn't
Mesa just landed one of the most significant retail developments in the East Valley in years, and if you've been tracking commercial real estate or simply
Three years ago you couldn't walk through Camelback Corridor without seeing For Lease signs on every other floor. Today, those signs are coming down — the
Here's a number that should stop you mid-scroll: the median price of a new home sold in the US in May climbed to $417,400 — up more than 4% year-over-year
May's new home sales numbers landed like a bucket of cold water on builders who had been cautiously optimistic heading into spring. Nationally, new
Homes in the Phoenix metro are sitting on the market longer than they have in years, and neither buyers nor sellers seem willing to blink first. That's
Most homebuyers check school ratings and commute times. Almost none of them pull up a tornado risk map before signing a purchase agreement. That gap in
Phoenix added roughly 35,000 new housing units in 2023 — and it still wasn't enough. The metro's population keeps growing, inventory stays tight, and home
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