Here’s What Most Homeowners Completely Missed
By Dario Lorenzo — Phoenix & Scottsdale Real Estate Advisor
In 2025, the Phoenix housing market shifted from speed-driven to strategy-driven. While prices largely stabilized, buyer behavior became more selective, inventory rose unevenly across neighborhoods, and days on market increased. Sellers who priced and positioned homes correctly still achieved strong results, while others lost significant value. In 2026, success depends on hyper-local strategy—not market averages.
🚨 The Headline Was True — and Still Misleading
You’ve heard it everywhere:
“The Phoenix market stabilized in 2025.”
That’s accurate.
It’s also incomplete — and dangerous for sellers.
Because under the surface:
Buyer behavior changed
Inventory quietly expanded
Days on market stretched
Pricing power became hyper-local
Some homeowners sold extremely well.
Others lost tens — even hundreds — of thousands.
If you’re considering selling in 2026, what happened in 2025 matters more than you think.
📊 The Big Picture: Phoenix Quietly Outperformed the Nation
While national single-family home sales fell 1%, Greater Phoenix did the opposite:
✔ Closed sales: +4.5% YoY
✔ December sales: +12.1% vs Dec 2024
✔ New listings: +6.9%
✔ Median price: $480,000 (+0.3%)
✔ Average days on market: 75 (up from 65)
This wasn’t a boom market.
It was a precision market — and precision punishes sloppy strategy.
⚠️ Why 2025 Was a Wake-Up Call for Sellers
Here’s the pattern most homeowners missed:
Buyers became selective
Overpriced homes sat — even in good neighborhoods
Well-positioned homes still sold strongly
Market averages hid neighborhood-level truth
There is no single “Phoenix market.”
There are dozens of micro-markets — and they behaved very differently.
Let’s break them down.
📍 Phoenix
Closed sales: +1.7%
New listings: +4.4%
Median price: $485,000
Days on market: 67 (↑ ~20%)
Inventory: 3 months (balanced)
Seller takeaway:
Phoenix became price-sensitive. Homes that were dialed in sold. Homes that weren’t… waited.
📍 Scottsdale
Median price: $1.2M (+4.2%)
Closed sales: +7.1%
Inventory: 4.2 months
Days on market: 80
Seller takeaway:
Luxury didn’t slow — it segmented.
Correctly marketed homes commanded premiums. Mispositioned listings stalled.
📍 Queen Creek
Closed sales: +6.2%
Pending sales: +4.6%
Median price: $655,400 (-0.5%)
Inventory: ↓ 7.9%
Seller takeaway:
A quiet opportunity zone. Demand held, inventory tightened — strong conditions with the right strategy.
📍 Gilbert
Closed sales: +8.8%
New listings: +10.1%
Median price: $595,000 (-1.5%)
Days on market: 66 (↑ 24.5%)
Seller takeaway:
Gilbert rewarded realism and punished optimism.
📍 Goodyear
Closed sales: +27.5%
Median price: $475,000 (-0.9%)
Time to close: shortened
Seller takeaway:
Volume surged — but pricing stayed disciplined.
📍 Avondale
Closed sales: -5.7%
Pending sales: -6.8%
Inventory: ↑ 12.5%
Median price: $418,000
Seller takeaway:
One of the most buyer-advantaged markets in the Valley.
📍 Surprise
Closed sales: +7.4%
New listings: +14.1%
Median price: $430,000 (-1.4%)
Inventory: 4.2 months
Seller takeaway:
Balanced — but drifting buyer-friendly.
🧠 What Smart Sellers Are Doing Differently in 2026
The psychology changed:
Buyers assume choice
Sellers must create confidence
Pricing is a signal, not a guess
Presentation is leverage
Strategy beats speed
Homes that win in 2026 are:
✔ Correctly priced from day one
✔ Professionally positioned (photos, staging, narrative)
✔ Marketed beyond the MLS
✔ Adjusted early — not late
❓ The One Question Every Phoenix Homeowner Should Ask
“If I listed today… would my home stand out — or blend in?”
Most sellers don’t lose money because the market is bad.
They lose it because they relied on averages instead of strategy.
📞 Let’s Get You the Advantage
If you’re considering selling in Phoenix, Scottsdale, or anywhere in the Valley in 2026, I’ll walk you through:
What buyers are actually paying in your neighborhood
How long homes like yours are sitting — and why
Where pricing power still exists
How to position your home to attract the strongest buyers
📲 Dario Lorenzo
Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty
📞 480-766-6725
📧 [email protected]
👉 Private, no-pressure home value & market strategy review
Clarity now creates leverage later.
