Staff Reports | Dwellings & Multfamily
Single-family home sales in the Greater Phoenix area continued to increase through August, rising 3.8% year to date compared with the same period in 2025.
Pending sales slipped 1.1% year to date, while new listings declined 2.8%. Greater Phoenix and the broader Western United States continued to outperform national trends. National home sales fell 1.7% from the previous month, while year-to-date sales increased 2.4%, according to a press release.
“Looking at the year-to-date numbers, homes are selling in the market,” Sammy Glassman, president of Phoenix REALTORS, said. “As an individual month, however, August showed its traditional summer softness. Sales tend to pick up as we head into fall.”
Although August activity was slower in 2026 than in August 2025, consistent with seasonal patterns, the first eight months of the year reflected a more stable market.
Through August, 43,194 homes had sold, while another 42,768 transactions remained pending. Combined, nearly 86,000 homes were either sold or under contract, compared with fewer than 85,000 during the same period last year.
The median home sales price rose slightly to $483,000 from $480,000 in 2025 year-to-date figures. The affordability index remained unchanged at 73, indicating the typical household earns about 73% of the income needed to purchase a median-priced home. Homes also spent more time on the market, averaging 78 days compared with 73 days last year.
Compared with August 2025, closed home sales in August 2026 declined 6.1%, pending sales fell 34.8% and new listings dropped 9.2%.
Closed sales generally reflect contracts written in previous weeks or months, while pending sales represent homes that have gone under contract but have not yet closed, making them a leading indicator of future market activity.
Despite slower buyer activity, fewer sellers entered the market in August, helping maintain relatively balanced inventory. Housing supply increased slightly from 3.9 months to 4.0 months, and more than 20,000 homes remained available for sale at month’s end.
“With that many homes on the market, one would think that it’s not a good time to sell,” Mr. Glassman said. “However, even though August was a soft month, over 8,000 homes were in the process of being sold or closed during the month. That’s more than a third of the housing inventory that will be off the market and needs to be replaced with new listings.”
While closed sales declined, the decrease is consistent with historical August patterns. Although January and February have typically been the slowest months for home sales over the past decade, August has also historically ranked among Arizona’s slower months for residential real estate activity.
One notable exception was pending sales. With 3,382 transactions recorded during August, pending sales reached their lowest level since January 2009.
Even so, housing activity has historically shown modest improvement during September and October before slowing again during the holiday season.
Market snapshots
Phoenix
Year-to-date closed sales increased 2.1%, while pending sales declined 3.9% and new listings fell 3.8%. In August, closed sales dropped 10%, pending sales declined 40.1% and new listings decreased 5.8%. The median home price remained unchanged at $485,000.
Scottsdale
Scottsdale posted stronger year-to-date activity than the broader market. Closed sales increased 11.6%, pending sales rose 7.4% and new listings declined 2.8%. August activity slowed, though less sharply than the market overall, with closed sales down 3.8%, pending sales down 36.6% and new listings down 5.9%. The year-to-date median home price rose 4.6% to $1.25 million from $1.2 million last year. Homes spent an average of 83 days on the market, up from 78 days a year earlier.
Gilbert
The median home price remained unchanged at $600,000, while average days on market improved slightly from 63 to 62 days. Year-to-date closed sales rose 2.6%, pending sales slipped 2.1% and new listings declined 1.2%. In August, closed sales fell 6.1%, pending sales declined 39.5% and new listings increased 4.8%.
Tempe
Year-to-date closed sales increased 8.6%, pending sales rose 3.5% and new listings increased 3.7%. Among major Valley cities, Tempe posted the strongest August increase in closed sales, rising 23.6%. Pending sales, however, fell 51.8%, while new listings declined 3.2%. The median home price decreased to $540,000 from $555,000 a year earlier.
Goodyear
Closed sales fell 3% year to date, pending sales declined 5.7% and new listings dropped 6.6%. In August, closed sales decreased 10.8%, pending sales fell 24.1% and new listings increased 8.6%. The median home price rose 1.1% to $480,000 from $475,000 a year earlier. Average days on market increased from 80 to 94 days.
Surprise
Year-to-date closed sales increased 12.3%, while pending sales rose 7.5%. New listings declined 4.1%. In August, closed sales fell 5.2%, pending sales dropped 27.7% and new listings declined 11.1%. The median home price remained $430,000, while average days on market increased from 79 to 89 days.
Closed sales increased 14.2% year to date and pending sales rose 5.7%, while new listings declined 1.3%. August results were weaker, with closed sales down 12%, pending sales down 58.8% and new listings declining 38.8%. The year-to-date median home price increased 0.5% to $544,995 from $542,060 during the same period last year.
