In May 2025, greater Phoenix broke from the national mold in residential real estate performance as single-family home sales outperformed those nationwide, according to Phoenix Realtors data.
Across the United States, in year-to-date comparisons with 2024, the National Association of Realtors reports that median home sales prices are down 0.6%, new listings have decreased by 2.2% and pending sales have declined by 31.4%. During the same period in the Phoenix Realtors’ region, new listings increased by 13.2%, pending sales decreased modestly by 5%, and the median sales price rose by 1.3%.
“Once again, we faced a challenging month for home sales, but we’re bucking the national trends,” Christy Walker, board president of Phoenix Realtors said in a written statement. “Houses are taking longer to sell, but there are buyers in the market and a good selection of homes for sale.”
The Scottsdale market’s numbers look very similar to the greater Phoenix area’s.
Year-to-date in Scottsdale, new listings increased 8.5% to 3.065 homes, pending sales decreased 7.4% to 1,715 homes and median price rose 7.7% to $1.24 million
“Consumer confidence is often a trend that defies location,” Walker said in an email to the Daily Independent. “When consumers are concerned about broader issues, it tends to put a damper on the housing sector. These issues include things that threaten jobs, income, and safety. This is generally from an outside source that isn’t controllable, such as natural disasters, the pandemic, economic instability, threats of war, etc.
“Some who were protected from the impact of higher interest rates because they were purchasing with cash may be playing it more conservatively now with the recent economic changes and volatility of the stock market. Because there are fewer who are willing to use available cash reserves, the market swings to mimic surrounding areas without the security of extra wealth. Scottsdale, like many other cities, is now grappling with higher prices and higher interest rates, which pose a challenge in attracting middle and upper-middle-class buyers.”
Disturbingly though, Scottsdale’s pending sales in May 2025 to May 2024 is down 41.4% to 184.
“Like with neighboring cities, home inventory is up significantly, giving buyers more choices and reducing the urgency to buy,” Walker said in an email to the Daily Independent. “Additionally, affordability has become a larger problem for Scottsdale because the appreciation has outpaced wage increases. This creates a smaller buyer pool and pushes buyers to consider nearby cities such as Tempe or Phoenix that would still offer reasonable commuting times.
“Additionally, we’ve seen a record high level of cancellations in the last year, which indicates buyers’ frustration with the inability to get what they want and unrealistic expectations on both sides. Many buyers who face one or two cancellations decide to sit out for a while before they are willing to try home shopping again. Lastly, we have shifted from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market based on supply and demand, so negotiation strategy is a key to a successful sale. Many buyers are willing to walk away from an offer that’s not outright accepted and find another seller willing to negotiate the way they want,” Walker said.
The number of closed sales in greater Phoenix increased 2.2% over last year’s seasonal total to 26,675 homes so far this year.
In Scottsdale, year-to-date closed sales increased 5.8% to 1,834.
The number of new listings has some calling this a “buyer’s market.” The average number of days homes sat on the market until sale in Scottsdale were up 2.7% for May 2025 versus May 2024 and up 5.6% to 76 year-to-date.
“It’s taking longer to sell homes right now,” Walker said in a written statement. “The increased inventory is giving buyers more homes in their price range than they had last year. It also means they can take longer looking and deciding to buy.”
The year-to-date median price in Greater Phoenix rose to $485,000 from $479,000 in the same period last year. While home prices rose, the Housing Affordability Index for Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale remained unchanged at 66. The Housing Affordability Index reflects the percentage of households in the area with an income that qualifies them for a median-priced, single-family home.
Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. J. Graber can be reached at jgraber@iniusa.org.
By 
