Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Central Phoenix sales rose even with fewer homes for sale

By Brandon Vaccaro

Real estate, Central Phoenix

Buyers are still showing up. That is the one fact that changes what a seller should do right now. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 172 homes sold across Central Phoenix in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 13.9% from the same months in 2025. At the same time, the number of homes for sale fell 7.8%. More sales, fewer choices.

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area sat at 7.5% in September 2026. That is not a small number. Still, those 172 sales happened anyway. Fannie Mae, as reported by CNBC on October 14, 2026, forecast rates near 7.4% through the end of 2026 and 7.5% through 2027. Rates are not falling fast. So the buyers who showed up did so knowing that.

Pending sales across Central Phoenix held flat at 165, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Flat is not a bad word here. It means the pipeline stayed full even as new listings dropped 9.8%. Fewer homes came to market, and buyers absorbed them at roughly the same pace as last year.

How each ZIP code read differently

The area-wide numbers are one story. Each ZIP code tells its own. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted for the three months ending August 31, 2026.

ZIP 85012 had the highest median sale price: $532,500, up 7.7% from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. But it also had the slowest pace. Homes there sat a median 85 days before selling. Months of supply reached 7.3, which is the loosest of the three ZIPs. Not every home in 85012 sold fast.

ZIP 85013 moved the quickest. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at 63 days, 11 days shorter than a year before. Months of supply dropped to 4.1, down 2.2 months from last year. Sales jumped 28.6%. The median price dipped 13.4% to $485,000, so buyers got more activity for a lower price.

ZIP 85014 had the most sales: 85 homes, up 14.9%, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. The median price was $485,500, down 9.1% from a year before. Days on market held steady at 74 days, unchanged from last year. More homes sold, but sellers gave a little on price to make it happen.

Who went above list price

Most homes did not sell above list price. That is honest. But the share that did grew in every ZIP. In 85012, 8.3% sold above list, up 8.3 points from last year. In 85013, 12.7% did, up 4.5 points. In 85014, 14.1% did, up 6 points. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted all of these. The direction is clear, even if most sellers still land at or below list.

How fast homes went under contract

In ZIP 85013, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 19.7% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is nearly 1 in 5. In 85014, 15.6% did. In 85012, only 9.1% did, and that share fell 7 points from last year. Speed depends heavily on which street you are on.

What the wider market says

Realtor.com reported that 29.0% of listings in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area carried a price cut in September 2026. That is nearly 3 in 10. The metro-wide median home price was $475,000, also per Realtor.com. Central Phoenix medians ran higher than that in all three ZIPs.

CNBC reported on October 14, 2026, that pending home sales nationally were down 8.5% year over year, according to Zillow. Central Phoenix ran against that grain. Local sales rose 13.9% while the national trend pointed the other way. That gap is worth noting.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported on September 29, 2026, that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Central Phoenix price moves were mixed by ZIP, with 85012 up 7.7% and 85013 and 85014 both down. The national trend and the local one do not always point the same direction.

The area-wide numbers give you a starting point. Your block, your street and your price range can tell a different story. If you want to know how your home compares with what actually sold near you, text me your address.