Single-family home sales in the Greater Phoenix area continued to rise, up 3.8% year-to-date through August compared with 2025. Pending sales slipped slightly, down just 1.1%, and new listings dipped 2.8%, according to data from Phoenix REALTORS®.

Greater Phoenix and the West overall outpaced the rest of the country. Nationally, home sales dipped 1.7% from the previous month, while year-to-date sales were up 2.4%.

“Looking at the year-to-date numbers, homes are selling in the market,” said Sammy Glassman, board president of Phoenix REALTORS. “As an individual month, however, August showed its traditional summer softness. Sales tend to pick up as we head into fall.”

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Year-to-Date Trends Move Upward

Although August was very slow in 2026 compared with 2025, consistent with the seasonal pattern of the past decade, results for the first eight months of the year show a steadier trend.

So far in 2026, 43,194 homes have sold, with another 42,768 deals pending. That’s nearly 86,000 homes at those stages compared with fewer than 85,000 in the same period last year.

Even though the median sales price of a home notched up slightly to $483,000 from 2025’s $480,000 in year-to-date data, the affordability index remained flat at 73. At that level, the affordability index indicates that the typical household earns about three-quarters of the income needed to afford the median-priced home. Homes are sitting on the market longer; year to date, that’s 78 days, compared to 73 last year. 

August Was Slow Month for Residential Real Estate

In a year-over-year comparison of just August 2026 results against last year, closed home sales were down 6.1%, pending sales plummeted 34.8%, and new listings were down 9.2%. Closed sales generally reflect contracts written in prior weeks or months, while pending sales represent homes that went under contract but have not yet closed, making them a leading indicator of future activity.

Even with slower buyer activity, fewer sellers entered the market in August, which helped keep inventory relatively balanced. Months supply of inventory rose only slightly from 3.9 to 4.0 months, and August closed out with over 20,000 homes for buyers to consider.

“With that many homes on the market, one would think that it’s not a good time to sell,” 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.”

Although closed sales were down, the dip is not unusual for August. While January and February are usually the worst months of the year for sales over the past 10 years, the monthly dip fits typical August results as one of the slowest months in Arizona real estate.

The August anomaly is the number of pending sales. With only 3,382 deals inked during the month, that number is the lowest since January 2009.

Although August was soft, real estate activity trends typically show a slight uptick in September and October as the market heads into the slower holiday season.

Phoenix

Single-family home activity in the city of Phoenix followed the overall year-to-date market trend. Closed sales rose 2.1%, pending sales were down 3.9%, and new listings were down 3.8% year over year. In August, closed sales dropped 10%, pending sales fell 40.1%, and new listings were down just 5.8%. The median price was flat, holding at $485,000 year over year.

Scottsdale

In year-to-date data comparing 2026 with 2025, Scottsdale continues to show increases in activity, with closed sales jumping 11.6%. Pending sales rose 7.4%, but new listings were down 2.8%. In August, like the rest of the market, Scottsdale activity was down, but not as much as the market overall. Closed sales dipped 3.8%, pending sales dropped 36.6%, and new listings were down 5.9%. The median home price in Scottsdale continues to rise, with the year-to-date sales price at $1.25 million, up 4.6% from $1.2 million last year. Despite the action in the city, homes in Scottsdale are on the market for 83 days, up from 78 last year.

Gilbert

The median price of a single-family home in Gilbert held steady at $600,000 year over year, and the number of days a home sits on the market fell from 63 to 62. Year-to-date sales activity was nearly flat, with closed sales up 2.6%, pending sales down 2.1%, and new listings down 1.2%. For August, Gilbert’s activity reflects the market overall, with closed sales down 6.1% compared to 2025, pending sales down 39.5%, and new listings up 4.8%.

Tempe

Tempe year-to-date numbers were positive, with closed sales up 8.6%, pending sales up 3.5%, and new listings up 3.7%. In August, of major valley cities, Tempe had the strongest sales in the market, up 23.6%, and a significant decline in pending sales, down 51.8%. New listings were down 3.2%. The median home price in Tempe declined from $555,000 in 2025 year-to-date data to $540,000 this year.

Goodyear

For Goodyear, single-family home action slipped across the board in year-to-date comparisons. Closed sales slipped 3%, pending sales were down 5.7%, and new listings dipped 6.6%. In August, closed sales fell 10.8%, pending sales dropped 24.1%, but new listings rose 8.6%. The 2026 year-to-date median price of a single-family home rose slightly, 1.1%, to $480,000, up from $475,000 for the same period last year. Based on August 2026 data compared to 2025, the number of days on the market rocketed from 80 to 94 days.

Surprise

Year-to-date sales activity in Surprise was brisk. Closed sales rose 12.3%, and pending sales were up 7.5%. New listings declined 4.1% compared to numbers through August of last year. Closed sales were down 5.2%, pending sales were down 27.7%, and new listings declined 11.1%. The median price of a home in Surprise was flat at $430,000, and the number of days on the market rose steeply from 79 through the first eight months to 89.

Litchfield Park

Year to date, closed sales were up 14.2% in Litchfield Park, with pending sales rising 5.7%, statistics that outpaced the overall monthly activity. New listings were down slightly, 1.3%, year to date. For August, closed sales dropped 12%, pending sales bottomed out at 58.8%, and new listings slumped 38.8%. So far in 2026, the median home price is up just a hair, 0.5%, to $544,995 compared to $542,060 last year.

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