The Phoenix housing market isn’t surging. It isn’t crashing, either. Instead, it appears to be caught in a stalemate.
According to the REMAX May National Housing Report, Phoenix remains one of the nation’s most intriguing real estate markets, posting the largest year-over-year decline in active inventory among the 51 metro areas surveyed while simultaneously maintaining one of the country’s highest inventory levels and longest average selling times.
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The result is a market where buyers have more choices than they did a few years ago, but sellers are still finding support for home prices.
“Phoenix is in an unusual position,” the report suggests. “Inventory isn’t flooding the market, but it isn’t tightening meaningfully either. Homes are sitting longer than they did just a year or two ago, while prices continue inching upward despite slower activity.”
In May, the Phoenix metro recorded 6,941 closed home sales, down 3% from April. New listings also slowed considerably, falling 12.4% month over month to 9,722 homes.
| Days on Market: 5 Markets with the Highest Days on Market | |||
| Market | May 2026 | May 2025 | Year-over-Year % Change |
| San Antonio, TX | 83 | 76 | +8.6 % |
| Miami, FL | 78 | 74 | +5.1 % |
| Phoenix, AZ | 71 | 68 | +4.5 % |
| Tampa, FL | 70 | 60 | +15.8 % |
| Orlando, FL | 63 | 65 | -2.5 % |
Active inventory dipped slightly to 22,436 homes, down 1.6% from April, yet Phoenix continues to rank among the markets with the largest number of homes available for sale.
At the current sales pace, the Valley has a 2.9-month supply of inventory, up from 2.8 months in April, giving buyers more breathing room than they experienced during the pandemic housing boom.
Homes spent an average of 71 days on the market in May, nearly unchanged from April’s 72 days and substantially longer than national averages. Meanwhile, the median sales price climbed 1.9% month over month to $458,500, demonstrating that values continue to show resilience even as buyers take more time making purchasing decisions.
Nationally, the housing market continues to move forward cautiously.
Home sales across the 51 metro markets surveyed rose 7.9% from April, marking the fourth consecutive month of sales gains. However, transactions remained 0.5% below May 2025 levels, reflecting affordability concerns and limited new inventory entering the market.
Inventory nationwide increased 8.4% from April and 2% from one year ago, extending a remarkable streak of 29 consecutive months of year-over-year inventory growth. Even so, those gains have moderated significantly compared to last year as fewer homeowners choose to list their properties.
New listings across the country fell 3.3% from April and 8.4% year over year, marking seven straight months of annual declines.
National median home prices continued their gradual climb, increasing 1.1% from April to $450,000, up 1.4% from a year ago.
“The housing market was finding its footing this spring, with steady month-over-month sales gains showing that buyers are still engaged,” said Chris Lim, REMAX president and chief growth officer. “At the same time, the slowdown in new listings limited inventory growth. That’s keeping conditions competitive in many markets, even as price growth remains relatively moderate. For buyers and sellers alike, this is a market where timing and expert guidance matter more than ever.”
For Phoenix, those dynamics are creating a market that lacks the urgency of recent years but also avoids dramatic swings. Buyers are gaining negotiating power thanks to longer selling times and greater inventory, while sellers continue to benefit from modest price appreciation.
Until either inventory tightens substantially or buyer demand accelerates, Phoenix appears poised to remain in a holding pattern — a balanced market where patience may prove to be both buyers’ and sellers’ greatest asset.
