When to list a home in the Phoenix and Scottsdale market: what the seasonal data shows

This covers past listing activity. It isn’t a forecast or advice about a specific home. Past patterns don’t predict prices or how long any home will take to sell.

What the published numbers show

Realtor.com publishes monthly listing counts for the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area, which the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis carries in its FRED database. These are the latest 12 months, through September 2026 (updated October 1, 2026):

Month	New listings	Active listings	Median days on market
Oct 2025	7,566	18,845	59
Nov 2025	6,400	18,975	60
Dec 2025	4,954	17,451	70
Jan 2026	8,556	18,946	75
Feb 2026	8,430	19,363	55
Mar 2026	8,670	19,695	55
Apr 2026	8,174	19,949	57
May 2026	7,452	19,517	60
Jun 2026	6,870	18,731	64
Jul 2026	5,854	17,661	67
Aug 2026	6,104	17,707	67
Sep 2026	7,322	18,437	62

The shape isn’t new. In 2024 and 2025, new listings also ran high early in the year and were lowest in December, and active listings peaked in May rather than April.

What these figures can’t tell you

• They count listings, not closed sales. They don’t show what any home sold for.
• They cover the whole metro. Single-family homes, condos and townhomes at every price are counted together. A custom home in Paradise Valley or Silverleaf may not follow the same pattern.
• Days on market is a median. Realtor.com counts from the list date to the closing, pending or off-market date, depending on what data is available.
• They aren’t seasonally adjusted. That’s useful here, because the seasons are the point, but it means month-to-month changes aren’t trends.

Late winter and spring: faster, and more crowded

The numbers point to a tradeoff. In February and March the median listing spent 55 days on the market, the shortest of the 12 months. Those are also months when the most new listings arrived, and active listings kept climbing until April.

Mark Stapp, a real estate professor at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, said in September 2026: “The spring selling season is still real. Sales and new listings continue to peak in spring and fall off into summer.” He added that the pattern “is not as pronounced as it was in the early to mid-2010s.”

For a seller, spring means more buyers looking and more homes for them to choose from. A home listed then is compared with more alternatives, so its price and condition have less room for error.

Summer: fewer listings, slower pace, and the heat

New listings were lowest outside December in July, and median days on market reached 67 in July and August. Stapp’s reading of summer is that “Volume drops, but leverage doesn’t shift.” In other words, the calendar changes how many transactions happen more than it decides who has the upper hand.

Summer also changes the practical side of selling here:

• Heat. The National Weather Service’s normal high for July in Phoenix is 106.5°F. Air conditioning, pool equipment and irrigation are all working hard during showings and inspections, so have them checked before listing.
• Monsoon season. The Weather Service counts the monsoon as June 15 through September 30. Check the roof, drainage and any storm damage after a major storm, and keep records of repairs.
• Second homes. If the home isn’t occupied all summer, arrange who checks it, who adjusts the thermostat before showings, and who can respond to an inspection request quickly.

Fall and early winter

The data shows a smaller rise in the fall. In 2025, new listings climbed from 5,814 in July to 7,566 in October, and median days on market eased from 70 to 59. December 2025 had the fewest new listings of the 12 months, 4,954, and January 2026’s median days on market, 75, was the longest, even as new listings jumped. The series doesn’t explain why, so don’t read too much into a single month.

What usually matters more than the month

• Your next move. A sale often has to line up with a purchase, a lease or a job date. The Selling with Aaron page covers how the sale and the purchase fit together.
• What’s on the market near you. Metro counts don’t show what your home will compete with. The area pages show RentCast’s current median list price and days on market for each area’s main ZIP code. Those are list figures, not closed sales. North Scottsdale and Silverleaf share ZIP 85255, so they show the same figures.
• Whether the home is ready. A home that goes on the market unready can lose the early attention a new listing gets. Work backward from the date you’d like to list, and allow time for contractors, any permits and photography.
• HOA paperwork. In a planned community, the resale disclosure package is due within 10 days after the seller accepts an offer or gives the association notice, depending on the community’s size (A.R.S. § 33-1806). Check early who manages the association.

A way to choose a date

1. Start with the date you need to be out, or into your next home, and count back.
2. Allow for preparation. A spring listing can mean starting repairs in the fall or winter.
3. Look at what’s actively listed near you, and at comparable recent sales, not just the season.
4. Choose the date, then have a plan for the following weeks if the home is still on the market.

To talk through timing for your own home, book a consultation.