Is Phoenix Really One of the "Coldest" Markets Right Now?

By The Klaus Team

The Kenny Klaus Team is one of the most successful real estate teams in America. Since 2010, The Kenny Klaus Team has been consistently ranked in the Top 120 teams nationwide by Real Trends and the Wall Street Journal.

A recent headline from the Phoenix New Times declared that Phoenix is “one of the coldest housing markets in the United States.” If you saw it, you probably had one of two reactions: either concern about what it means for your home’s value, or skepticism about whether it’s actually true.

We think the skepticism is warranted. Here’s why.

The article is based on data that’s already three months old. It references a study from Construction Coverage using Redfin data, and if you read deep enough into the article, it admits that those statistics are from January 2026. In real estate, January data reflects contracts that were signed in November and December of last year. So when the article says Phoenix homes are sitting on the market for 59 days and only 15% are selling above asking price, that’s describing the fall and early winter market, not what’s happening right now in April.

They published a January snapshot and called it “now.” That’s not current reporting. That’s a lag dressed up as a headline.

So what does the current data actually say?

We track the Cromford Report, which is the most trusted, respected source of real-time housing data in the Phoenix metro area. Here’s what we know right now, as of the beginning of April:

Monthly sales are up 11% over last year. That’s over 7,700 homes that closed last month alone. Listings under contract are up 7.5% year over year. And when it comes to showing activity, last month saw the highest number of showings we’ve recorded in an entire year. That’s great news for both buyers and sellers.

Active inventory, which the article implies is spiraling out of control, is now only 2.3% above where it was at this same time last year. That gap has been closing every single month since December. And the Cromford Market Index, which tracks the real-time balance between buyers and sellers, is trending upward toward a more balanced market.

Now, to be fair, Phoenix is not the hottest market in the country either. The median sales price is roughly flat from last year at around $455,000. Outer suburbs like Surprise and Gilbert do have more supply than demand right now. Those things are real, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. But “one of the coldest markets in the US” based on data that’s three months old? That’s a very different claim than what the current numbers support.

Here’s what we want you to take away from this. If you read a real estate headline, especially one that sounds alarming, ask yourself one question: when was the data collected? Because in this market, three months is the difference between a slow winter and a spring that’s showing real signs of life.

If you’re trying to buy or sell in today’s market but making decisions based on old data, you’re going to miss the real picture. Our job is to make sure you’re working with what the market is doing today, not what a study says it was doing back in January.

If you have questions about what the Phoenix market looks like right now, reach out at klausteam.com or call us at 480-354-7344. You can also email us at solutions@klausteam.net. We look at this data every single day, and it’s the most powerful tool for staying ahead of what the market is actually doing.