Sell your house fast in Phoenix

If you’re looking to sell your house in Phoenix, better hurry: The housing market here is cooling off quickly. In February, median home prices here dropped by more than 8 percent compared with a year earlier, according to statistics from Phoenix Realtors. In addition, a recent report from Goldman Sachs suggested that Phoenix could soon see housing values decline by up to 25 percent.

As you get ready to list your house for sale, it’s important to focus on limiting the amount of time it will linger on the market. Read on for everything you need to know about how to sell your house fast in Phoenix.

Selling your house fast

It’s taking a lot longer for Phoenix homes to sell today than it did this time last year. February data shows that single-family homes sat on the market for 81 days before sale — a huge 138 percent increase from the 34-day timeframe in February of 2022. If you’re selling a townhouse or a condo, your wait is a bit shorter: These properties took 68 days to sell.

If you’re in a rush to relocate and don’t want to wait that long, consider these four routes to a speedier closing.

• Find an iBuyer: Phoenix sellers can get instant offers from the two biggest iBuyers, Offerpad and Opendoor. These companies might give you an offer for your property in less than 24 hours, but you should be ready to see a smaller number than you might in a traditional sale.
• Sell for cash: If you can find a buyer with deep enough pockets to make an all-cash offer, you’ll save a huge chunk of time in waiting for a lender to approve a mortgage. There are plenty of companies that buy houses for cash in Phoenix.
• Strategize with an agent: An experienced seller’s agent can help you figure out how to get your listing to move quickly. Local real estate agents know their markets well, and they will make sure your listing appears in all the right places — with a price tag that will turn prospective buyers’ heads.
• Make concessions: Remember when buyers were waiving home inspections and making offers sight-unseen during the peak of the pandemic? That was then, and this is now. In Phoenix, more than 63 percent of sellers have been agreeing to concession requests, according to data from Redfin.

How to sell your house in Phoenix

If you opt for a traditional market listing in Phoenix, consider a few key questions:

How much will selling cost?

It’s important to understand how much it costs to sell a house. In Phoenix, fortunately, sellers benefit from the lack of a transfer tax on selling a home in Arizona — a pesky cost that adds thousands of dollars in many other states. However, you will be on the hook for these expenses:

• Realtor fees: This represents the biggest chunk of cash that eats into your profit. You’ll be responsible for paying both your agent’s fee and the buyer’s agent’s as well, which typically total about 6 percent of the home’s sale price. On a $400,000 home, that comes to $24,000.
• Title insurance and service fees: Sellers typically cover the cost of a one-time title policy for new owners. The cost varies, but it typically averages around $1,450. You’ll split the cost of the service fees with the buyer, and it varies. Expect to pay your half of anywhere between $550 and $1,250.
• Unpaid property taxes: If you have any outstanding property taxes, you’ll need to pay your portion of that bill at closing.
• Attorney fees: If you hire a real estate attorney (which is always a wise decision, even if you’re not legally required to), you’ll need to pay them based on their rate and the number of hours they put into your deal.
• Concessions: Since more sellers are offering concessions in Phoenix, be ready to join the club and cover a portion of the buyer’s closing costs if asked.

What’s the local market like?

The Phoenix metro area is huge. So, rather than look at figures from the entire region, it’s important to focus on the activity in your specific neighborhood. Prices and time spent on the market vary widely between different parts of Phoenix. For example, in February, homes in Glendale typically took 94 days to sell and went for a median price of $450,000. In Phoenix proper, however, the timeframe is significantly shorter — just 38 days — while the median price tag is much higher at more than $781,000.

Will you be trying to buy a house at the same time?

Selling your home comes with an obvious question: Where are you going to live next? Buying a house while selling one at the same time can get complicated, and you’ll want to do whatever is possible to limit the amount of time you could be paying two monthly housing payments. Make sure you work with your real estate agent to develop a strategy that gives you ample time to move.

Preparing your home for sale

Follow these steps to catch the attention of Phoenix buyers:

1. Find an agent: The housing market is changing quickly, so it’s critical to hire a real estate agent who knows the ins and outs of marketing a listing in the midst of uncertain times and rising interest rates. Be sure to interview a few different candidates to get a sense of their marketing strategy and their thoughts on how you can speed up the sale. Of course, you can always opt to handle things yourself with a for sale by owner (FSBO) listing. But be warned: It’s a lot of work, and you might make a lot less money. Research from the National Association of Realtors shows that agent-assisted listings tend to fetch significantly higher prices than FSBO listings.
2. Dress it up: Work with your agent to determine what’s worth fixing, and what’s not. One of the best ways to get your place ready for prime time is hiring a professional home staging service. The cost of staging your home varies based on whether you just need decluttering and reorganizing or major help, such as renting furniture to outfit empty rooms.
3. Price it competitively: An agent can also be the best resource when it comes to the most important home-selling question: How much should you ask for it? While there are easy ways to estimate what your house is worth, be sure to review comps to get a sense of how much buyers have been willing to pay for similar properties in your area in the past 30 to 60 days. And be aware that you may have to settle for slightly less than the asking price. Homes in Phoenix have been selling for around 97.6 percent of their list price — a notable change from a year ago, when they were selling for more than 1 percent above list price.

Should I sell my house in Phoenix fast?

As you weigh the options of a traditional wait-and-see-what-happens listing vs. a speedy sale with an iBuyer, you’ll need to think about your specific needs. If you’re being transferred to a different state for work, for example, or packing up the home of a family member who recently passed, selling fast-and-easy might be the best option.

On the other hand, being patient can be the path to a bigger profit. While home prices in Phoenix have been falling, there still isn’t enough inventory here to match demand. If your agent can help you attract interest from multiple buyers, you’ll make a lot more money from the sale.

Next steps

When you’re ready to list, you’ll have some paperwork to gather. Make sure you complete the Arizona residential seller disclosure advisory form, which should detail any defects that could impact the property’s value or the ability for a new owner to use it in a safe manner. If the property is part of a homeowners association, proactively request a copy of the association’s bylaws and documentation about its financial health to share with buyers.

Even once you go into contract, you’ll still have some responsibilities. Time is critical here, so make sure you work with your agent and attorney to respond to any questions, contract revisions or concession requests as quickly as possible. If anything changes that impacts the disclosure form you completed earlier, you need to share updated information with the buyer. Additionally, you’ll need to schedule movers and make sure the home is in good shape for the buyer’s final walk-through. And be sure to review the closing statement you’ll receive a few days ahead of the closing date, to ensure all the costs and expenses it lists are accurate.

On closing day, once your existing mortgage and closing costs are paid, the rest of the money is yours. Congratulations on selling your Phoenix home.

FAQs

• How can I sell my house fast in Phoenix?

  The fastest way to sell your house in Phoenix is probably to request an offer from iBuyers Offerpad or Opendoor, both of which operate in the area. Try other homebuying companies as well; they can often provide equally quick offers and closings.
  

• Is it a good time to sell a house in Phoenix?

  The Phoenix housing market currently has 2.8 months of housing supply, per Phoenix Realtors. That indicates an advantage for sellers, as it’s well short of the 5 to 6 months of supply required for a balanced market. However, it’s important to note that Phoenix is no longer in the pandemic boomtown phase that was marked by bidding wars and super-fast sales. Rising interest rates have cooled the housing market significantly. With that in mind, sellers may have to drop prices or offer concessions to get a deal done.
  

• Are home prices rising or falling in Phoenix?

  Median home prices for single-family homes in the Phoenix metro area have dropped by more than 8 percent in the past year, according to data from Phoenix Realtors. The median sale price was $475,000 in February 2022; in February 2023, it is $435,050.