Resale Phoenix Home Sales Take the Wheel in July 2026

The July housing numbers are in, and Phoenix home sales market seems to be saying, “Yes, homes are still selling but let’s not get carried away.”

Compared with last year, July produced a small but genuine increase in closings. Compared with June, however, the market took a fairly noticeable step backward. Meanwhile, resale homes continued gaining ground as new construction struggled to keep pace.

Let’s break it down without requiring a calculator, an economics degree or a double shot of espresso.

The Calendar Gives Us a Clean Comparison

July 2026 had 22 working days—the same number as July 2025 and one more than June 2026.

Because July had exactly the same number of working days as last year, we don’t have to perform any calendar gymnastics to understand the year-over-year numbers. It is a true apples-to-apples comparison.

With one more working day than June, we might reasonably have expected July closings to increase by approximately 5%. Instead, they moved sharply in the opposite direction.

Apparently, the market did not get the memo about that extra workday.

Resale Did the Heavy Lifting for most Phoenix Home Sales

Maricopa County recorded 6,210 closings during July, up 1.7% from the 6,105 closings recorded in July 2025.

Because the working day count was identical, that 1.7% increase represents a real year-over-year improvement not a statistical quirk created by the calendar.

But the headline number only tells part of the story.

Resale closings rose 7.3% year over year, climbing from 4,846 to 5,199. New-home closings, on the other hand, fell 19.7%, dropping from 1,259 to 1,011.

In other words, resale homes arrived ready to work, brought lunch and stayed late. New homes may have called in sick.

After favoring new construction during 2024 and 2025, buyers have continued shifting toward resale homes throughout 2026. That gap is not narrowing it is getting wider.

Month-to-Month Numbers Are Less Cheerful

The year-over-year comparison of Greater Phoenix home sales offers some encouragement. The month-over-month numbers do not.

Total closings fell from 6,987 in June to 6,210 in July a decline of 777 sales, or 11.1%.

That would be disappointing under normal circumstances, but July also had one more working day than June. After accounting for that calendar advantage, the underlying decline was more than 15%.

Both sides of the market participated in the slowdown:

• New-home closings declined 8.2% from June.
• Resale closings declined 11.7%.
• Overall closings declined 11.1%.

July may have contained an extra working day, but apparently quite a few buyers used it to stay inside with the air conditioning.

Prices Remain Relatively Steady

The overall median sales price was $470,000, down 0.8% from July 2025 and 1.1% from June.

In nominal terms, that is close to flat. When inflation and wage growth are considered, however, homes have gradually become more affordable relative to median earnings.

That does not mean Greater Phoenix housing has suddenly become inexpensive. Let’s not get silly. But it does mean the affordability picture has improved somewhat from the exceptionally challenging conditions buyers faced a few years ago.

The new-home and resale markets moved in opposite directions during July:

• The new-home median rose 4.8% from June to $534,999.
• The resale median fell 2.8% to $452,000.
• The overall median declined 1.1% to $470,000.

The increase in the new-home median should not necessarily be interpreted as broad price strength. New-home closings fell significantly, and the homes that did close were weighted more heavily toward the upper end of the market. A different mix of sales not a sudden surge in new-home values provides the more likely explanation.

Builders Continue Losing Market Share

New homes accounted for 16.3% of Maricopa County closings in July, compared with 20.6% one year earlier.

That 4.3 percentage point decline means new construction has lost more than one fifth of its market share in just 12 months.

There was one small crumb of comfort for builders: new homes represented 15.8% of the market in June, so July’s 16.3% share was a modest monthly improvement.

Still, one crumb does not make an entire cookie.

Builders continue competing with resale sellers who may offer established neighborhoods, larger lots, mature landscaping and locations closer to the center of the Valley. Builders can respond with mortgage-rate incentives and closing-cost assistance, but buyers are showing that the complete package not simply the age of the home matters.

What Should Buyers and Sellers Expect Next?

Closing volumes are likely to remain soft through August and September. The median sales price may also drift slightly lower in nominal terms during that period.

Beginning in October, the market’s normal seasonal change in the mix of homes sold should provide some support for prices. That does not necessarily mean prices will begin climbing dramatically, but it could help stabilize the numbers as we move into the final months of the year.

For buyers, softer demand may create more negotiating room, particularly when a home has been sitting on the market or needs updating.

For sellers, the message is straightforward: buyers are active, but they are selective. Accurate pricing, thoughtful preparation and strong marketing matter more than ever.

The Bottom Line

The July numbers tell two different stories.

Compared with July 2025, total closings increased a genuine 1.7%, powered entirely by a 7.3% gain in resale activity. Compared with June, however, closings fell substantially even though July had an extra working day.

Prices remain fairly steady, resale homes are taking a larger share of the market, and new construction continues facing meaningful headwinds.

So, is the Greater Phoenix housing market booming? No.

Is it crashing? Also no.

It is adjusting and doing so one carefully negotiated closing at a time.

If you are considering buying or selling a home in Greater Phoenix, the broad market statistics are helpful, but your neighborhood and price range can tell a very different story. Let’s look at the numbers that apply specifically to your plans before deciding on your next move.