By Andrew Piane, Arizona REALTOR® with HomeSmart
Who can buy a home with mortgage rates this high? The latest data show that buyers using financing are still a major part of the Phoenix-area market. Nationally, repeat buyers make up the larger group, while first-time buyers continue to account for a meaningful share.
Phoenix-area neighborhood illustration; not a specific property or transaction.
The useful question for a seller is how that mix affects the offers your home may attract. Here is what the latest available local sales, cash-purchase records and national buyer survey actually tell us, with the different reporting periods kept clear.
September sales show activity, while new contracts slowed
Phoenix REALTORS®’ September 2026 Local Market Update, current as of October 3, covers Maricopa County and reports property types separately. In September, 3,702 single-family homes closed, down 5.3% from September 2025. Another 2,241 single-family homes were pending, down 39.3% year over year. Inventory stood at 15,422 homes, or 3.9 months of supply.
Closings are completed sales. Pending sales are signed contracts that have not closed. The figures show that single-family homes continued to sell in Maricopa County, while fewer were under contract than a year earlier. They do not show the age, household type, first-time status, or financing choice of those buyers. Townhomes and condos are listed separately in the report.
Cash is visible, but it is not the whole Phoenix market
Realtor.com’s deed-based analysis found that 27% of Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler home sales from January through April 2026 were all-cash, down 2.7 percentage points from a year earlier. The analysis counts a purchase as all-cash when no mortgage lien is recorded at closing. Under that definition, buyers using a mortgage were the larger group. Cash status alone does not identify a buyer’s reason for purchasing: a buyer may be using equity from a prior home, investing, or purchasing a second home.
Monthly payments also matter to many financed buyers. Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed mortgage benchmark averaged 7.40% for the week of October 8. It is a national benchmark based on conventional, conforming purchase loans with 20% down and excellent credit, not a quote for every Phoenix borrower. Actual rates and payments vary by borrower and loan terms.
First-time buyers, repeat buyers, and investors
NAR’s August 2026 REALTORS® Confidence Index survey reported that first-time buyers made up 30% of buyers nationally. The roughly 70% who were not first-time buyers is the calculated remainder, not a separate Phoenix statistic. The same survey reported 27% all-cash purchases and 15% of buyers purchasing for investment or second-home use.
Those categories measure different things. First-time status is about ownership history. Cash is a way to pay. Investment or second-home use describes the purpose of a purchase. The percentages can overlap, so they should not be added together. NAR’s figures are national survey results, not a local buyer census.
For a local investor signal, Realtor.com’s separate deed-based 2025 study estimated that corporate entities classified as investor buyers made 11.8% of purchases in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler. The definition uses corporate ownership and absentee or tenant-occupied property codes. It misses some landlords who buy in their personal names, and the number does not mean that large institutional firms bought 11.8% of homes.
What this means if you’re selling
There is no single buyer profile for every Phoenix-area home. The likely audience depends on location, price range, condition, property type, and competing listings. The data do not tell us who will make the next offer on a particular street.
When offers arrive, compare the full terms rather than treating cash as an automatic win or a financed offer as automatically weaker. Look at price, proof of funds or loan readiness, requested seller-paid costs, contingencies, closing timeline, possession, and expected net proceeds. If you are weighing a buyer credit or rate buydown, my guide to seller concessions in Arizona explains how those terms can affect the buyer and your net.
I would also compare your home with the alternatives buyers can see now, then check that against nearby sales. A metro-wide average cannot replace a property-specific look at the neighborhood, price range, and current competition. Learn more about my seller representation across the Phoenix metro.
The clearest takeaway is that Phoenix-area sellers are meeting a mixed market: mortgage-backed purchases are the larger local share, first-time buyers remain active nationally, and cash and corporate-investor activity are measurable but distinct. Local closings tell us how much sold, not the demographic story behind every sale.
About Andrew Piane Andrew Piane is an Arizona REALTOR® with HomeSmart, based in Goodyear and serving buyers and sellers across the Phoenix metro. He has eight years of real estate experience.
Sources reviewed
- Phoenix REALTORS®, “Local Market Update – September 2026,” Maricopa County; current October 3, 2026; ARMLS data. Open the report.
- Realtor.com Economic Research, “Cash Sales Fade as Housing Market Rebalances,” August 18, 2026. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler all-cash share for January-April 2026 and deed-record methodology. Read the analysis.
- Realtor.com Economic Research, “Investor Buying Activity Continues To Grow in 2025 as Sales Dwindle,” June 23, 2026. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 2025 corporate-investor share and methodology. Read the analysis.
- National Association of REALTORS®, “NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 2.0% Decrease in August,” September 10, 2026. National August sales and REALTORS® Confidence Index buyer shares. Read the report.
- Freddie Mac, “Mortgage Rates Average 7.40%,” October 8, 2026. Read the release.
