Published : May 17, 2026 Data as of : May 14, 2026 Compared to : April 14, 2026 Coverage : Tempe, AZ (city-level) • Source : Cromford® Daily Market Snapshot (Single Family Detached)
Tempe • Arizona • Market Updates
Tempe Housing Market May 2026 Tempe, AZ - city-level snapshot for single-family detached homes.
Q: What's happening in the Tempe housing market right now?
A: As of May 14, 2026 seller's market with tightening supply and stronger sales activity : 2.0 months of supply (excluding UCB/CCBS), median monthly sold price $545,000 , days on market (sold) 55 days,
and an average sale-to-list of 97.94% .
What this means Negotiation: Homes are selling for about 97.94% of list price on average - roughly 2.1% under asking. That gap narrowed from last month's 97.60%, meaning seller leverage increased.How much is for sale: Inventory sits at 2.0 months (excluding UCB/CCBS). That is tighter than last month, last quarter, and last year in this table.How long it takes: Recently sold homes averaged 55 days on market; active listings average 67 days . The gap between those two numbers tells you what is priced right is moving faster than the overall pool suggests.Pricing reality ($/SF): Monthly sold $/SF is $303.97 while active list $/SF is $328.67 . That $25/SF spread is the negotiation zone. This is a rolling snapshot (today vs the same date last month ) so buyers and sellers can see leverage shifts without waiting for month-end reporting.
Written by Andrea Scheppe , Phoenix native and REALTOR® with HomeSmart Elite, Valley Solutions Team.
Tempe reality check: May brought a market that is moving faster and competing harder. Sales per month jumped from 96 to 106 and the Cromford® Market Index climbed to 132.6 , the strongest reading shown since the 2024 comparison point in this table. Supply tightened further to 2.0 months , and homes are now selling in an average of 55 days , four days faster than last month. Median sold price came in at $545,000 , down from April's $560,500, but that reflects a shift in what closed this period: average square footage moved from 2,076 to 1,925 . The underlying demand signals - CMI, sales rate, and sale-to-list - moved in sellers' favor.
Median sold price (monthly sales)
$545,000 DOWN ($560,500 → $545,000)
Inventory (months of supply, excl. UCB)
2.0 mo TIGHTER (2.1 → 2.0)
Speed (DOM, sold)
55 days FASTER (59 → 55)
Negotiation (avg sale price % of list)
97.94% STRONGER (97.60% → 97.94%)
Market call Market: SELLER'S MARKET - SUPPLY IS TIGHTENING
Seller's market because Cromford® Market Index is 132.6 , up from 130.2 last month and well above the seller-market threshold. Supply at 2.0 months (excluding UCB/CCBS) is tighter than last month, last quarter, and last year in this table. Sale-to-list of 97.94% means buyers are getting less room than they were last quarter, when that number sat at 95.84%.
Quick pulse vs last month (4/14 → 5/14 250 → 259 , pending 53 → 46 ,
under contract 106 → 97 , and sales/month 96 → 106 .
Pricing per sq ft: Active list $/SF $334.79 → $328.67 ; Monthly sold $/SF $309.94 → $303.97 ; Under contract $/SF $340.36 → $338.49 .
Active list $/SF and sold $/SF both eased slightly, while under-contract $/SF held near its recent high at $338.49 .
Buyer standings - May 2026 (what to do) Here is the buyer takeaway for May 2026.
Supply is tight: At 2.0 months , Tempe has less inventory than last month, last quarter, and last year in this table. Good homes are not sitting around.Negotiation room is shrinking: Sale-to-list is 97.94% - about 2.1% under ask on average. That is tighter than last month and much tighter than last quarter's 95.84%.Use the $/SF spread: Active listings are asking $328.67/sf while homes are closing at $303.97/sf . That $25 gap is your leverage point when a seller is asking above closed comps.Demand is real: CMI at 132.6 and sales up 10 units in a single month tells you this is not a slow spring. If you find the right home, move on it.Seller standings - May 2026 (what matters) The market is strong: CMI at 132.6 , supply at 2.0 months , and sales accelerating. This is a strong window for well-priced listings.Buyers are getting less room: Sale-to-list at 97.94% is stronger than last month and last quarter. Sellers are holding firmer.Price to the closing market, not the asking market: Buyers are closing around $303.97/sf (monthly sold). Active listings are asking $328.67/sf . Price into where deals are happening, not just where homes are being listed.Listing success rate is 82.8%: That means about 1 in 6 listings did not sell. Photos, prep, pricing, and access still separate the listings that close from the ones that expire.Notes & FAQ This is a rolling daily snapshot (today vs the same date last month), using Tempe single-family detached metrics from the Cromford® Daily Market Snapshot.
It is built to answer "where do buyers and sellers stand right now?" without waiting for month-end reporting.
Quick definitions: Months of supply = how much is for sale, DOM = how long it takes, sale-to-list = how much people negotiate, and $/SF = price per square foot.
What is Tempe's inventory right now?
About 2.0 months of supply (excluding UCB/CCBS) as of 5/14/26
Are buyers negotiating in Tempe?
Less than they were - average sale-to-list is 97.94% as of 5/14/26
Is Tempe a buyer's market right now?
No - Cromford® Market Index is 132.6 as of 5/14/26
What is the median home price in Tempe right now?
The median sold price for single-family detached homes in the May 2026 snapshot period is $545,000 , compared to $560,500 the prior month and $556,000 a year ago. The month-over-month dip reflects smaller average home sizes closing in this period, not a softening market.
Open: Tempe daily snapshot table (Today vs last month vs last quarter vs last year vs 2 years ago) Tempe Daily Market Snapshot - Single Family Detached Metric Today (5/14/26 ) Last month (4/14/26 ) Last quarter (2/14/26 ) Last year (5/14/25 ) 2 years ago (5/14/24 ) Active listings 259 250 222 287 169 UCB & CCBS listings 51 53 42 58 53 Active listings excl. UCB 208 197 180 229 116 Pending listings 46 53 48 44 56 Listings under contract 97 106 90 102 109 Sales per month 106 96 57 78 74 Sales per year 923 892 869 857 798 Days on market (sold) 55 59 73 55 58 Days on market (active) 67 70 76 68 57 Days inventory excl. UCB 82 81 76 98 53 Months of supply (excl. UCB) 2.0 2.1 3.2 2.9 1.6 Active listings $/SF $328.67 $334.79 $337.97 $329.15 $334.41 Under contract $/SF $338.49 $340.36 $312.17 $326.93 $310.43 Monthly sales $/SF $303.97 $309.94 $300.79 $304.42 $305.72 Annual sales $/SF $306.19 $306.29 $307.77 $307.48 $300.08 Appreciation - monthly $/SF -0.1% -5.3% -0.8% -0.4% 7.8% Appreciation - annual $/SF -0.4% -0.4% 0.8% 2.5% 2.7% Appreciation - monthly median -2.0% 1.0% -0.4% 3.4% 4.4% Appreciation - annual median -0.9% -0.4% 0.0% 4.0% 2.0% Avg sale price % of list 97.94% 97.60% 95.84% 98.89% 98.44% Annual change supply -9.2% -7.1% 20.8% 97.4% 43.2% Annual change under contract -4.9% 17.8% 0.0% -6.4% 12.4% Listing success rate 82.8% 81.4% 77.0% 77.2% 82.2% Monthly dollar volume $62M $62M $34M $45M $45M Annual dollar volume $563M $544M $527M $514M $467M Average price (monthly sales) $585,099 $643,536 $595,796 $580,902 $607,323 Average price (annual sales) $610,071 $610,303 $606,349 $599,272 $585,075 Median price (monthly sales) $545,000 $560,500 $553,000 $556,000 $537,500 Median price (annual sales) $545,000 $545,000 $545,000 $550,000 $529,000 Average SF (monthly sales) 1,925 2,076 1,981 1,908 1,987 Average SF (annual sales) 1,992 1,993 1,970 1,949 1,950 Contract ratio 46.6 53.8 50.0 44.5 94.0 Cromford® Supply Index 77.9 75.7 65.2 86.5 48.7 Cromford® Demand Index 103.3 98.5 76.8 79.6 69.3 Cromford® Market Index (CMI) 132.6 130.2 117.8 92.1 142.2
Note: "months of supply" is reported excluding UCB/CCBS inventory.
Disclaimer (method): This post uses the Cromford® Daily Market Snapshot for Tempe single-family detached homes,
comparing 5/14/26 4/14/26
