Phoenix HousingGauge — August 24, 2026 | YELLOW 47

Welcome to the Phoenix HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of August 24, 2026.

Here is the headline. Phoenix's HousingGauge score is 47 out of 100, which puts the market in the YELLOW zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Local employment down 3.9% year over year. Unemployment stands at 4.7%.

Second: Score down 4 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 51 to 47 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Monetary Conditions (−3.4 points).

Third: Mortgage rates up 0.14 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 6.65%, versus 6.51% three months ago.

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 32 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 6.65%, up 0.64 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 57 out of 100. Inventory is 6.2% lower than a year ago (5,210 active listings), with 3.6 months of supply. Homes take a median 55 days to sell at 97.8% of list price, and 38.3% of listings have had a price cut. Negotiating leverage is fairly balanced between buyers and sellers.

Monetary Conditions scores 61 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.23%, 0.14 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.09% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate is unchanged over six months.

Demand Trend scores 58 out of 100. Pending sales are 0.5% higher than a year ago and closed sales are 3.9% higher. Days on market are about the same as a year ago. Demand is steady.

Valuation & Affordability scores 57 out of 100. The median home costs 5.7 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 35.0% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 1.1% lower than a year ago. Affordability is stretched but not extreme.

Local Economy scores 33 out of 100. Local unemployment is 4.7% and employment is down 3.9% year over year. The local job market is softening.

Rental Economics scores 29 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 4.1% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 24.5). Rents are up 0.3% year over year. Rental yields are thin relative to prices.

The score is unchanged from last week's report. Over 13 weeks it is down 4 points, from 51 to 47. The largest contributors were Monetary Conditions (−3.4 points) and Rental Economics (+0.9 points).

So what would move Phoenix into the green? It is 22 points away, which would take a broad shift in conditions. Even these changes together would add only about 18 points: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 5.50% (now 6.65%); pending sales grow more than 15.0% year over year (now +0.5%); the Fed cuts more than 0.75 pts over six months (now −0.01 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below −1.00 pts (now +0.14 pts); months of supply rises above 5.9 months (now 3.6 months); and mortgage rates fall more than 0.50 pts over three months (now +0.14 pts).

And what could make conditions worse? Any one of these could push the score down a status level: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.55% (now 6.65%); pending sales fall more than 11.5% year over year (now +0.5%); and the Fed raises rates more than 0.75 pts over six months (now −0.01 pts).

That is the Phoenix HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.