Northeast Valley Real Estate Insights – September 2025

“Anticipation…anticipation is making me wait…”

That seemed to be the “theme song” of so many potential buyers this summer. An interesting dynamic developed, with buyers balking at home prices and sellers taking their homes off the market rather than selling at a lower price.

It’s been a buyer’s market for months now. What have buyers been waiting for? A long anticipated Fed rate cut? Will that finally give people enough confidence to shift the housing market out of low gear?

The answer is…maybe.

The irony of a buyer’s market is that it lacks urgency. Because buyers have more leverage with higher inventory levels, there is less urgency to jump into bidding wars and more desire to take their time finding the right home at the right price. If the homes for sale require significant repairs or renovations, buyers can wait for better options.

Added to that are lingering concerns about a possible recession, inflation, economic policies and tariff whiplash, making discretionary buyers more cautious about making such a large financial commitment.

Tina Tamboer, Senior Housing Analyst for The Cromford Report made these predictions recently:

“We are expecting supply to decline further as more sellers withdraw, though this pattern is likely to end during September. We usually get a second wind for new listings as we move into Autumn, especially for the luxury and 55+ sectors.”

I subscribe to The Cromford Report and rely on Tina’s data and opinions, as she is the leading authority on our local real estate market. She also explained that the surprisingly low job creation numbers published several weeks ago caused a sudden downshift in mortgage rates, and 30-year fixed rates are now hovering around their lowest mark in 10 months.

“In theory this should provoke a mild improvement in demand but it is too early to detect right now,” Tamboer stated. “If rates stay at this level for a while, we could see some discernible improvement in demand which, along with the falling supply, would justify a little more optimism for sellers.

Our concern is that once temperatures start to cool at the end of September, we are likely to see the falling trend in supply come to an end. At this point we will have to watch carefully to see what new trends develop.”

More watching, waiting, and “anticipation”…

Darrell Doepke is a full-time, RealTrends Verified Top 1% Realtor® in Arizona (2024), specializing in Carefree, Cave Creek, and North Scottsdale luxury homes. With a background in marketing and journalism, Darrell tells each home’s story to grab buyers emotionally. His narrated property videos showcase this strategy, and he invests more in marketing than most agents. He lives by his motto: “I don’t wait for buyers — I pursue them.” Darrell is VP of Community Partners and founder of Community Fest, an October event supporting local nonprofits. He is known for his SRES® designation assisting seniors; his Midwest values, and community leadership. Clients often say he’s the best Realtor® they’ve worked with.