Published September 25, 2026 in Market Update

Buyers have a bit more room to negotiate in Primary market

By Shari Holder

Real estate, Primary market

The one fact that changes what you should do: homes in the Primary market are selling below list price more often. Price carefully from the start, and you will be ahead of the ones that sit.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted homes in ZIP 85142 selling at 98.1% of list price on average. That is down 0.4 points from the same period in 2025. So what? A seller who prices at $660,000 is, on average, leaving a little room for the buyer to negotiate terms.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that only 7.4% of homes in 85142 sold above list price. That is down 3.1 points from a year ago. Fewer bidding wars means buyers have more room to ask for concessions or repairs.

That fits what is happening nationally. Redfin reported that sellers gave concessions in 44.7% of U.S. home sales in August. Redfin also found that roughly 15% of buyers got both a price cut and a seller concession at the same time.

What the rest of the numbers say

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median sale price in 85142 held at $660,000. That is unchanged from the same three months in 2025. Prices did not fall. They just stopped climbing.

Homes took a median of 69 days to sell, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is 3 days longer than a year ago. Not every home sold slowly. Some moved fast. But the middle of the market is taking longer.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 351 homes sold in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is down 7.6% from the same period in 2025. Fewer sales, but prices held. That is a mixed signal worth watching.

The national picture adds context

Redfin reported that August was the strongest buyer's market on record in the U.S., with more sellers than buyers. That national pressure is part of why local sellers are giving a little more ground on terms.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.1% year over year between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. Prices are still moving up, just more slowly.

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.03% as of September 24, 2026. Realtor.com reported 6.95% for the week ending September 19, 2026. Rates near 7% are still shaping what buyers can afford.

These numbers cover the three months ending July 31, 2026. Read them that way, not as today's snapshot.

One more thing: a single street can read very differently from the whole ZIP code. The numbers above cover all of 85142. Your block may be faster or slower, higher or lower.