Where to Find the Best Home Deals in Arizona

By Dave Zajdzinski

Dave Zajdzinski and the team bring 40 + years of real estate experience to home buyers and sellers throughout Arizona.

What zip codes in Arizona can you still get a good deal in right now? I get that question a lot.

And the Arizona market fluctuates tremendously from zip code to zip code. A lot of that just comes down to supply and demand and overall buyer activity. Some areas have a strong demand. Other areas simply have too many sellers competing for too few buyers.

So instead of guessing, I like to break it down by the numbers and look at where buyers actually have an advantage.

How I measure market strength using the contract ratio. We can look at a ton of different data points. List price to sale price ratio. Days on market. All of that matters.

But my favorite metric is the contract ratio.

The contract ratio tells us how strong the market is for buyers or for sellers, and it’s just a mathematical formula. We take the number of pending homes, multiply it by 100, and divide it by the number of active listings.

That gives us really good data to understand whether a zip code is tilted toward buyers or sellers.

Anything below 35 tilts toward the buyers. When that number drops under 35, it means we just have too many sellers trying to attract too few buyers. That’s when buyers start gaining leverage.

Why Maricopa is one of the best buyer-friendly zip codes. One zip code where we’re seeing it really out of whack right now is Maricopa.

The contract ratio there is 24. And anything below 35 tilts toward buyers. So in Maricopa, we simply have too many listings and not enough buyers.

There’s just not enough buyer activity for how many homes are on the market. And when that happens, that creates opportunity. That’s a zip code where you can get a huge advantage as a buyer.

Other zip codes where buyers have the advantage. Maricopa isn’t the only one. Coolidge is sitting at a 29 contract ratio. Still below 35, still tilting toward buyers.

And surprisingly, 85253 up in Paradise Valley is at a 19. We’ve got 223 active homes in that zip code and only 43 under contract. That’s a big gap between supply and demand, which creates a really advantageous situation if you’re a buyer.

Same thing in 85018. The contract ratio there is 26. Again, below 35. Again, leaning toward buyers. This is why I always say the Arizona market isn’t one-size-fits-all. It changes dramatically depending on the zip code.

If you want to know which zip codes are the best deal right now, let’s talk and set a time to meet. We can look at the specific zip code or area you’re considering and determine whether it’s really good for buyers or for sellers. And remember, it’s always moving. It can even change depending on the price point within the same area.

I can show you what the data tells us so you know exactly how to go about writing those offers and where you can still get a good deal.

And if you’re between a couple of different zip codes, the numbers might even shift you from one to the other.

Reach out to (480) 332-6468 or email dave@zteamaz.com, and we’ll build a customized game plan based on real data, not guesswork.