Tempe 85281

Maricopa County, AZ · 9,755 properties · updated 7/5/2026

Should you buy here?buyer-timing lens

32affordability /100

Buyer leverage is seller slight; weigh payment burden and the 3-lens valuation before bidding.

Payment burden
41.2%
severe
Days on market
61
daily
Price cuts
32.7%
of active
Valuation
+10.3%
vs assessor
Look up an address
38
/100
Weak
cooling · seller slight · prices easing year-over-year.
Price trend
35
Affordability
25
Valuation
70
Economic health
32

Verdict grades housing conditions; buyer-timing, investor cash-flow, supply-tightness and county macro scores answer different questions — each in its own section.

Buyer / sellerbuyer-timing lens

49/ 100SellerBalancedBuyer
Balanced Market
Needs 27.2% correction for affordability
DOM: 79d (rising) · Market Dynamics rolling median · hourly
Score Components
Payment Burden (25%)90
Valuation Gap (25%)10
Supply & Demand (20%)20
Buy vs Rent (15%)75
Cancellation Rate (10%)50
Days on Market (5%)75

Balanced market in 85281. List price is roughly fair — focus on condition and value. Payment burden: 41.3% of median income. A 15% price correction needed to reach 30% affordability threshold. Median days on market: 79. Renting is approximately 68% cheaper than buying (price-to-rent ratio: 20.1).

Balanced market conditions. Prices roughly aligned with fundamentals — similar to stable periods in 2014-2015.
COOLINGSELLER SLIGHT

Market is cooling with expanding inventory. Sellers hold a slight edge. Prices down 2.5% YoY.

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Market snapshoteach number, once

Median price
$401,756
▾ 2.5% YoY
Days on market
61
daily · zip_data
Median rent
$1,667
ZORI
Investor score
45/100
cash-flow lens
Active listings
124
90-day

Valuation3 lenses, different anchors

vs assessor
+10.3%
Market vs assessed value — a tax-roll lag, not a deal signal.
Avg assessor$443,100
county CAMA · properties_v
vs income
—
Fair-value model not available for this market.
fair_value_scores · 10-state coverage
vs county comps
+71.3%
County-wide market — the widest, slowest signal.
Maricopa+71.3%
Lotvox comps · mv_valuation_gap
Read together: Above county comps but sustainable on local incomes.
Pricing detail
Price / sqft$335
Price-to-income6.8×

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How 85281 ranks in AZ
percentile vs all Arizona ZIPs · n=398
Market velocity53%
Supply tightness72%
Affordability20%
Investment yield60%
Appreciation12%

Affordability, supply & momentum

62SUPPLY
Tight MarketSupply Tightness

Supply is below normal — sellers are favored but buyers still have options.

Months of Supply2.6 mo
Days on Market61d
Inv vs History+31.4%
Listing Density4.5/1k
Affordability — payment burden
Monthly payment (P&I)$2,029
Payment burden41.2%
Median income · ZIP$59,084
Mortgage rate6.49% · 30yr
Total monthly own$2,431
Monthly rent$1,667
Market dynamics
Price cut %32.7%
Momentumcooling
LeverageSELLER SLIGHT
Months of supply2.6
Sales (90d)0
Investment analysis
Median rent$1,667
Price-to-rent20.1
Est. cap rate3.2%
Buy vs rentfavors renting

Livability

Walk score22
Transit score11
Bike score—
Places & amenities in ZIP 85281 · 213 mapped
Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
Parks & open space51
Singh MeadowsTempe Beach ParkClark ParkMoeur ParkCamden Tempe Dog ParkRagsdale-MLK Park+45 more
Trails29
Tempe Town Lake North PathRural Road RampTempe GreenbeltRural Road Access TTL North PathCrosscut Canal PathSouth Hayden Mall+23 more
Recreation & aquatics32
Anytime FitnessMemorial UnionCorePower YogaPhoenix Rock GymF45 TrainingSun Devil Fitness Complex+26 more
Venues & culture38
Arizona Heritage CenterArizona State University Art MuseumHayden LibraryAMC Centerpoint 11Ross-Blakley HallGrady Gammage Memorial Auditorium+32 more
Dining & cafés39
Yi Fang TeaStarbucksCornish Pasty Co.IHOPBuffalo Wild WingsRoyal Coffee Bar+33 more
Land & water9
SRP Tempe Town Lake MarinaHayden ButteIndian Bend WashCrosscut CanalSalt RiverIndian Bend Canal+3 more
Getting around14
Dorsey/Apache BlvdMcClintock/Apache BlvdCenter Pkwy/WashingtonSmith-Martin/Apache BlvdPrice-101 Fwy/Apache BlvdVeterans Way/College Ave+8 more
Weekend range10
Usdi Bureau Of Reclamation, Central Arizona Project, Orme Dam Water Reserve Withdrawal · national conservation area20 mi
Sierra Estrella Wilderness Area · wilderness area23 mi
Superstition Wilderness Water Sources, Plo 5368 Watershed Withdrawal · national conservation area33 mi
Four Peaks Wilderness · wilderness area38 mi
Gila River Waterfowl Management Area · national conservation area41 mi
North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness Area · wilderness area41 mi
McFarland State Historic Park · state park42 mi
South Maricopa Mountains Wilderness Area · wilderness area44 mi
Hells Canyon Wilderness Area · wilderness area44 mi
Mazatzal Wilderness · wilderness area48 mi

Straight-line distance from the ZIP centroid (USGS PAD-US).

1,167 ft above sea level elevation · USGS 3DEP13 protected / open-space parcels · USGS PAD-USTempe: incorporated/founded 1879; named after Vale of Tempe · Wikidata

Place data: NPS National Register of Historic Places · USGS 3D Elevation Program · USGS Protected Areas Database (PAD-US) · Wikidata · © OpenStreetMap contributors — licensed ODbL (OpenStreetMap), CC0 (Wikidata) and US public domain (USGS, NPS, Census). Every place shown comes from the named sources; nothing is editorialized.

Historical trends

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Maricopa County contextmacro · jobs · debt · migration

ZIP score grades housing; county score adds macro distress (jobs, debt, poverty). They answer different questions.

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