Maybe your family is expanding, and you’re looking for a place with more space.  Maybe your children have left the nest, and it’s time to downsize.  Maybe a new career opportunity means it’s time to move.  

Whatever the case could be… you have a house in Arizona, and it’s time to sell.  If you’ve never sold a house before, or even if you just haven’t sold one in the last decade, the process can be complex, so it’s important to know what you’re in for.  

How can you ensure you’re selling your Arizona home the right way?

We’ve worked with John Gluch of Gluch Group to create an all-in-one guide for selling your house in Arizona. John Gluch is a top-rated RealtorⓇ in Phoenix, Arizona, leading a boutique team of real estate agents who work with their clients to sell homes for top dollar. A real estate coach passionate about helping others grow, Gluch has keen insights into the current Arizona real estate market.

Step 1: Preparing your Arizona home for sale

Before you can sell your house, you need to make sure your house is something people would buy.  While the real estate market is hot and demand is high, high prices and higher mortgage rates mean fewer people can afford those homes, and houses often sit on the market for over a month before they close.  

As of June 2024, Gluch notes that it might not be the best time to sell. “It’s not a bad time, but it’s not an especially good time, as the interest rates are very high. Most people already have a good interest rate on their house, so why would you sell your house with a low interest rate and buy one with a high interest rate in a soft market? I would wait to sell — that’s my advice to people right now.”

This means you must make your home as appealing as possible to attract the right buyers.

Start with necessary repairs

As every homeowner knows, “I’ll get to it later” is the most surefire way to ensure that a repair will never get done.  Whether it’s a leaky faucet, a loose tile, or chipped paint, it should be handled before you list the home.  There are two reasons for this.  

The first is that all those repairs are things the buyer will need to do, which costs them time and money, so they won’t be as willing to pay the market price for your home.  

The second is that those more obvious issues can indicate that other, worse maintenance has been deferred and will need addressing.  After all, if the faucets leak, maybe there are water issues in the walls.

Clean, depersonalize, and boost curb appeal

First impressions start when a buyer looks at your photos, and your photos are only as good as the staging of your home.  From the outside in:

• Spruce up the landscaping and clear out weeds and debris.

• Refresh the stone with attractive pebbles.

• Clean and power wash driveways, sidewalks, and the exterior of your home.

• Clean the windows.

• Refresh hardware like the mailbox, house numbers, and door fixtures.

• Clean the walls, carpets, and other surfaces.

• Remove your personal items and declutter the home.

Think about how your home looks to potential Arizona buyers.  Anything that might hinder their ability to picture themselves in the space should be removed.

Lay the groundwork for a smooth sale

There are also a few things you can do “under the hood” to smooth out a potential sale.  Get a detailed inspection and make the inspection report available.  Gather relevant documents, like insurance statements, HOA documents, property tax records, and mortgage payoff statements, so you have them on hand.

Don’t forget the disclosure form.  Arizona law requires that the seller disclose material facts about the property, whether or not you’re asked for them.  Make sure you have this ready to go!

Picking how to sell your home

Another key decision is how you want to go about selling your home.  In general, there are four options:

• Working with a dedicated full-service real estate agent.  They do most of the work, but you pay their commission, which can be a significant expense.

• Working with a flat fee real estate broker.  These agents do some of the work like a real estate agent would, but other services may cost extra, and they only do so much for you.

• Selling directly to an iBuyer.  The iBuyer route is faster and more hassle-free, but it’s not always the best deal, and transaction fees can be as much as or more than agent fees.

• Selling FSBO.  You maintain more control and don’t have to pay a seller’s agent commission, but in exchange, you do way more work yourself.

Regarding FSBO, Gluch notes that real estate agents aren’t incentivized to show houses without a seller’s agent. But, due to new rules that mandate stricter agreements regarding agent commissions, “Potentially, in the fall, that might start to change. But even then, I think it'll be slow.”

There’s not necessarily a right answer here, but you can make the decision easier by using Redy to seek agents in a competitive bidding system to get one who will work for you most cost-effectively and under the most favorable terms.

Step 2: Pricing your home competitively for the Arizona markets

Arizona’s real estate market is hard to quantify.  Some areas are hot, while others see homes languish for 90+ days before selling or being removed from the lists.  You can price your home to sell and sell fast, or you can price it to get what it’s worth, but either way, you need to know what homes like yours are going for.

Start by creating a CMA, or Comparative Market Analysis.  A CMA begins by gathering relevant information about your property, including everything from square footage, age, and neighborhood to public records, tax information, and historical data.  Identify noteworthy or special features that could increase or decrease overall values.

Then, identify comparable properties throughout the region, ideally as close geographically as possible, which have sold in the last three to six months.  In hot markets, this is easy, but in areas with slower sales, there may not be as many data points to use.  Pulling the sales data for all of these will give you an idea of where to start, and how to use the noteworthy elements of your own home to adjust the price accordingly.

As of the end of 2023, the general Arizona market is slowing, but prices are rising.  Fewer homes sell, and the days of offers 10% over asking are gone, but the homes that do sell are selling for more than they have in years.  Keep that in mind when determining a price range.

Finally, seasonality matters, too.

Gluch notes, “In Arizona, the summer is still a pretty good time to list your house There's still pretty good activity. But,” later in the year, Gulch cautions, ”Arizona really starts to fall off a cliff, especially with luxury homes. I would say that anything luxury in Arizona is a waste of time to list in the summer — because people with a lot of money in Arizona do not live in Arizona in the summer.”

Step 3: Marketing your Arizona home listing effectively

Selling your home isn’t just a matter of putting a sign in your yard and waiting until someone comes along with a check.  You need to work with your real estate agent to create a compelling listing and promote that listing to potential interested buyers.

By far the most important part of a real estate listing is photography.  Good photos that showcase the curb appeal, the layout, the size and spacing of various rooms, their utility, and their condition are all core elements of your listing.  At a minimum, you should get professional photos taken.  Add-ons like virtual tours, video walkthroughs, or aerial photography can be beneficial as well for some kinds of properties.

Where you list your home is as important as how.  52% of home buyers find the home they buy online, according to the National Association of Realtors®, and another 28% find it through their real estate agent.  Other channels are lower, with personal connections at 8%, open houses at 4%, and print advertising under 1%.  You must ensure you put your listing in front of those buyers.

This is one way a good real estate agent helps.  Your agent can create a compelling listing and post it on all major sales sites and even private lists that other agents – like your buyer’s agent – can view.  

Step 4: Navigating legal and financial elements of Arizona home sales

Selling a home isn’t like selling a collectible.  As a seller, you are required by law to disclose important facts that can impact the value of the property, which can include things like:

• A five-year history of insurance claims.

• Military airport disclosure.

• Condo disclosure.

On the other hand, some information doesn’t need to be disclosed, such as whether or not a felony has been committed at the property in the past or if there are nearby sex offenders.  Fortunately, Arizona provides a detailed form you can fill out, the SPDS or Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement.

Financially, remember all of the costs that go into finalizing a sale.  There are closing costs, commissions for the buyer’s agent and your agent if you’re using one, transaction fees if you’re using a iBuyer or similar system, and lawyer fees for creating or reviewing contracts and other paperwork.

Step 5: Preparing for your move after selling your Arizona home

Ideally, before you close the deal and sell your house, you’ll have a new one lined up and have a place to live.  Planning and organizing a move can be hugely stressful when selling your home, so make sure you don’t forget important details along the way.

Before listing your home, you’ll probably want to move most of your possessions out, whether to a new place, a temporary residence, or even storage.  It dramatically helps with staging and ensures you have an easier time cleaning, repairing, and working on the home before selling it.

During the move, don’t forget to transfer bills and utilities, fill out a change of address with the post office, and ensure everyone who might need to contact you knows your new address.

Once you’ve closed on the house, do a final walk-through and make sure anything you don’t want to leave behind has been packed up and hauled away.  Only then can you hand over the keys on a successful sale.

So, are you Redy?

As of June 2024, Gluch notes, “As a seller, I would not rush out and sell right now; it’s a soft market. Unless your life dictates that you must (e.g., you need the cash or you're relocating to take care of family or land a new job).”

But he also points out, “The market has taken a slight turn for the better for sellers since December. Overall, demand and supply are much lower than in a normal market, which puts just a small amount of upward pricing pressure. The anticipated rate reductions of 2024 will likely bring buyers and sellers back into the market, and for now, I am predicting moderate price increases this year. The bright spot of this year will likely be increased inventory as more and more sellers enter the market after realizing that 3% interest rates are likely gone for a long time. Sellers can only hold on to homes for so long, just because their payments are cheap.”

Sometimes, you’ve got to sell your house now. And, realistically, maybe you don’t want to compete with all the other home sellers who could flood the market. Whatever the case, it’s time to contact Redy.

At Redy, you can list your property and have real estate agents competing to represent you. They might even offer a cash reward for working with them. Make your listing today.

Hal Wierzbicki is a professional freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience covering diverse topics, including real estate, marketing, health, and travel. His work has appeared on sites like Forbes, Entrepreneur, and more. When he's not writing, you can often find him hiking local trails and enjoying nature.