Heart of PHX, Vol. 8, Issue 39

Friday, September 25, 2026 | Volume 8, Issue 39

Herbs, Worms, and Where's My Robot?

Now that it's finally cooling off, I'm getting into medicinal herbs. I just signed up for a medicinal herb class at the Arizona Worm Farm next month (it's sold out, sorry!), and I'm excited to learn.

In other news, I got a new bookcase that I'm dreading putting together. Where is my Optimus robot to put it together?!

This Weekend in the Valley

• Salt River Arts Festival , Sat 9/26, 3 to 9 pm, RoadHouse Cinemas, Scottsdale. Independent cinema, photography, visual arts, and local creative talent.
• 13th Annual Garlic Festival , Sat 9/26 and Sun 9/27, 8 am to 6 pm, Queen Creek Olive Mill. 11,000 heads of garlic, cooking demos, live music, and wine tasting.
• Arizona Moon Festival , Sat 9/26, 5 to 11 pm, Saigon Center, Chandler. A Mid-Autumn harvest celebration with Asian street food, mooncakes, and lantern walks.
• Fall Arizona Restaurant Week , through Sun 9/27. Nearly 300 restaurants with special fixed-price menus.
• Spookie Stripes Safari , Phoenix Zoo, daily through Oct 31.

See all this week's Valley events

The Valley by the Numbers

Greater Phoenix, Phoenix REALTORS data (via AZ Big Media, Sept 23):

Realtor.com's August report shows the median listing price across the Phoenix metro at $475,000. That's down 4.8% from last year, and about 27.6% of listings have had a price reduction (AZ Big Media, Sept 23). The price sellers are asking is coming down, while the price homes actually sell for is holding about flat.

"Looking at the year-to-date numbers, homes are selling in the market. As an individual month, however, August showed its traditional summer softness. Sales tend to pick up as we head into fall."
Sammy Glassman, Board President, Phoenix REALTORS

What this means for you

Buyers: You have time and you have choices. Homes are taking about 78 days to sell, and sellers are negotiating. That gives you room to negotiate on price, repairs, and closing costs, especially on homes that have been on the market a while.

Sellers: Prices are holding steady, but buyers are pickier and slower to commit. Pending sales in August were down sharply from last year. Pricing right from the start and having the house truly ready matters more now than it did two years ago.

Small investors: With fewer buyers competing and more homes sitting longer, there's room to negotiate on the right property. Run your numbers at today's rates, not the rates you hope to get later.

Friday Mortgage Talk: Rates Cross 7%

Mortgage rates crossed 7% this week. Freddie Mac's weekly survey had the average 30-year fixed at 7.03% on September 24, up from 6.95% last week and 6.30% a year ago. That's the first time over 7% since January 2025. Mortgage News Daily's daily index jumped to 7.45% the same day, and the Daily Temp I get from Michael Chalker at SFMC Home Lending had the 30-year conventional at 7.142% on Thursday. Those are national averages, not anyone's quote.

Jaime Kinman, SVP of Mortgage Lending at Rate and one of the lenders I trust, says rates are back near their highest levels since May 2024. What's driving it: persistent inflation concerns, higher oil prices, heavy government debt issuance, and a Fed that keeps signaling "higher for longer." She's seeing a little improvement, but she views it "as a pause rather than a meaningful shift in direction."

Her take for buyers: "This is a market where strategy matters." Seller concessions, temporary buydowns, ARMs, bridge financing, and structuring the loan differently can make a meaningful difference. And in Phoenix, sellers gave concessions on about two out of three sales in August (Redfin), so there's room to ask.

On Michael's reports this week, VA (6.82%) and FHA (6.90%) were still running a little lower than conventional, and borrowers with credit scores over 740 were getting rates roughly two-tenths to a quarter of a point lower than borrowers under 680. If rates have you sitting on the sidelines, let's talk before you assume the numbers can't work.

Do you own a home? How does that factor into your wealth?

Did you know I offer a free monthly snapshot of your home's value? It's an algorithmic value, not an appraisal, but it's a great way to keep an eye on your home wealth: your equity, your loan, your value, and what the market is doing around you.

It can help you save money and build wealth faster. You'll see the power of making extra principal payments, or refinancing at the right time. It can also help you figure out when it makes sense to buy, sell, rent, or remodel. If you want a sharper number, I'm happy to tweak your value by updating a CMA (comparative market analysis) as often as you like.

Sign up and you'll get a really detailed analysis in your inbox every month, and it's free. Happy to help you know what you own.

Get my free home value snapshot

Back on the Hunt

After three days of counter offers and failed promises from an owner/agent, my buyer and I are back on the hunt. It's heartbreaking, but it means the right home for her is still out there.

One Little Guy Left

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control adopted out a record number of dogs last weekend! There's one pup left in his whole section of the building. Please go on social and let's see if we can get that little guy adopted too!

Adopt don't shop. Save a life and get a new best friend. Spay and neuter, we can't adopt our way out of this epidemic.

Maricopa County Pets on Facebook | See adoptable pets

Featured Listings

My partner Sheri Spirek and I have two homes I love this week, and I'll be holding them both open.

19628 W Exeter Blvd, Litchfield Park (Verrado): $475,000

3 beds, 2 baths, plus an office/den, 1,808 sq ft, built in 2020, 2-car garage. A chef's kitchen with a big island and quartz counters, plus a private pool and outdoor kitchen out back. Walk to Verrado's town center, parks, and trails with White Tank Mountain views. HOA $146/month. MLS #7073767. See the home

8607 W Earll Dr, Phoenix (Contempo Del Este): $495,000

4 beds, 2 baths, 1,738 sq ft, built in 1976, 2-car garage. A corner lot with horse privileges, a pool, NO HOA, and three RV gates. Wood floors, a wood-burning fireplace, and a granite kitchen. MLS #7080290. See the home

Listed by Sheri Spirek, HomeSmart. Want to see either one before the open house? Call or text me at 480.818.9391.

New Builds Around the Valley

Here's what's new this week in my Showing New feed, from lowest starting price:

• The Residences Collection at Frontera, Surprise, by Risewell Homes: from $408,990, 3 to 4 beds
• Los Cielos at Rancho Mercado, Surprise, by Taylor Morrison: from $417,990, 3 to 4 beds
• Stonehaven Discovery Collection, Glendale, by Taylor Morrison: from $441,990, 3 to 5 beds
• Allen Ranches Expedition Collection, Litchfield Park, by Taylor Morrison: from $501,990, 2 to 5 beds
• Ellsworth Ranch Voyage Collection, Queen Creek, by Taylor Morrison: from $666,990, 3 to 5 beds
• Orchard at Barney Farms, Queen Creek, by Fulton Homes: from $677,910, 3 beds (Hot Deal)
• Harmony at Montecito in Estrella, Goodyear, by William Ryan Homes: from $680,900, 3 to 6 beds (Hot Deal)
• Sonoma Coast at Escalante, Surprise, by Fulton Homes: from $728,750, 3 to 5 beds (Hot Deal)

Browse new builds

Don't forget to take me with you and let me register you before you visit a new build model home community or register on their site (feel free to browse mine though), so I can translate New Build contracts (8 zillion pages on an ipad isn't conducive to major research) represent you, have your back, get you the best perks and incentives and fight to make sure you get all agreed-upon items on time and on budget!

ADOT Weekend Freeway Travel Advisory, Sept. 25 to 28

1. Eastbound Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) closed between 75th and 51st avenues from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Sept. 28) for widening project. Eastbound Loop 101 on-ramps closed at Union Hills Drive and Bell Road. Detour: Consider using eastbound Union Hills Drive to 51st Avenue to connect with Loop 101.
2. Southbound Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) closed from Indian School Road to Interstate 10 from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Sept. 28) for interchange improvement project. Southbound Loop 101 ramps closed to east- and westbound I-10. Southbound Loop 101 on-ramps closed at Glendale Avenue, Cardinals Way and Camelback Road. Detour: Consider using 83rd, 91st or 99th avenues to continue south and connect with I-10 east and west of the closure.
3. Southbound State Route 51 closed between Indian School Road and I-10 from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Sept. 28) for pavement maintenance. SR 51 ramps to eastbound and westbound I-10 and ramp to eastbound Loop 202 closed. Detour: Consider using 16th or 24th streets to I-10 or Loop 202. Consider using 7th Street to connect with westbound I-10.
4. Westbound Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) closed between Arizona Avenue and Price Road from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Sept. 28) for widening project. Westbound Loop 202 ramps to northbound Loop 101 closed. Westbound Loop 202 on-ramps closed at Gilbert, Cooper and McQueen roads. Detour: Consider using Pecos or Germann roads to travel beyond the closure.
5. Southbound Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) closed between Shea Boulevard and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) from 9 p.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 26) for pavement maintenance. Detour: Consider using westbound Shea Boulevard to Scottsdale or Hayden roads.
6. Northbound Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) closed between Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) and Shea Blvd from 9 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 26) to 2 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 27) for pavement maintenance. Detour: Consider using Scottsdale Road or McClintock Drive/Hayden Road.
7. Eastbound Loop 303 closed between 43rd Avenue and I-17 from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Sept. 28) for bridge construction. Detour: Consider using northbound 43rd Avenue to eastbound Dove Valley Road to connect with I-17.
8. SR 347 narrowed to one lane in both directions between Casa Blanca and Riggs Roads from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday (Sept. 28) north of the City of Maricopa for paving.

Real-time highway conditions: AZ511.gov, the az511 app, or call 511.

See ADOT's full advisory

This Week's Real Estate Headlines

Arizona

• Arizona is the 4th least affordable state for new mortgage payments in the Mortgage Bankers Association's August index. (HousingWire, Sept 24)
• A new Arizona law requires HOA and condo boards to use their powers "neutrally, fairly, without favoritism and in a nonarbitrary fashion." It took effect Sept 12. (Mulcahy Law Firm, Sept 18)
• Arizona construction added 2,200 jobs in August, for 230,300 total. (AZBEX, Sept 22)

Around the Valley

• Phoenix laid out its plan for Colorado River cuts. A Stage 2 shortage could add surcharges to water bills. (Axios Phoenix, Sept 21)
• Scottsdale is weighing a rule for large water users and a wastewater trade. (azfamily, Sept 22)
• Gilbert approved 171 townhomes in Power Ranch. (Rose Law Group Reporter, Sept 21)
• Buckeye's Monte Verde could grow from 433 to 862 homes, with a council vote in October. (AZBEX, Sept 18)
• Realtor.com says November 1 to 7 is the best week to buy a home in Phoenix. (AZ Big Media, Sept 23)
• Mesa approved the $3 billion Legacy Park near Mesa Gateway Airport, projected to bring more than 13,500 jobs. (AZ Big Media, Sept 24)
• Sellers gave concessions in 67.4% of Phoenix sales in August, one of the highest shares in the country. (Redfin, Sept 18)

National

• The 30-year rate topped 7% for the first time since January 2025. (Freddie Mac, Sept 24)
• New home sales jumped 6.4% in August as builders cut prices. (Real Estate News, Sept 24)
• Nearly 12% of June purchase contracts failed to close within 60 days. (Real Estate News, Sept 24)
• Coming-soon listings sold for more than private or standard listings. (Real Estate News, Sept 23)

Let's Talk

If something in here raised a question about your own home, I want to hear from you. I'd rather answer your question now than have you wonder about it for six months.

Call or text me: 480.818.9391
Talk to Ruby, my virtual assistant and office manager: 623-255-4485
Email: Hello@DeDeForwood.com
Visit: dedeforwood.com and heartofphx.com
Find me on social: X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest

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See you next Friday,
DeDe