By Mike Bodeen · 9 February 2026
Northeast Valley with Highest Prices
Happy Post Super Bowl day! If your team won, congrats, and if not, well, you get to join many of us Cardinal fans who lost hope last year, and really didn’t give a rip what the outcome was – unless perhaps we put a wager down.
Every once in a while, it’s good to take a look at our Phoenix Metro Market in a way that let’s us see how our individual community fares with respect to others affordability wise. The Cromford Market Ranking Table lets us do just that. (see below) The table ranks from the high end of the market to the low, based on the annual price per square foot (PSF).
What (once again) noticeably stands out to me is that the high end of the Phoenix Metro market is that thegeographically Northeast Valley is dominant in terms of appreciation and PSF. The top 6 Valley communities (PSF) are:
Paradise Valley
Scottsdale
Carefree
Rio Verde
Fountain Hills
Cave Creek
Every one of these NE Valley communities saw an increase in value, whereas only 7 in the remaining 35 saw appreciation. Rio Verde had the highest appreciation.
You might ask, what and where is Rio Verde? It’s a good question. Most of us in the biz see it as a northeastern extension of Scottsdale. Large 1 acre plus lots, amazing views, level to rolling terrain, top golf courses. So what’s the downside? You have to commute out of there to start your commute into the valley. It’s not convenient shopping, not many neighbors (I guess that’s also a plus, eh?) Why did prices go up? Simple, their water service problem was solved.
Also, you’ll note the next highest PSF of the six were Carefree and Cave Creek. As I considered these two most northern communities and the reason why they increased was perhaps in large part to four letters: TSMC. Though I could devote a series of Snap Shots to this world leading chip manufacturing company and its future effect on the north valley, that is not for this day. Let’s just say these communities are not a bad commute west to the plant.
Also, The Cromford Report provided some further market data regarding dollar market share per price range from 3 years ago till now. It’s interesting. Here’s the chart:
**Greater Phoenix Residential Market Share (in Dollars)**
| **Price Range** | **Market Share Jan 2023** | **Market Share Jan 2026** | **Change in Market Share** |
| — | — | — | — |
| Up to $500K | 39.8% | 29.1% | 27% Contraction |
| $500K – $1M | 35.2% | 31.8% | 10% Contraction |
| Over $1M | 25.0% | 39.1% | 56% Growth |
From this data we learn that the lower end of the market (under $500k) experienced the largest loss (contraction) of dollar volume – by 27%. The mid-range was also down – by 10%. The high end (over $1mil) in contrast had a 39% increase!
The obvious takeaway to me, is that the price ranges that are more dependent on obtaining new mortgages suffered the most, whereas the high range with greater cash to spend increased the most.
This’s why it’s important not to rely too much on “average price ranges” whereas the “median price ranges” in many cases are more accurate.
Looking at the *Ranking Table* we see that the city of Glendale is our median-priced community with a PSF of $250 (rounded). It did not drop or rise in PSF this past year. The lower priced communities, with the exception of Sun City, were located well outside Phoenix.
How did your community do?
Mike Bodeen
Market data referenced in this article comes from The Cromford Report.