Feb 10, 2026
Low rates lock Valley homeowners in place
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Homeowners in the Valley and nationwide are staying in their houses for the longest time in at least 25 years, largely thanks to their low mortgage rates, data shows.
Why it matters: That — along with still-high home prices and tight inventory — is keeping the housing market on ice.
The big picture: Metro Phoenix sellers at the end of 2025 had owned their homes for an average of 8.7 years, just above the national average of 8.6 years.
- Those are the lengthiest average home-owning tenures since at least 2000, when the average was 4.3 years locally and 4.2 years nationwide.
What we're watching: Some golden handcuffs are starting to come loose.
- For the first time since 2020, the share of U.S. homeowners with mortgage rates of 6% or higher exceeds those with rates below 3%, a new Realtor.com analysis finds.