What do you need to know before buying a home in Scottsdale?

Buying a home in Scottsdale starts before you see a house. You get pre-approved and sign a buyer agreement before you tour anything, and then you work out what your budget buys, because the same budget buys a very different home depending on which part of the city you're in. From there you narrow down to the part of Scottsdale that fits you, since the city runs about thirty-one miles from north to south, and then you're under contract, where your inspection period and your earnest money run on deadlines set in the contract.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Realty Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life.

You get pre-approved. Pre-qualification is based on what you tell a lender, and pre-approval is based on information the lender verifies, typically with documents like pay stubs and bank statements. Lenders use the two terms differently, so ask what your letter is based on.

You sign a buyer broker agreement. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, its MLS participants, which includes me, have a written agreement with a buyer before touring a home, in person or on a live virtual tour, and that has been the rule since August 17, 2024. NAR says the buyer and agent agree on how long it lasts, with examples like one day, one month or one house, so it doesn't have to be a long commitment. NAR also requires it to say that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable, and to state the amount or rate of what I'm paid, so you know the number before we start.

Here's what I walk every buyer through before they see a single house.

Pre-approval tells you what a lender will lend you, and what that number buys in Scottsdale is a separate question. Working out what your budget actually buys is the conversation that saves people months, and it's the one that gets skipped because it's uncomfortable.

In October 2026, the Cromford Report showed the median sale price for single-family homes in the City of Scottsdale, over the past 12 months, at $1,235,000. For your budget, the number that matters is the one for the part of the city you're looking at, and I can pull that for you.

Conventional, FHA, VA and jumbo loans each come with their own requirements, and a jumbo loan applies once the price goes above the county's conforming loan limit. Here are the stages of financing, start to finish, including what each loan type asks for and the habits that put a loan at risk once you're under contract.

Deciding you want Scottsdale narrows the search less than almost anyone expects. According to the City of Scottsdale, the city stretches thirty-one miles from north to south. The south end is a walkable grid of post-war homes on generous lots, the north end is Sonoran Desert with houses in it, and in between sits fifty years of master-planned communities.

A search filtered on price alone mixes all of that together, so the same budget can put you in places with almost nothing in common. Here's how I break down the four markets inside Scottsdale: south Scottsdale, Old Town, central, and north of Shea.

Arizona purchases typically close through a title and escrow company, and an attorney isn't required. Once you're under contract, your inspection period and your earnest money run on the dates written into your contract, and here is how I walk buyers through the inspection period and the earnest money deadlines.

Closing costs are more than the down payment. They include lender fees, title and escrow fees, and prepaids such as interest and homeowners insurance, plus a deposit into an escrow account for taxes and insurance. Here's what the buyer pays and what the seller pays in Arizona.

Shopping on price alone across the whole city. Because the city is thirty-one miles long, one price range pulls in homes from parts of Scottsdale that have little in common with each other, and choosing the part that fits you first gives you a shorter list to look at.

Touring before you're ready. That means before you have the buyer agreement NAR requires and a pre-approval that has been verified.

If you're relocating from out of state, you're learning the city while you buy, so getting oriented to the different parts of Scottsdale comes before narrowing down a search. Here's my checklist for buying in Arizona when you're moving from another state.

If you're selling your current home and buying your next one, the two transactions have to be lined up against each other, and whether to buy first or sell first depends on your numbers. If you're buying a second home, you won't be living in it full time, and lenders treat that differently from a primary residence.

Whichever of these is you, here's what working with me looks like, start to finish, and I'll tell you what changes for your situation.

In October 2026, the Cromford Report showed 1,422 single-family homes listed for sale in the City of Scottsdale, down from 1,482 a year earlier, with 319 homes closing each month. Its months of supply figure for the city was 3.9, which means it would take about 3.9 months to sell everything currently listed at that pace, if nothing new came on the market. Homes that closed sold in a median of 54 days from listing to close.

For the wider region, in September 2026 the Arizona MLS showed Greater Phoenix with 25,251 active listings and 5,672 closed sales, about 4.5 months of supply, according to the ARMLS STAT report.

Call me on (480) 203-6605 or get in touch, and I'll tell you what's active right now in the part of Scottsdale you're considering.