North Scottsdale housing market: what the numbers say right now

"North Scottsdale" isn't one housing market. It's two zip codes, 85255 and 85262, and they aren't moving at the same speed.

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. ZIP 85255 covers DC Ranch, McDowell Mountain Ranch and Grayhawk, built up against the McDowell Mountains where north Scottsdale runs out and the desert starts. ZIP 85262 covers Desert Mountain and Estancia, farther north. The Cromford Report tracks these two zip codes separately, and so do I.

In October 2026, 85255 had 246 single-family homes active and sat at 3.3 months of supply, which means it would take a little over three months to sell everything currently listed there at the pace homes are selling now. In October 2026, 85262 had 251 active and sat at 7 months of supply, so it would take about seven months to do the same thing there.

ZIP 85255 covers three communities, and each one is different. DC Ranch is four villages, Country Club, Desert Camp, Desert Parks and Silverleaf, built from the mid 1990s on land that was a working cattle ranch. McDowell Mountain Ranch sits against the McDowells on about 3,200 acres, with lots that run from around eight thousand square feet to over an acre, and Grayhawk sits north of the 101 between Scottsdale Road and Pima, with nearly 3,800 homes split between The Park, which has no guard gate, and The Retreat, which does.

In October 2026, Cromford had 246 single-family homes active across those three communities, down from 298 a year earlier. 63 were already under contract, and 955 sales closed over the trailing year, and Cromford put the pace at about 65 sales a month.

In October 2026, homes that sold took a median of 40 days from listing to close of escrow, and a new listing took 25 days to go under contract. Sellers closed at 94.67% of list price on average, and of the listings Cromford tracked in 85255, 78.3% sold rather than expiring or getting pulled off the market.

ZIP 85262 is Desert Mountain and Estancia, both farther north than 85255. Estancia is a gated community off Dynamite Boulevard, about 640 acres with 264 estate homes, 225 custom home lots plus 39 homes in La Scala, and a golf course, according to the Estancia Community Association.

In October 2026, Cromford had 251 single-family homes active in 85262, almost flat against 250 a year earlier. 48 were under contract, and 502 sales closed over the trailing year, at a pace of about 33 a month.

In October 2026, homes that sold took a median of 103 days from listing to close of escrow, and a new listing took 50 days to go under contract, both longer than 85255. Sellers still closed at 95.82% of list price, slightly ahead of 85255, and 67.3% of the listings Cromford tracked in 85262 sold rather than expiring or getting pulled off the market.

In October 2026, the median sale price per square foot over the trailing year was $529.05 in 85255 and $466.85 in 85262. Those are closed sales, so they show what buyers actually paid.

Over the year leading into October 2026, Cromford had the median price per square foot up 5.6% in 85255 and up 2.6% in 85262. The median sale price itself was up 7.8% in 85255 and 3.7% in 85262 over that same year, and both zip codes are appreciating, with 85255 appreciating faster.

The easiest mistake is treating 85255 and 85262 as one market. North Scottsdale isn't a figure Cromford reports, and a single number for all of it would average two zip codes that are not moving at the same pace. If you want the real number for a specific area, say 85255 or 85262.

The second mistake is reaching for the citywide figure instead of the zip code figure. In October 2026, the City of Scottsdale as a whole had 1,355 single-family homes active and sat at 3.7 months of supply. That's a separate measurement, and it covers everything from Old Town to the far north in one number, so it can't tell you what's happening in either zip code specifically. Scottsdale, area by area breaks the rest of the city down the same way.

The third is using an old number. Every figure in this article lags behind the real market by a few weeks, and a months-of-supply figure from the spring describes a market that's already moved. Check the date before you repeat a number.

In October 2026, a new listing in 85255 went under contract in a median of 25 days, and sellers closed at 94.67% of list price. That's fast, and it means a home priced right doesn't sit around waiting for you to decide. In October 2026, the median in 85262 was 50 days to contract and a 95.82% sale-to-list ratio, so you get more time to look, though the extra months on the market don't buy you much more room on price.

Here's how buying works in Arizona, start to close, including what you sign before you tour a house and when your earnest money is genuinely at risk.

In October 2026, homes that sold in 85255 took a median of 40 days to close, and 78.3% of listings sold rather than expiring. In October 2026, homes in 85262 took a median of 103 days to close, and 67.3% of listings sold. In 85262, pricing still matters just as much. If the price is wrong, it just takes longer for that to become obvious.

How I arrive at a list price is the same conversation whichever zip code you're in. I use real comparable sales, not an automated estimate. If you want the number for your own home, that starts here, and it costs you nothing.

Whichever zip code you're watching, get in touch and tell me which one, and I'll walk you through what these numbers mean for your specific home.