The Chain Question
Sell first, or buy first.
The most common seller question that has nothing to do with price, and the answer is a timeline problem: around here, a correctly priced home takes roughly three months from listing to closed sale. Everything below is about what to do with those three months.
Sell first, when
- Your equity funds the next purchase. Selling first turns you into a cash-strong buyer with no contingency, which is the strongest position a buyer can hold in this market.
- Carrying two payments would strain you. The median home here takes 46 to 70 days to go under contract by market and quarter. Budget honestly for that window doubled, because the slow third of the market takes 90-plus.
- The fix for the move-twice fear is a leaseback. Close the sale, rent back for 30 to 60 days, shop with cash in hand. Well-priced homes get leasebacks granted routinely.
Buy first, when
- The next home is rarer than your money. In pockets where the right house appears twice a year, securing it can outrank sequence. Arizona supports contingent structures formally, UCB and CCBS are standard MLS statuses here, though a contingent offer must be paired with proof your sale is priced to move.
- You have the equity tools. Bridge loans, a HELOC opened before listing, or recasting after the sale are the standard instruments. Which one fits is a lender conversation; I can make the introduction.
- Your sale-side pricing is already evidence-based. A buy-first plan leans entirely on your home selling on schedule, and the schedule is set by the list price. See the next section.
The mistake that breaks the chain.
Overpricing the home you are selling while shopping for the one you are buying. Across 5,600 local closings, homes that priced right at the start went under contract in about a month at 96 to 98 percent of original ask. Homes that overpriced and cut took three-plus months and kept 85 to 90 percent. In a chain, that gap is not just money, it is the whole plan: the leaseback clock, the contingency deadline and the bridge interest all run on your sale’s timeline. The full numbers are on the pricing page and the timelines on the timeline page.
Map your specific chain.
One walkthrough produces the two numbers the decision actually needs: what your home would sell for priced from closed sales, and how fast your pocket is moving right now. Complimentary, with a written net sheet.
Anne Sostman · The Brokery · Arizona License SA718853000