Known for its rapidly rising home values, Arizona has a hot housing market poised for growth in 2025. Whether you flip or buy and hold properties, the Grand Canyon state has much to offer—especially if you partner with a private lender like ABL.
In this article, we rank the top five Arizona housing markets to help you maximize your returns.
What to Look for When Investing in Arizona Housing Market
Before diving into the top five Arizona cities for real estate investors, here’s a quick breakdown of the metrics we used to rate and compare markets:
Home price appreciation
Home price appreciation measures the rate at which home values grow over time. The faster they rise, the more potential profit for investors.
Population growth
Population growth measures how quickly the number of residents in a city increases. The faster the population grows, the larger the pool of potential rental tenants and homebuyers.
Employment growth
Employment growth measures how many jobs are added to a city’s labor market each year. As jobs increase so does housing demand.
Days on market
Days on the market measures how many days a property is listed for sale before it sells. In December 2024, the median days on market nationwide was 70.
Rental yield
Rental yield compares a property’s rental income as a percentage of its value (annual rent / property value = rental yield). The higher the rental yield, the more profitable the property.
Your Local ABL Expert
Finally, each of the markets selected has a dedicated ABL real estate team that can help bring your next project to life with the funding you need.
Now let’s dive in.
Here are the Top 5 Arizona Cities for Real Estate Investors in 2025:
1. Yuma
Located in the southwestern corner of Arizona near the Mexico border, Yuma has a metro population of 213,221, 4,347 of which were added between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, 1,600 jobs were added between October 2023 to October 2024.
While home appreciation has been slow recently, Yuma ranks first among AZ metros for the highest median rental yield (6.23%) and median days on market (43), making it a great place to flip properties fast or invest in rentals.
| Annual home appreciation rate | 0.56% |
| Annual population growth | 4,347 |
| Annual job growth | 1,600 |
| Median days on market | 43 |
| Median rental yield | 6.23% |
2. Phoenix
Phoenix is the most populous city in Arizona with over 5 million residents, 49,240 of which were added between 2022 and 2023. As a result, it’s often a top housing market for AZ investors.
That said, Phoenix is currently undergoing a market correction with home values dropping slightly since last year. Still, the metro boasts a relatively low median days on market (54) and an attractive rental yield (4.58%), so there’s still plenty of money to be made.
| Annual home appreciation rate | -1.43% |
| Annual population growth | 49,240 |
| Annual job growth | 45,100 |
| Median days on market | 54 |
| Median rental yield | 4.58% |
3. Tucson
Tucson is the second-most populous city in Arizona with over a million residents, 5,686 of which were added between 2022 and 2023. It also has a strong employment market, with 3,800 jobs added since last year.
Despite home values falling slightly, Tucson real estate investors can look forward to a relatively low median days on market (56) and a high median rental yield (5.35%).
| Annual home appreciation rate | -2.48% |
| Annual population growth | 5,686 |
| Annual job growth | 3,800 |
| Median days on market | 56 |
| Median rental yield | 5.35% |
4. Prescott
Prescott is a city in central Arizona with a metro population of nearly a quarter million, 2,851 of which were added between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, 1,400 jobs were added over the last year.
While Prescott’s median days on market (74) is longer than the national median (62) and its median rental yield is moderate at 2.96%, the metro has the highest home appreciation rate of any AZ metro (4.62%). This means Prescott house flippers can expect significant potential profits compared to other AZ markets, most of which are undergoing market corrections.
| Annual home appreciation rate | 4.62% |
| Annual population growth | 2,851 |
| Annual job growth | 1,400 |
| Median days on market | 74 |
| Median rental yield | 2.96% |
5. Sierra Vista
Sierra Vista has the smallest metro population on our list (124,640) with a slight reduction in residents between 2022 and 2023. However, the city added 300 jobs over the last year and has the second-highest median rental yield across AZ metros (5.57%).
As a result, now may be an opportune time to buy Sierra Vista property at a discount (i.e. buy the dip) and turn them into long-term rentals with DSCR loans before home values increase.
| Annual home appreciation rate | -0.61% |
| Annual population growth | -847 |
| Annual job growth | 300 |
| Median days on market | 64 |
| Median rental yield | 5.57% |
Fund Your Next Arizona Investment Property With ABL
No matter which Arizona market you’re interested in, ABL can fund your next property deal. Our asset-based loan programs are designed to help your investment succeed from start to finish—whether it’s a rental, Fix & Flip, or new construction project.
Get pre-approved within the next 24 hours with no obligation or impact on your credit!
Methodology
To determine the best Arizona cities for real estate investors, we ranked the largest AZ metros for which there was data across annual home appreciation rate, annual population growth, annual job growth, median days on market, and median rental yield. Each category was weighted equally to arrive at a composite score for each metro. We used the following sources:
- Annual home appreciation rate: Median listing price year-over-year change as of November 2024 from Realtor.com® Economic Research
- Annual population growth: Annual population change from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, from the U.S. Census Bureau
- Annual job growth: Change in the number of employees on nonfarm payrolls from October 2023 to October 2024 (not seasonally adjusted) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Median days on market: Median days on market in November 2024 from Realtor.com® Economic Research
- Median rental yield: Annual median gross rent 2019-2023 divided by the median value of owner-occupied housing units 2019-2023 from the U.S. Census Bureau