As December 2025 ushers in the holiday season, the Southwest Valley Horse Property Market—covering Laveen, Avondale, Tolleson, Buckeye, Tonopah, Litchfield Park, and Goodyear (zip codes 85339, 85043, 85353, 85329, 85338, 85326, 85343, 85322, 85354, 85035, 85031, 85033, 85037, 85392, 85395)—continues to attract equestrian enthusiasts with its expansive acreage, flood irrigation, and desert trail access.
In this December 2025 report, we’ll analyze Arizona MLS data, compare trends to October and November, and explore a stable market. Whether you’re searching for horse properties for sale in Buckeye AZ or Laveen, let’s dive in.
***** In order to be considered a horse property, the horse property listing must have at least one horse feature: Arena, Auto Waterer, barn, corral, stall, tack-room,hotwalker etc…
Inside the Arena
These are the stats for the Horse Property Market in the Southwest Valley currently for both active and closed Horse Properties.
Active Horse Properties: 55 https://www.flexmls.com/share/D8vdo/Selected
Median Square Foot: 2,052
Median Original Price: $599,990
Median Current list Price $599,990
Median Active PPSF: $304.00
11 Horse Properties Include Arenas https://www.flexmls.com/share/D8ve3/Selected
13 Horse Properties Closed last 60 days https://www.flexmls.com/share/D8veN/Selected
Median Sold Square Foot: 2,016
Median Sold Price: $445,000
Median Sold PPSF $243.00
Median Days on Market 75
Of the 55 horse property listings for sale, the 11 that have arenas are scattered all over the Southwest Valley market. You have plenty of options for arenas. Homes are ranging from $399,000.00 to as high as $1,465,000.00
Comparison to October and November 2025
Per the artifact recommendations, comparing to past months deepens content:
-
October 2025: 34 active listings, median list price $592,495, PPSF $308, with 10 arena properties. 5 closings at $445,000 median sold price, $266 PPSF, 68 days on market.
-
November 2025: $592,495, PPSF ~$308, with ~10 arena properties. ~5-13 closings at ~$445,000 median sold price, $266 PPSF, ~68 days on market.
-
December 2025 Trends: The jump to 55 listings and stable price ($599,990) signal increased inventory. 11 arena properties (up from 10) and 13 closings (up from 5) reflect growing demand, with longer days on market (75 vs. 68) indicating buyer selectivity.
Outside the Arena: Local non-horse Market Overview (Buckeye vs. Goodyear)
The Southwest Valley’s real estate market in October 2025 shows contrasting dynamics between Buckeye and Goodyear—Buckeye with more inventory and steady sales, Goodyear with tighter supply and quicker transactions. Both areas offer equestrian-friendly properties, but their trends cater to different buyer preferences.
Market Overview and Inventory
Buckeye has a 4.72-month supply of inventory, up 2% month-over-month and 22% year-over-year, signaling a balanced but expanding market. Goodyear, with a 3.94-month supply, is slightly seller-favoring, up 5% month-over-month.
Pricing and Listings
Buckeye’s new listings (366) median $420,955, active (1,065) at $425,000, and pending (236) at $399,995 (64 days to contract). Goodyear’s new pending listings median $469,990 (50 days to contract), with median sold price $465,000 (down 5%). Buckeye offers affordability for entry-level buyers, while Goodyear provides premium value.
Sales Performance
Buckeye’s median sold price is $399,997 (stable), selling at 98.83% of list in 64 days. Goodyear’s median sold is $465,000 (down 5%), at a similar ratio, but quicker 45 days (down 24%). Goodyear’s faster pace favors sellers, contrasting Buckeye’s negotiation room.
Community Appeal
Buckeye boasts Skyline Regional Park for trails; Goodyear offers Estrella Mountain Regional Park for recreation.
Buyer Insights
Buckeye suits buyers wanting variety and affordability; Goodyear offers speed and luxury for move-up buyers. Horse properties in both benefit from trails, but Buckeye has more no-HOA options.
Beyond the Paddock: National Real Estate News
This is an interesting article from the The Cromford Report.
Dec 1 – Today we will tackle another of Melody Wright’s false claims – that FHA loans are “the new sub-prime” with high levels of delinquency. In any alarmist claim like this, there is always an element of truth buried in the argument, to give it some plausibility. Here are true negative facts about FHA loans:
-
FHA loans have always had a much higher delinquency rate than conventional, jumbo or other loans (except sub prime). This is because they are specifically designed for higher-risk borrowers with lower credit scores and higher debt-to-income ratios. This is deliberate government policy to help first time buyers into the housing market.
-
While FHA loans are designed for owner-occupants, there are well-known loopholes allowing some investors to take advantage of them too.
-
FHA loans have risen in popularity in recent years. From our charts in the Cromford® Public section, we can see that FHA loans have risen from 7 to 8% of all transactions in Greater Phoenix in 2021 to around 16 to 20% today. When FHA loans are a higher percentage of the market, this means there is more risk during financial stress.
However there are other facts which mean the risk to disruption in the market from FHA loans bears no comparison to the appalling mess caused by sub-prime loans between 2004 and 2010. It is an extreme exaggeration to suggest there is a valid comparison here. At the peak of the housing bubble, over 30% of all sub-prime mortgages were delinquent by 30 days or more. But 30-day delinquency rates are a very poor indicator of financial stress because the majority of borrowers who are 30-days late get current before the situation deteriorates further. The best indicator of true loan stress is the 90-day delinquency rate. We can see that sub-prime delinquency was far higher than FHA delinquency from 2005 through 2015. The sub-prime market became very small after 2010 due to new legislation (the Dodd-Frank Act) and much stricter underwriting controls. Volume was very limited during the last decade. However it is now growing again. Out of 3.22 million first mortgages originated in 2025 (through August), 208,400 were sub-prime (with credit scores below 620). That is 6.5% of all new mortgages, the highest share since 2014. These sub-prime loans represent $54.6 billion in outstanding balances, up 20.8% year‑over‑year. As you can see from the chart above, delinquency for both FHA and sub-prime loans is currently well under 5%. This is not consistent with the theory that delinquency is a big problem in 2025. It is true that FHA delinquency is now higher than sub-prime, but both have delinquency rates lower than at any point since 2005. This is one reason why foreclosure rates remain so low and are likely to rise only slowly. There is an element of investor involvement in FHA loans, which is not the primary intent of the FHA program, but it would appear to be quite small as a percentage of the market, especially in Arizona. Not that Arizona is unattractive to investors (it clearly is). But one of the favorite ways for investors to benefit from FHA loans is buying a 2, 3 or 4-way home, living in one of the units and renting out the others. This is known as house-hacking and there is nothing in FHA rules to disallow it, as long as the investor does indeed occupy one of the units. The problem for investors wanting to do this in Arizona is that we have very few 2, 3 or 4-way properties anyway, so even if house-hacking were frequently happening it would be totally insignificant as a percentage of the whole market. There are plenty of theoretical ways for investors to commit fraud with FHA loans, such as:
-
claiming that they will live in the property to benefit from the advantageous terms, but then renting the home out instead
-
investor colludes with appraiser to falsely inflate property value
-
investors recruit individuals with good credit to be straw-buyers when it is the investor who actually controls and owns the property
-
falsification of loan application documents
But there is little evidence that any of these practices are widespread in Arizona. Because Arizona law requires both deeds and deeds of trust to be available to the public from their county recorder, many of these frauds are harder to hide than they would be in a state where these documents are unavailable or hard to inspect. The Affidavit of Value is also an important piece of evidence here, in that the buyer’s intent is clearly stated under penalty of perjury. While FHA market share stands at 16 to 20% these days, this is not unusual. In 2015 and 2016, FHA loans represented 20 to 25% of the market. So Melody’s implication that FHA share is abnormally high is plain wrong. It is just that the market share went down to an unusually low rate during the COVID housing boom and has bounced back since. There are plenty of real red flags we can watch for in this data. Be especially careful if 90-day delinquency rates climb above 7%. But these red flags are not waving right now. Don’t be fooled by people who want to court fame by making alarming predictions. We may be relatively boring, but the Cromford® Report has been proven correct every year for almost 20 years now.
Disclosure:
- System Links automatically expire after 30 days
- The definition of “Median is often considered a more accurate reflection of the typical property because it better represents the center value in a dataset by excluding the high and low values of the outliers.
- Not all listings are with West USA Realty brokerage.
- Full supporter of the Fair Housing Act.
- This blog includes . Southwest Valley Horse Property Market (e.g., Laveen, Avondale, Tolleson, Buckeye, Tonopah)85339, 85043, 85353, 85329, 85338, 85326, 85343, 85322, 85354
Author Ron Bykerk
Ron Bykerk is a seasoned entrepreneur and Arizona horse property specialist with over 30 years of experience in the equestrian industry. As a REALTOR® with West USA Realty, he combines his deep knowledge of equine properties, land use, and the unique needs of horse owners to help buyers and sellers navigate the Arizona horse property market. Having visited thousands of equestrian properties across the state, Ron offers unparalleled expertise and a centralized platform—Arizona Horse Property Resource—to ensure maximum exposure, expert guidance, and seamless transactions. His long-standing relationships with horse owners, trainers, and equestrian professionals reflect his commitment to serving the Arizona horse community with integrity and passion.
📞 Call or text: [480-221-1280]
📧 Email: ron@azpropertyresource.com
🌐 Learn more: arizonahorsepropertyresource.com
West USA Realty
2355 W Utopia Rd Ste #100, Phoenix, AZ 85027
Proud Supporter of the Fair Housing Act