Community Guide

Tempe

The Valley's most walkable urban submarket.

Tempe is a city of 185,000 residents at the geographic center of the Phoenix metropolitan area, home to Arizona State University, the headquarters of State Farm Insurance and Carvana, and the Valley's only urban downtown outside of Phoenix proper. The Tempe luxury market clusters along Lake Tempe and in Warner Ranch, with a 2025 median sale of $545,000.

185,000
Population
$545K
Median Sale
80,000+
ASU Students
28 min
Tempe to North Scottsdale

What is Tempe, Arizona known for?

Tempe is known for being the home of Arizona State University (the largest university in the United States by enrollment, with more than 80,000 students), the only municipality in the Valley with a true urban downtown core outside of central Phoenix, and the location of Tempe Town Lake, a 2 mile man-made lake along the Salt River that anchors the city's most expensive residential real estate.

Tempe sits at the geographic center of the metropolitan area, with direct freeway access to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, and Sky Harbor International Airport. Light rail runs through downtown Tempe, connecting it to Mesa to the east and central Phoenix to the west.

The city is the corporate headquarters of State Farm Insurance (regional), Carvana, GoDaddy, and SRP. The Mill Avenue district downtown anchors a college-town dining scene that has matured significantly as ASU has grown.

A Closer Look

Inside the neighborhoods.

The Haus Theory team has personally toured every neighborhood detailed below. Where photography is shown, it represents the architectural character of the area rather than any specific listing.

Neighborhoods

What are the most desirable neighborhoods in Tempe?

Tempe Town Lake and Hayden Ferry

High-rise residential and lakefront townhomes along the lake. Bridgeview, Edgewater at Hance Park, and the Hayden Ferry condos. Median sale $750,000 to $1.6 million.

Warner Ranch

Established south Tempe luxury with mature landscaping, larger lots, and an HOA pool. Median sale $850,000.

The Lakes

A 1970s master-planned community built around man-made lakes. Original mid-century and contemporary homes on lakefront lots. Median sale $725,000.

Maple-Ash Historic District

Pre-war bungalows and small-lot historic homes near downtown Tempe. Median sale $585,000.

South Tempe (Knoell, Estate La Colina)

Family-scale ranch and contemporary homes south of Baseline Road. Median sale $550,000.

Marina Heights

Modern townhome and condominium development adjacent to State Farm. Median sale $625,000.

What is the Tempe real estate market like in 2026?

Tempe closed approximately 2,650 residential sales in 2025 at a median of $545,000. The luxury sub-market (homes over $850,000) recorded 210 sales at a median of $1.05 million. The top reported sale was $2.4 million at Hayden Ferry on Tempe Town Lake.

Tempe's inventory is the most diverse in the Valley by housing type, ranging from 1920s historic bungalows in the Maple-Ash district to 30-story high-rise condominiums on Tempe Town Lake. This produces a wider price-per-square-foot range than any other municipality.

Average days on market is 34 days citywide. The lakefront and downtown urban segment averages 45 days, and the established suburban Warner Ranch segment averages 28 days.

What is it like to live in Tempe?

Tempe is the only Valley submarket where walkability and light rail meaningfully replace daily driving. Downtown Tempe residents can walk to Mill Avenue dining, the ASU campus, Tempe Town Lake, and the light rail station that connects to Sky Harbor International Airport in 18 minutes.

Tempe Union High School District is the public school district for high schools, with Corona del Sol High School (south Tempe) consistently rated 9 out of 10. Tempe Elementary School District and Kyrene School District (south Tempe) serve elementary and middle schools. ASU Preparatory Academy is a charter option.

Dining is concentrated along Mill Avenue downtown (Culinary Dropout, House of Tricks, Cornish Pasty), at the marina (Top of the Rock), and in the Tempe Marketplace and Arizona Mills retail centers. The Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) play home games at Mullett Arena on the ASU campus.

Commute times: 12 minutes from downtown Tempe to Sky Harbor International Airport, 18 minutes to downtown Phoenix via light rail or freeway, 22 minutes to Old Town Scottsdale, and 22 minutes to Chandler.

Lifestyle

A daily rhythm.

From dining to outdoor recreation to commute patterns, the texture of daily life shapes which markets are right for which clients. We help our clients calibrate their search to the lifestyle they actually want.

Tempe FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

The most expensive real estate in Tempe is on Tempe Town Lake, specifically the Hayden Ferry high-rise development and the Bridgeview and Edgewater condominium projects. Lakefront condominiums regularly trade between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. Single-family lakefront homes in the original Lakes community trade between $1 million and $1.8 million.
Tempe is the only municipality in the Phoenix metropolitan area where it is realistically possible to live without a car for daily needs. Downtown Tempe, the Marina Heights area, and Hayden Ferry sit within walking distance of Mill Avenue dining, ASU, and the light rail line, which connects to Sky Harbor International Airport and downtown Phoenix in under 20 minutes.
The Tempe median single-family home sale was $545,000 in 2025. Luxury homes (priced over $850,000) had a median sale of $1.05 million. The highest reported 2025 sale was $2.4 million at Hayden Ferry on Tempe Town Lake.
Tempe rental properties near the ASU campus produce gross yields of approximately 6 to 7 percent annually, higher than the metropolitan average of 4.5 percent. The trade-off is property management complexity: most ASU rentals are leased to students with year-over-year tenant turnover and higher wear-and-tear maintenance costs.
Tempe is the closest Valley city to Sky Harbor International Airport. Downtown Tempe is 12 minutes from Sky Harbor by car and 18 minutes by light rail. South Tempe (Warner Ranch, The Lakes) is 18 to 22 minutes from the airport.
Begin a Conversation

Considering a move to Tempe?

Whether you are buying, selling, or simply gathering market intelligence on Tempe, we welcome the conversation. There is no obligation and no template response.

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