Real Talk
Selling next year? Your head start begins now. Next year sounds like plenty of time.
But the sellers who feel calm on listing day usually got started months before it.
Here's what to do now, and what can wait.
WHAT'S GOING ON Getting a house ready takes longer than most people think.
Zillow says sellers who hit their price and timeline usually start 60 to 90 days before they list.
That's time to pick what to fix, find a contractor and get on their calendar.
And most sellers do fix something. 72% took on at least one project before they sold (Zillow, 2024).
The good news? It's usually small stuff. And buyers have more homes to pick from right now, so a little polish goes a long way.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU Do now: get a pre-listing inspection. It's like seeing the buyer's test before you take it.
It usually costs $300 to $600 (Angi). Then you fix things on your schedule, not in a rush halfway through a sale.
That AC you're hoping makes it one more summer? Now's the time to look at it.
Do anytime: declutter. The closets, the garage, that one room where stuff goes to hide.
Save for the end: deep cleaning, staging, paint touch-ups and the yard. Those look best when they're fresh.
Not selling? The same list works as a once-a-year checkup on your home.
Personally, I think the calm sellers are the early ones. A little each month beats a mad dash the week before photos.
GUESS THIS Two of these are true and one is a lie. About 1 in 4 sellers fix up the yard before they list. Nearly 1 in 5 sellers paint the outside of the house. A kitchen redo is the No. 1 project sellers do before they list.
Which one is the lie? The answer is at the very bottom.
THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD There are more homes for sale across the country. Inventory rose to 1.59 million homes in October (National Association of Realtors, 2026). That puts the market in the range many experts call balanced.
What it means for you: buyers get more choices and more time to decide. Sellers who price it right and show it well still stand out.
Quick Break Moose On Ice An Alaska resident's security camera caught a moose stepping onto his icy driveway and sliding out to the street.
Soft landing: The big animal fell on its backside near the road, then stood right back up and walked away.
Somebody forgot to bring the ice cleats.
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There are 823 homes for sale across Navajo County — 15.2% more than this time last year.
The typical home is taking 95 days to go under contract, about eleven days longer than last October.
The median asking price is $480,000, down 3.7% year over year — and that is an ASKING price, not what homes actually sold for.
About one in five listings has already taken a price cut.
Pending sales are down 10.7% from last October, so buyers are slower to commit.
Across Arizona, the median asking price is $459,900, down 3.2% from a year ago.
See the full monthly market report →
Navajo County, October 2026 · Realtor.com® Economic Research · asking prices, not sale prices
PS · 💡 Did You Know I Can Do This? Not every income fits the usual boxes. A non-QM loan is a program some lenders offer that can look at things like bank statements or assets instead of a regular tax return. It can fit people who are self-employed, own a business, invest in rentals, or get paid in ways that don't look neat on paper.
Wondering if your income could work this way? Reply and ask.
Meme of the Week Me hearing a strange house noise at night: it's fine, it's just the house settling.
THE ANSWER Did you get it? The kitchen is the lie. The No. 1 project is painting the inside, done by 32% of sellers (Zillow, 2024). A can of paint beats a new kitchen.
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