What sells off-market in Maricopa County, AZ
By Josh MillerUpdated 4 min readForeclosure filings edged out expired and cancelled listings in Maricopa County, AZ: about 8.3 of every 100 owners with a foreclosure filing sold off-market within 12 months of the filing, against about 1.4 of every 100 houses picked at random in the county. Expired and cancelled listings came in at about 7.7 of every 100 over the same 12 months, close enough that both lists earn a letter.
In Maricopa County (Phoenix), about 28% of the home sales recorded over 12 months never went through an agent's listing. The owners most likely to be among them had a foreclosure filing, not an expired listing.
Below is every list we could measure in Maricopa County, out of about 1.3 million single-family homes, with how many owners on each sold off-market and when.
Lists that start with a filing
Foreclosures, expired listings, liens and judgments start on a date: something got filed with the county. Here is how many owners on each list in Maricopa County sold off-market afterward, sorted by how many of every 100 sold within 12 months.
| List | Owners on the list | Sold off-market within 3 months | Sold off-market within 12 months | Of every 100, sold within 12 months | Busiest quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreclosure filed | 806 | 20 | 67 | 8.3 | Months 1 to 3 |
| Expired or cancelled listing | 8,440 | 324 | 650 | 7.7 | Months 1 to 3 |
| Lien filed against the property | 6,158 | 63 | 197 | 3.2 | Months 1 to 3 |
| Judgment against the owner | 6,432 | 25 | 72 | 1.1 | Months 1 to 3 |
Expired and cancelled listings, the list most investors would guess first, came in at about 7.7 of every 100 within 12 months in Maricopa County. Foreclosure filings beat them here at about 8.3 of every 100.
Not every list that starts with a filing earns its stamp. In Maricopa County, about 1.1 of every 100 owners with a judgment against them sold off-market within 12 months, against about 1.4 of every 100 houses picked at random. That list did no better than mailing the county blind.
Lists that just sit there
Vacant houses, back taxes, equity and owners who live somewhere else don't start on a date. Those owners can sit on a list for years. Read the shaded bottom row first: it's a house picked at random in Maricopa County, and a list that can't beat it is buying stamps and nothing else.
| List | Owners on the list | Sold off-market within 12 months | Of every 100, sold within 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behind on taxes, 5 or more years | 944 | 32 | 3.4 |
| Sitting vacant | 13,708 | 347 | 2.5 |
| Behind on taxes, 2 to 4 years | 25,896 | 622 | 2.4 |
| High equity, living elsewhere | 243,063 | 4,036 | 1.7 |
| Owner 65 or older, living elsewhere | 54,387 | 707 | 1.3 |
| Owns it free and clear | 403,065 | 5,181 | 1.3 |
| Any house, picked at random | 1,307,330 | 17,843 | 1.4 |
The best of them in Maricopa County was owners 5 or more years behind on taxes: about 3.4 of every 100 sold off-market within 12 months, against about 1.4 of every 100 houses picked at random.
Owners 65 and older who live elsewhere and houses owned free and clear sold off-market less often than a random house in Maricopa County over the same 12 months. Those lists are buying stamps, not sellers, here.
When to mail in Maricopa County
Every list we could measure in Maricopa County sold fastest in the first 3 months after the filing. That makes this a county for fast first letters: of the 650 off-market sales within 12 months on expired and cancelled listings, 324 came in the first 3 months.
Whatever the list, take out anyone who already sold or listed the house before every drop.
How we counted
For filings from October 2024 through March 2025, we counted every off-market, arm's-length sale recorded in the county afterward. Counted from the county's own records by FirstPulse, the data engine GoForClose runs on.
Lists that sit there, like vacant houses or back taxes, and the house picked at random are counted over 12 months. Probate and divorce are left out: there are too few on record in most counties to measure honestly.
Compare another county
- What sells off-market in Clark County, NV: foreclosure filings led there.
- What sells off-market in Los Angeles County, CA: foreclosure filings led there.
- Every county page
For the method behind these tables, read which motivated seller lists actually sell, when to mail each list and how the lead services compare.
Questions investors ask about Maricopa County
What list sells best in Maricopa County?
Of the lists we could measure in Maricopa County, AZ, foreclosure filings sold off-market most often: about 8.3 of every 100 owners with a foreclosure filing sold within 12 months of the filing, against about 1.4 of every 100 houses picked at random in the county over 12 months.
When should I mail foreclosure filings in Maricopa County?
Early. In Maricopa County, the first 3 months after a foreclosure filing were the busiest for off-market sales: 20 of the 67 that sold within 12 months. Keep mailing after that, because the rest came over the following nine months.
Do absentee owners over 65 sell in Maricopa County?
Rarely. In Maricopa County, AZ, about 1.3 of every 100 owners 65 and older who live somewhere else sold off-market within 12 months, against about 1.4 of every 100 houses picked at random. That list did worse than mailing the county blind.
Can I see this for my county?
Yes. Any of 563 counties can be read free at goforclose.com/read, counted from that county's own records, with no call needed to see it.