Phoenix Bridge Loans (2026): Market Data, Arizona Lenders and a Worked Flip

Phoenix is one of the most active fix-and-flip and rental markets in the country, and most national bridge lenders fund there. What has changed is the resale math. Redfin's data for the three months ending September 2026 shows a flat market with long marketing times, which shifts the risk in a Phoenix bridge loan from the purchase to the exit. This guide covers current local market data, what each national lender publishes for Arizona, Arizona foreclosure and closing cost rules that affect your term sheet, and one Phoenix deal sized at four lenders.

Market figures come from Redfin and Zillow, legal references from the Arizona Revised Statutes and the Maricopa County Recorder, and lender terms from each lender's own website, all read in October 2026 and linked in the sources section. Lender figures are published maximums and starting rates, not quotes.

Phoenix Metro Market Data for Bridge Borrowers

Source: Redfin city housing market pages for Phoenix, Mesa, and Scottsdale, three months ending September 2026. Phoenix recorded 3,810 sales in September 2026, down from 3,880 a year earlier.

Three numbers matter most for a bridge loan:

• Days on market. A 60 day median in Phoenix and 82 in Scottsdale, before a 30 day escrow, means a flip listed in month five may not close until month eight. Size your loan term and interest reserve for that, not for a hot market.
• Price drops. More than a third of Phoenix and Mesa listings cut their price. Underwrite your ARV from closed renovated sales, not list prices.
• Flat appreciation. At +0.5% a year in Phoenix and a 1.1% decline in Mesa, the market will not cover a thin margin. The profit has to come from the purchase discount and the renovation.

Scottsdale is the exception on price growth at +9.2%, but it also has the longest marketing time of the three and a median price near $890,000, which pushes many flips toward the upper loan size limits of some lenders. Redfin also rates 79% of Phoenix homes and 93% of Mesa homes at an extreme heat risk, so cooling systems, roofs, and insulation are worth scoping carefully in the rehab budget.

Which National Bridge Lenders Fund in Arizona

Sources: Kiavi bridge loans, Kiavi states, Kiavi disclosures, Easy Street Arizona, Lima One FixNFlip, RCN loan programs, CoreVest fix and flip, CoreVest FAQs, Versara commercial loans.

For a single lender deep dive see the linked reviews, and for side by side matchups see Kiavi vs Lima One Capital, CoreVest vs Lima One Capital, and RCN Capital vs Easy Street Capital.

Worked Example: A Phoenix Three-Bedroom Flip at Four Lenders

Assume an investor with three completed flips and a 700 FICO buys a dated Phoenix three-bedroom for $340,000 with a $60,000 renovation (17.6% of purchase, light rehab under RCN's definition). Total cost is $400,000. Renovated comparable sales support an ARV of $460,000, close to the city median sale price. These deal inputs are illustrative; the lender caps are the published ones above.

Total cost is 87% of ARV, so every 75% ARV lender lands on the same $345,000 and the headline LTC does not matter. Only an 80% ARV tier changes the loan, and it cuts the cash needed by $23,000. Kiavi decides leverage from FICO, exit experience, and the property's ARV, so confirm the tier on your term sheet before you count on it. The reverse also applies: if the appraised ARV comes in $20,000 lower at $440,000, a 75% cap drops the loan by $15,000 to $330,000.

Carry cost at the starting rates, assuming the full loan is outstanding and interest only: $368,000 at 8.25% is about $2,530 a month; $345,000 at 8.90% is about $2,559 a month. Over an eight month hold that is roughly $20,000 to $21,000 of interest before points, fees, taxes, insurance, and utilities. Lima One and RCN charge interest only on funds drawn, which lowers the early months. Model your own hold in the All-In Bridge Loan Cost Calculator.

The Rental Exit: Phoenix Rents vs a DSCR Refinance

Many Phoenix investors plan to keep the property if the sale market is slow. The rent numbers make that harder than it looks. Zillow's October 2026 average three-bedroom rent in Phoenix is $2,167 a month (Zillow rental market trends). On a $460,000 ARV that is a gross yield of about 5.7% a year.

Take the $345,000 bridge payoff from the example and refinance it with a 30 year fixed loan. At 6.50%, the lowest rental rate Lima One advertises, principal and interest alone is $2,181 a month. Before taxes, insurance, or HOA dues, the coverage ratio is $2,167 / $2,181 = 0.99. With those costs added it falls further.

Sources: Lima One rental loans, RCN loan programs, CoreVest 30-Year DSCR, Easy Street Arizona.

The practical answer is to decide the exit before you buy. If you want a 1.0 DSCR refinance on a median priced Phoenix house, the purchase discount has to be deep enough that a loan near $300,000 pays off the bridge, or the property needs rent well above the city average. Pull the actual tax bill for the parcel from the Maricopa County Treasurer, get an insurance quote, and test it in the Bridge-to-DSCR Exit Calculator.

Arizona Rules That Affect Your Term Sheet

Foreclosure by trustee sale

Most Arizona bridge loans are secured by a deed of trust with a power of sale. Under A.R.S. 33-808, the trustee must record the notice of sale, post it on the property at least 20 days before the sale, and publish it once a week for four consecutive weeks, and the sale date can be no sooner than the 91st day after the notice was recorded (A.R.S. 33-808). A short, predictable process is one reason national lenders offer full leverage in Arizona.

Deficiency and anti-deficiency

A.R.S. 33-814 lets a lender sue for a deficiency, including against a guarantor, within 90 days after a trustee sale, credited with the higher of the sale price or the fair market value set by the court. Subsection G bars a deficiency on property of 2.5 acres or less limited to and used as a single one-family or two-family dwelling. For deeds of trust originated after December 31, 2014, subsection H removes that protection for a dwelling that was never substantially completed or never actually used as a dwelling, and for homes held by a builder for sale (A.R.S. 33-814). A vacant flip mid-renovation can fall into those exceptions, and nearly every business purpose lender also takes a personal guaranty. Ask an Arizona attorney how this applies to your entity and guaranty before you sign.

Closing costs: no transfer tax

Arizona's constitution bars any new tax, fee, or stamp on the sale or transfer of real property that was not in place on December 31, 2007 (Ariz. Const. art. 9, sec. 24). Deeds instead need an Affidavit of Property Value under A.R.S. 11-1133, which carries a $2.00 filing fee unless an exemption applies (Maricopa affidavit instructions), and Maricopa County charges $30 to record most documents (Maricopa recording fees). Your cash to close is mostly lender points and fees, title and escrow, insurance, prorated taxes, and the first interest payment, rather than state transfer taxes. Compare that with high transfer tax states in our New York and Pennsylvania guides.

Licensing

Arizona licenses mortgage bankers through the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Kiavi (#0926504) and Lima One (#0949706) publish Arizona Mortgage Banker license numbers on their websites. Before you sign with any private lender in Arizona, check its license or exemption status on NMLS Consumer Access.

Phoenix Deal Types and the Lender That Usually Fits

• First flip, no track record: Lima One requires one investment property exit in the last 36 months, so start with Kiavi, Easy Street, or CoreVest, which say they lend to new investors.
• Credit score 600 to 639: Easy Street's 600 floor is the lowest of the group.
• Thin margin where ARV binds: look for an 80% ARV tier such as Kiavi's top published tier.
• No rehab, fast purchase to rent later: CoreVest's Single Asset Bridge has no DSCR test and up to 100% of cost limited to 75% of value.
• Scottsdale luxury flip above $1 million: check maximum loan sizes; Kiavi and Lima One go to $5M, RCN's 1 to 4 unit program stops at $2M.
• Short-term rental in Scottsdale or North Phoenix: Easy Street underwrites STR income from data providers such as AirDNA; see our short-term rental bridge loan guide.
• Apartments or mixed-use: Versara and Lima One multifamily programs, covered in our multifamily bridge loan guide and best commercial bridge lenders list.

Statewide rules, Tucson, and other Arizona markets are in our Arizona bridge loans guide. To see why the ARV cap decided the example above, read how bridge loan sizing works.

Run Your Own Numbers

1. Find the binding cap: enter purchase price, rehab budget, and ARV in the Fix-and-Flip LTC & 70% ARV Cap Calculator. It shows which limit sets your loan and how much cash you bring.
2. Price the full cost of the loan: points, fees, and monthly interest change the real cost on a short hold. The All-In Bridge Loan Cost & Effective APR Calculator turns those into an effective APR by payoff month.
3. Test the rental refinance: if the exit is a DSCR loan, check the post-rehab rent against the takeout lender's coverage test in the Commercial Bridge-to-DSCR Exit Calculator.
4. Owner-occupants: buying a new home before selling the current one uses different sizing (combined LTV on the departing home). Use the Residential Buy-Before-You-Sell Bridge Equity Calculator.
5. Match lenders to your profile: the 5-Step Smart Rate-Match Tool filters lenders by state, credit score, experience, and property type.

Sources

• Redfin: Phoenix, AZ Housing Market
• Redfin: Mesa, AZ Housing Market
• Redfin: Scottsdale, AZ Housing Market
• Zillow: Average Rental Price in Phoenix, AZ
• Arizona Revised Statutes 33-808: Notice of trustee's sale
• Arizona Revised Statutes 33-814: Deficiency after trustee sale
• Arizona Revised Statutes 11-1133: Affidavit of legal value
• Arizona Constitution, Article 9, Section 24
• Maricopa County Recorder: Recording Fees
• Maricopa County Recorder: Affidavit of Property Value statutes and exemptions
• Kiavi: Bridge Loans
• Kiavi: States Kiavi Lends In
• Kiavi: Legal Disclosures and Licensing
• Easy Street Capital: Arizona Investment Property Loans
• Lima One Capital: Fix and Flip Loans
• Lima One Capital: Rental Loans
• RCN Capital: Loan Programs
• CoreVest Finance: Fix and Flip Loans
• CoreVest Finance: Single Asset Bridge Loans
• CoreVest Finance: 30-Year DSCR Loan
• CoreVest Finance: FAQs
• Versara Capital: Commercial Loans

Market data and lender terms were read in October 2026 and can change without notice. Lender figures are published maximums or starting points, not quotes, and nothing here is legal advice. We may receive referral compensation from lenders mentioned here; see our editorial and licensing disclosure.