Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city of two markets stitched together by Mill Avenue and the light rail. North of Broadway you have ASU, downtown lofts, and the rental engine that never sleeps. South of Baseline you have Kyrene-corridor families chasing yards and good elementary schools. We finance both — and we know the underwriting wrinkles that come with each.
Three loan shapes cover the vast majority of Tempe purchases. Which one fits you depends on the zip code and what you plan to do with the home.
Most Tempe primaries — central neighborhoods, condos, the bulk of South Tempe — fit cleanly inside the $806,500 conforming limit. Conventional starts at 3% down for first-time buyers and 5% otherwise. FHA goes to 3.5% down with credit from 580. Closing in 21 days is normal for these.
Rental demand near campus is structurally strong. DSCR loans qualify on the property's rent, not your W-2 — useful for buyers who already own one or two rentals, are self-employed, or just want to keep their personal DTI clean. Typical DSCR pricing wants 20–25% down and 660+ credit.
Custom homes around Warner Ranch, larger lots near Lakes, and high-end ASU-adjacent properties can push above the conforming line. Jumbo with us is the same speed as conventional — 21–28 day close — with rate sheets often within an eighth of conforming for strong files.
Tempe's three core zips behave differently. 85281 wraps downtown and the ASU campus — older bungalows, condos, and walk-to-class rentals. Investors dominate the bid list here, and competition is strongest on anything inside the 1-mile ring. 85283 is South Tempe — Kyrene Elementary district, larger lots, mid-2000s subdivisions. Families compete here, not investors. 85284 is the southern slice including parts of Warner Ranch, where lots get larger and prices push into jumbo.
ASU enrollment north of 80,000 students sets the floor on rental demand. The university adds capacity slowly relative to enrollment, which keeps occupancy in nearby SFRs and condos high. Investors who buy near campus are usually underwriting to a lease cycle that follows the academic calendar — leases signed in spring for fall move-in.
The Mill Avenue light rail line, extended through downtown, reshaped what walkable Tempe looks like. Condo towers along the line trade as transit-oriented product. If you're buying a condo here, expect the lender to scrutinize the HOA — investor concentration ratios, reserve studies, and pending litigation are all underwriting items, not just nice-to-haves.
South Tempe schools (Kyrene Elementary District feeding into Tempe Union for high school) carry premium pricing. The same square footage two miles north of Baseline trades meaningfully cheaper than two miles south because of the school boundary. Don't skip school-district due diligence on resale forecast.
Property tax in Tempe runs an effective rate around 0.65% of assessed value — among the more reasonable rates in Arizona. On a $500k purchase that's roughly $270 a month escrowed. We always quote you a payment with real Tempe taxes, not a stale state average.
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