What $350k gets you for a single-family house in Douglas, AZ (Cochise County)

[GON]

Below is a link to a home just hitting the market in Douglas, AZ. Douglas is a very distressed town that is located on the Mexico border. Of note, Douglas is in Cochise County. That is worth mentioning as from 2010-2020, the ONLY county to have a population loss in Arizona was Cochise. Very little opportunity for a decent paying private industry job in Douglas. Little to no shopping, entertainment, etc. Cochise county is on the rise with Sierra Vista and all-around Ft Huachuca doing blockbuster in positive real estate values.

I find the price interesting as it seems pretty high for this one town. Zillow has said Douglas, AZ homes rose about nine percent in selling price the past year, and almost 20 percent in the prior year. Like Florida, people want "in" Arizona and may be willing to pay prices that seem a mismatch. Or maybe the buyers of homes in Douglas are onto something...... My gut says homes in Douglas, AZ may be at risk of not being "sellable" in five years or so. But just a guess on my part.

649 E 9th St, Douglas, AZ 85607 | MLS #22216342 | Zillow

For sale This 2262 square foot single family home has 4 bedrooms and 3.0 bathrooms. It is located at 649 E 9th St Douglas, Arizona.

www.zillow.com

 

[FowVay]

That back yard is a bit shy of grass.

 

[Delta]

That back yard is a bit shy of grass.

Also a little bit shy of land at .28 acres...

 

[dishdude]

I wouldn't live there if you gave me the house for free.

 

[RoadDukie]

There's an old hotel in Douglas that has a big indoor marble staircase that was chipped when Poncho Villa rode his horse up it. (Somewhere around 1910 if remember correctly.)

 

[GON]

Yes, it burned down around 1929 and was then rebuilt. Has some famous painting in it, and was once owned by a guy named Slaughter.

Gadsden Hotel: history, legend and hauntings

The Gadsden Hotel,the tallest building in Douglas, AZ, also serves as a symbol of the town itself.

www.kgun9.com

 

[dkryan]

Butt A$$ ugly!

Clearly this house was not “staged”……….

More like stagecoach.…….right out of town……

And yeah, FowVay, it’s definitely shy of grass. Likely set up for the future Cochise County Mud Wrestling League. Or dirt track racing.

And what is that contraption on the roof above that high-end (😎) satellite dish?

In Tucson, I believe we called those swamp coolers.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Douglas, AZ is where all those rebate fulfillment places are located, where those checks and gift cards come from

 

[MotorFan]

Also a little bit shy of land at .28 acres...

how much Desert do ya really need anyway?

 

[RoadDukie]

Yes, it burned down around 1929 and was then rebuilt. Has some famous painting in it, and was once owned by a guy named Slaughter.

Gadsden Hotel: history, legend and hauntings

The Gadsden Hotel,the tallest building in Douglas, AZ, also serves as a symbol of the town itself.

www.kgun9.com

Yea, that's the place. Last time I stayed there had to be about 20 years ago. Was there with my wife and now deceased parents. I think an American Airlines pilot and his wife bought the place. Nice folks, great place.
Thanks for the memory @GON. 😀

 

[zmelli]

Look like an Old Western Movie "Chicken Ranch" House!

 

[AZjeff]

That back yard is a bit shy of grass.

As it should be in the DESERT. Water is in kinda short supply.

I have a friend who grew up in Douglas, his wife is from the other side of the line. They went to the same high school, imagine that.

@GON, what in the wide world of sports are you doing looking at real estate in Douglas? Next stop??

 

[CR94]

What do I see that looks like a big gap in the shingles, near the top of the rear section?

 

[jimbrewer]

I dunno. A house like that would go for considerably more in my neighborhood.

I know that metro/Phoenix had a bigger than average price rise in the recent run up. Whether that pertains to rural Arizona, I don’t know.

Cochise County has the best weather in Arizona.

For example, it’s still well over 100 degrees in Phoenix right now, at 10:00 p.m. (For them it’s 9:00 pm because they don’t follow DST). In Douglas, it’s 86 degrees.



…..

 

[dishdude]

I know that metro/Phoenix had a bigger than average price rise in the recent run up.

Central Phoenix pricing is ridiculous. House across the street in our tiny subdivision just went on the market for 3x what we paid for our house in 2015. Now it's updated and ours was all original 1995 inside when we bought it, but even after putting $100k in updates in we're still ahead.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Less than 1/2 the price of my neighborhood.

 

[ZeeOSix]

That house would be $800K to $1M here.

 

[PandaBear]

4Br 3Ba 2262 sqft with 0.28 acres at the border, with early 80s construction style, for 350K. For the condition and size it sounds like at least "not bad of a deal".

I'd say the target buyer and seller would be some self employed business owners in the local community, or a BIG family living with some grown up but not married children. Or maybe some successful business owner from the other side of the border want to buy a piece of property and eventually move there to raise a family.

Just guessing, I have no idea really. What I don't know is why do you think a border town would be a good deal for retirement home.

Honestly, 350K is not a lot of money these days, move this house to a higher income area like Gangland California and it would still be worth at least 800K. Move it to the slum in Shenzhen China and it would probably be worth 3.5M USD just to be gutted and remodeled to the buyer's preference.

 

[97K15004WD]

My concern would be the house was built over a 100 years ago. The codes back then compared to now would make me question the additions and "updates". IMO a very thorough, detailed inspection by a real, credentialed structural engineer would be in order before I would even consider that place.

For comparison, my house is over 100 years old and I know the last 75 years of it's history. I still had it inspected and it passed with no issues. Was worth every penny spent to insure that my family would be safe in the house.

Not to mention termite letters, regular "inspection services", and review by plumbers, electricians, etc.

Buyer beware

 

[GON]

As it should be in the DESERT. Water is in kinda short supply.

I have a friend who grew up in Douglas, his wife is from the other side of the line. They went to the same high school, imagine that.

@GON, what in the wide world of sports are you doing looking at real estate in Douglas? Next stop??

AZJ,

I started "targeting" Douglas three years ago as a possible retirement option. Within commuting distance of Sierra Vista where I could get a job at Ft Huachuca if I wanted to work. At the time prices in Douglas were not following the trend of Phoenix and the rest of Arizona.

Took the Wife to Douglas about 18 months ago, and it wasn't NO--- it was HECK NO. It's a shame, I liked Douglas, but what I like and what makes sense to her are not aligning. I still track the Douglas area, not so much that we will buy there, but as a sample of how prices are rising in the least desirable area in Arizona, yet non desirable places in the Midwest/ Northeast are not rising in non-desirable places.

Speculation, any place one owns in Arizona is worth double digit and likely triple digit of what it was worth five years ago. Every single homeowner in Arizona made money over the past five years. Some homeowners in parts of the upper Midwest and Northeast have not seen those favorable results.