Clifton Arizona Real Estate Market Report — August 2026
The off-market Clifton homes that never hit the national portals… you see before the public search sites ever list them.
That’s why you use a dedicated full-time local agent. They are in the know on the local scene and are the go-getters. Did you know nearly half of licensed agents closed ZERO deals last year? (Ask yourself… is this person even in the business?) FACT!
Median $188,000. 31 days on market. 8 homes available in the entire town… and the off-market inventory you cannot see.
Not a subscription list. Not an email drip. A dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton texting you personally when inventory matching your criteria surfaces. Personal reply, FAST. No auto-drips.
The Clifton Arizona Real Estate market in August 2026 is one of the most distinctive in the state… a single-zip mining town of 3,822 residents (US Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimate) where the median sale price sits near $188,000 and price points run dramatically below the Arizona statewide median. Activity is modest by big-metro standards (a handful of homes trade each month) but the year-over-year median is up sharply, days on market have compressed to about 30 days from triple digits a year ago, and inventory is thin… a combination that gives well-priced sellers real leverage and gives buyers with cash or pre-approved financing genuine room to negotiate on the right property. Clifton’s market is driven by one engine above all: the Freeport-McMoRan Morenci copper operation, which sits minutes from town and supplies the steady employment base the community has lived on since 1873.
Moving to Clifton from California, Washington, or Texas?
Moving to Clifton from another state? Census data shows 234,900 people relocated to Arizona from another state in a single year, and the ten largest origin states were California, Washington, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, and Utah. If you are relocating to Clifton from California, you are trading coastal price-per-square-foot and property-tax reassessment for a $188,000 median and 3,822 neighbors. If you are relocating from Washington or Illinois, the numbers that matter are Arizona’s lower state income tax and 300-plus days of sun against Clifton’s 3,500-foot canyon elevation that runs 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix. Out-of-state buyers lose the most money in Clifton because they cannot see the streets… the flood-plain line along the San Francisco River, the historic-district systems, and the mesa-neighborhood premium that changes value block to block. A dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton tours on video and sends off-market inventory before it reaches the national portals.
What Does the Clifton Arizona Real Estate Market Look Like in August 2026?
Median Sale Price $188,000 ▲ 12.6% YoY | Average Sale Price $214,000 ▲ 11% YoY | Price / Sq Ft $106 ▲ Down 24% YoY | Homes Sold (Mo) 4 ▲ vs. 3 last year |
Active Listings 8 ▲ Steady | Days on Market 31 days → Down from 138 last year | Sale-to-List 95% → Stable | Months of Supply 2.0 → Balanced |
Where Are Prices and Volume for Clifton Homes for Sale in August 2026?
The latest data cut for Clifton 85533 shows a median sale price near $188,000, up about 12.6% from the same period a year ago, with average sale price closer to $214,000 and price per square foot at $106. The per-square-foot figure is actually down meaningfully year over year, which sounds contradictory until you look at the mix… a couple of larger, lower-priced fixer properties in the recent sample pulled the PSF down even as headline median rose. In a market this small, every sale moves the average, so monthly volatility is normal and one luxury closing can swing the chart.
Volume is light by design. Clifton typically sees three to six closings a month in single-family inventory, with the August read at four closings. Days on market have compressed further to about 31 days now from 138 last year… a reflection of both tightening inventory and renewed buyer interest from Freeport-McMoRan workforce hires and remote-work relocations chasing affordability. Sale-to-list ratios are running near 96%, meaning correctly priced homes are clearing within a few percentage points of asking. Overpriced listings still sit. This is a balanced market where pricing strategy matters more than in larger metros, because there are simply fewer comps to anchor the value conversation.
How Clifton Homes for Sale Are Performing in August 2026
Clifton homes for sale in August 2026 are still clearing the market meaningfully faster than they were a year ago, even though the July closing count softened to three. The DOM improvement from 138 days to 31 days over the trailing 12 months remains the single most significant signal in this dataset, because thin-inventory rural markets historically run 90 to 180 days on market even in healthy years. Mesa-neighborhood inventory priced under $250,000 is the fastest-moving slice. Chase Creek Historic District properties and South Clifton fixer-upper inventory take longer because the buyer pool is narrower (preservation-minded, cash-only, contractor-buyers). Stock priced above $350,000 also sits longer because that ceiling brackets the realistic top of this market.
What to Know About Clifton AZ Homes for Sale Across Price Tiers
Clifton AZ homes for sale split into three usable price tiers. Tier one (under $100,000) is fixer / land / character-historic inventory and trades fast to cash buyers and contractor-investors. Tier two ($100,000 to $250,000) is the core middle of the resale market and is where most owner-occupant deals actually transact. Tier three ($250,000 to $400,000) is the mesa-neighborhood ceiling and includes most of the 3-4 bedroom updated stock. Above $400,000 is essentially custom builds on acreage along the Outer Loop or Ward Canyon Road. Knowing which tier your target home sits in is the first conversation a dedicated full-time agent will have with you before showing any Clifton AZ homes for sale at all.
How Clifton 85533 Real Estate Compares to the Statewide Market
Clifton 85533 real estate trades at 35 to 45 cents on the dollar versus the Arizona statewide median (Arizona statewide median sits near $437,000 per April 2026 data). That affordability gap is the single largest pull factor for out-of-area buyers considering the 85533 ZIP. The DOM gap is closing fast though. The Arizona statewide median DOM in April 2026 was 66 days; Clifton is now at 31 days. In other words, Clifton 85533 real estate is moving faster than the state average even though pricing is dramatically below state median. This combination is unusual and worth understanding before assuming the ZIP behaves like a stagnant rural market. It does not.
Why Clifton Realty Demands a Dedicated Full-Time Agent/Broker
Clifton realty is the difference between a smart purchase and an overpriced regret when handled by a dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton… and a costly mistake when handled by anyone else. Most national brokerage agents and most Phoenix-Tucson metro agents have zero local transaction history here and will rely on portal data that does not capture off-market deals, historic-district variability, flood-plain considerations, or the mesa-neighborhood premium. A dedicated full-time professional has the relationships to surface off-market inventory, the comp depth to price your sale or your offer correctly, and the local knowledge to flag flood-plain, mining-easement, and water-rights considerations that no metro agent will catch. Clifton realty is its own thing. Treat it as such.
Clifton 85533 Real Estate by Zip Code
Clifton is a single-ZIP market. All residential addresses in the incorporated town fall within 85533, which also covers the immediately surrounding rural Greenlee County land along the US-191 Coronado Trail corridor. Below is the headline data for the ZIP.
- 85533 (Clifton + rural Greenlee County): Median sale price $188,000… up about 12.6% year over year. Active inventory has tightened to about 8 single-family homes, with price per square foot near $106 and days on market around 28. The ZIP covers Clifton proper (Chase Creek, Shannon Hill, South Clifton, the mesa neighborhoods above town) and extends out along US-191 toward Apache National Forest and the Coronado Trail. Vacant land parcels in this ZIP can run from under $40,000 for small lots to over $200,000 for acreage tracts with utilities.
Which Neighborhoods Anchor Clifton AZ Homes for Sale?
Clifton is a single-ZIP town of 3,822 residents (US Census Bureau ACS) with no master-planned subdivisions and no HOA-organized communities in the traditional Phoenix-suburb sense. Instead, the town is organized into recognized historic and geographic districts that long-time residents and the Town of Clifton itself use to describe location. These districts each carry their own character, price points, and buyer profile… and getting them right matters more here than anywhere else in Arizona, because Clifton has just one ZIP and one MLS feed for the entire community.
The Chase Creek Historic District is the heart of old Clifton. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (#90000339, listed March 1, 1990), it covers the original commercial core along Chase Creek Street and contains preserved territorial-period architecture, the historic Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Lyric Theatre, the Clifton Cliff Jail (1881), and the “Copper Head” baby-gauge locomotive. Inventory in and immediately above this district is character-rich, often pre-1940 construction, and typically prices between $40,000 and $200,000 depending on condition and lot. Buyers who want walkable history and don’t mind older systems gravitate here.
Shannon Hill, named for the Shannon Copper Company that operated a smelter on the rise from 1901 to about 1920, sits above the historic core and offers updated cottages and bungalows. Listings here have been moving in the $188,000 to $280,000 range recently, with the cleaner mid-century rebuilds at the top of that range. South Clifton, on the south side of the San Francisco River, holds the older single-family stock built around the original Arizona Copper Company facilities and trades in the $60,000 to $214,000 range. The newer growth corridor sits on the mesa neighborhoods above town (Calle Contento, Calle Alta Vista, Hackberry Drive, and the Bobcat Drive area), where post-1980 single-family construction trades in the $250,000 to $400,000 range and recent closings have included a 4-bedroom 2,387 sq ft home at $270,000 and a 3-bedroom 1,674 sq ft home at $315,000. Vacant land on the outer loop and along US-191 ranges from under $14,000 for small lots to over $200,000 for acreage with utilities, and 80-acre tracts trade as ranchland.
All address ranges verified inside the Clifton 85533 ZIP. Clifton has no master-planned subdivisions and no active HOA communities… if a listing service or out-of-area agent shows you a “subdivision” name in Clifton, verify it is an actual platted district and not a marketing label.
Clifton’s Neighboring Cities & Surrounding Markets
Clifton sits within Greenlee County… the smallest-population county in Arizona, anchored by the Morenci copper operation and bordered by Graham County to the west and New Mexico to the east. Most cross-shopping happens with Safford and Thatcher (the larger Graham County employment center just 43 miles south via US-191), Duncan (the other Greenlee County town, southeast toward New Mexico), and the White Mountain communities (Show Low, Springerville) for second-home and elevation buyers. Globe-Miami in Gila County and Payson in Rim Country round out the rural Eastern Arizona / Central Arizona consideration set for buyers chasing affordability and small-town life. Every neighbor link below is a published market report on this site.
Explore All of Greenlee County Real Estate
Greenlee County is the smallest-population county in Arizona but punches above its weight economically because the Freeport-McMoRan Morenci copper operation is North America’s largest copper producer. The county covers Clifton, Duncan, the unincorporated communities of Morenci and Blue, and significant national forest land along the Coronado Trail (US-191) and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. Pricing across Greenlee County is among the most affordable in Arizona, with most single-family homes trading well under $300,000.
▶Greenlee County Real Estate Guide◀What Schools Serve Clifton Arizona Real Estate Addresses?
Per the Arizona Department of Education FY25 A-F Letter Grades (released April 15, 2026), the schools serving Clifton students fall under the Morenci Unified School District… which earned a B district letter grade. The original Clifton Unified School District was officially closed in 2010 after years of declining enrollment and federal compliance issues, and since that closure all Clifton students K-12 attend Morenci Unified schools located four miles up the road in Morenci. There is also a separate, very small Eagle Elementary District (district office in Clifton at PO Box 1566) that serves rural Blue and outlying Greenlee County areas, but the dominant district for Clifton residential buyers is Morenci Unified. Per ADE FY25, Morenci Unified posts strong individual school grades… including an A-rated Metcalf Elementary School and B-rated Morenci High School. The neighboring Duncan Unified District (also a B district grade) serves the Duncan area to the southeast.
Morenci Unified School District… B-Rated District
Morenci Unified is the K-12 unified district that serves all Clifton residential addresses. Per ADE FY25 official data, the district holds a B district letter grade with three traditional schools enrolling 1,550 students at a 11-to-1 student-teacher ratio. The district’s highest-scoring building is Metcalf Elementary School, which posted 92.08 total points earned on a 100-point scale for an A letter grade… the strongest score by a wide margin in Greenlee County. Morenci High School earned a B at 68.18 points, and the K-8 Fairbanks Middle School earned a C at 57.59 points. Morenci students also have access to dual-enrollment with Eastern Arizona College in nearby Thatcher, with top seniors graduating with an Associate’s Degree alongside their high school diploma at no cost to the family.
Top Schools Serving Clifton Arizona Real Estate Addresses (ADE FY25)
Below are the schools physically located in the district that serve Clifton residential addresses, each with its official Arizona Department of Education FY25 letter grade and total points earned.
Metcalf Elementary School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Metcalf Elementary earned an A letter grade with 92.08 total points on a 100-point scale… the highest school score in Greenlee County. The school posted 22.08 proficiency points and a perfect 50.00 growth score, with strong acceleration-readiness measures. Located about four miles from downtown Clifton in Morenci.
A grade 92.08 points K-5Morenci High School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Morenci High School earned a B letter grade with 68.18 total points, a perfect 10.00 graduation rate score, and 18.50 CCRI points. The high school serves all Clifton students grades 9-12 and partners with Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher for free dual-enrollment that can lead to an Associate’s Degree before high school graduation.
B grade 68.18 points 10.00 grad rateFairbanks Middle School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Fairbanks Middle School earned a C letter grade with 57.59 total points. The school posted 14.72 proficiency points and 32.87 growth points, with acceleration-readiness measures at 10.00. Fairbanks bridges Metcalf Elementary and Morenci High for Clifton students grades 6-8.
C grade 57.59 points 6-8Duncan High School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Duncan High School earned a B letter grade with 59.45 total points and a perfect 10.00 graduation rate score. Duncan Unified is the alternative public option for Greenlee County families. The district itself holds a B district letter grade. Located about 35 miles southeast of Clifton.
B grade 59.45 points Duncan, AZImportant note for Clifton buyers: The original Clifton Unified School District officially closed in 2010. All current Clifton K-12 students attend Morenci Unified School District schools, located about four miles up Coronado Boulevard in Morenci. Always confirm school zone assignment with Morenci Unified directly before making a school-driven move… boundaries can change year to year.
Source note: All letter grades on this page reflect the official Arizona Department of Education FY25 A-F release (April 15, 2026), the most current state-issued data available. Third-party aggregators (Niche, GreatSchools, SchoolGrade) are secondary references only and do not override official ADE grades.
Is Clifton Arizona Real Estate a Safe Community?
Safety in Clifton is a topic that has to be framed honestly rather than spun. Per CrimeGrade, Clifton holds a D+ overall safety grade and sits in the 23rd percentile nationally for safety, which means it tests as less safe than 77% of cities measured. The per-capita crime rate is elevated by the town’s small population (small population denominators inflate per-capita rates when total incident counts are modest), and AreaVibes data actually shows year-over-year crime down 16%. Violent crime risk reads as 1 in 389 on AreaVibes… lower than most Phoenix-metro suburbs in absolute terms. Most documented incidents are property-related and concentrated in specific neighborhoods rather than spread evenly across town. The takeaway for buyers is straightforward: pull a neighborhood-level crime map, drive the street day and night, and don’t extrapolate the citywide grade onto every block.
Law Enforcement Jurisdiction in Clifton
Clifton is policed under a single-agency framework. Primary patrol is handled by the Town of Clifton Police Department, headquartered at 520 N. Coronado Boulevard in Clifton (85533), and the department operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because Clifton is also the county seat of Greenlee County, the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office is physically headquartered in town at 824 S. Coronado Boulevard and provides countywide patrol coverage for unincorporated land surrounding Clifton, including the Morenci area, Blue, the Coronado Trail corridor, and rural Greenlee County. Highway enforcement on US-191 (the Coronado Trail), US-70, and US-191 north toward Hannagan Meadow is handled by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The proximity of three law enforcement headquarters within a few blocks of each other means response times in Clifton are typically faster than in most rural Arizona communities of similar size.
Clifton Safety Snapshot
Clifton’s safety profile reflects a small mining town with concentrated geography rather than a sprawling metro. Per-resident crime rates run higher than the Arizona state average and the US average, but absolute incident counts are modest because the town only has about 3,800 residents. Year-over-year trend is improving per AreaVibes data.
Crime distribution across Clifton is uneven. Per CrimeGrade analysis, residents generally consider the north part of the town the safest, with the chance of becoming a crime victim ranging from 1 in 43 in the north to 1 in 20 in the northeast neighborhoods on a per-resident basis. Total incident counts (not per-capita rates) skew toward the west parts of town near commercial activity and toward Chase Creek where retail and traffic concentrate. The mesa neighborhoods above town (Calle Contento, Calle Alta Vista, Hackberry Drive, Bobcat Drive) are widely considered the most settled residential blocks. The Clifton Police Department reports 10 sworn officers serving the community at 2.9 officers per 1,000 residents, which is slightly below the Arizona and national averages but typical for an incorporated small town. Any buyer considering Clifton should pull a CrimeGrade neighborhood-level map and the LexisNexis Community Crime Map for the specific street before making an offer.
Who Are the Major Employers Near Clifton Homes for Sale?
The Clifton Arizona Real Estate market lives and dies with one employer above all others: Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci copper operation, the largest copper producer in North America. Morenci sits four miles up Coronado Boulevard from downtown Clifton, and the steady mining workforce is the demand engine that keeps Clifton’s housing market liquid even when copper prices swing. Secondary employers are spread between Greenlee County government (Clifton is the county seat), the Town of Clifton, Morenci Unified Schools, and a 43-mile commute corridor down US-191 to Safford and Thatcher in Graham County… where Eastern Arizona College, Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, the Freeport-McMoRan Safford mine, and Walmart anchor the regional employment base.
Top employers within commuting distance
The Morenci operation employs 3,300 workers across mining, processing, and support functions and has been the constant economic backbone of the Clifton-Morenci region since 1872. Recent posted wages from the mine range from $23 to $31 per hour for entry mill-operator positions and $64,000 to $141,000 for planning, maintenance supervisor, and engineering roles. Beyond mining, the county-seat status concentrates government employment in Clifton, and the Eastern Arizona College / Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center corridor in Safford-Thatcher absorbs the rest of regional white-collar employment. A 50-minute commute each way down US-191 is common and acceptable to Clifton buyers because the affordability differential more than compensates.
Off-market access in Clifton with a dedicated realty specialist
We specialize in off-market Clifton homes, businesses, commercial properties, and land. In a town with 8 active listings, the visible market is only part of the market. Historic Chase Creek properties in particular trade quietly between local hands… owners who want a preservation-minded buyer without a public listing, estates settling a family property, and mine-workforce relocations that move on compressed timelines. Active clients get notified within 60 seconds when off-market inventory surfaces through our private broker relationships. This is not a subscription list. Not an email drip. A dedicated human working this market every day, texting you personally when a property matching your criteria surfaces. That access is the entire reason to use a dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton instead of a metro agent who has never set foot on Chase Creek Street: a part-time agent working weekends does not have those broker relationships. That is the entire difference, and it is worth six figures on the wrong purchase.
What your Clifton home actually sells for in today’s market.
Real comps from a full-time broker, not an automated online estimate. Back to you today. The founder of this brokerage previously produced over $30 million a month in closed sales… that is who reviews your number.
Median $188,000. 31 days on market. In a 4-closing month, one mispriced listing sits while the rest of the market moves. Price it right the first time.
Not a subscription list. Not an email drip. A dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton, personal reply, FAST. No auto-drips.
What Do Clifton Realty Buyers and Residents Say?
The themes below are anonymized composites drawn from published community reviews on Niche and resident commentary in local Greenlee County media. They reflect the most consistent patterns long-time Clifton residents describe about life in the canyon town.
“The mine has been here since my grandfather’s time and it’s still here. That’s the answer to whether the town is a stable place to put down roots. The work is hard, the pay is solid, and the community has been doing this together for over a hundred years.”
“My experience at Morenci Unified has been awesome. The opportunities here are incredible. We can get an Associate’s Degree while in high school for free from Eastern Arizona College, the coaches go out of their way for athletes, and teachers stay after school every day to help. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.”
“Coming from a city, the first thing you notice is the canyon. The drive up US-191 from Safford to Clifton is one of the most beautiful in Arizona, and Chase Creek is a postcard. You trade off restaurant variety and shopping for scenery, fresh air, and neighbors who actually know your name.”
“Affordability is the headline story. We sold a small home in a Phoenix suburb and bought outright in Clifton with money left over. The trade-off is the commute if you don’t work in Morenci, but for retirees and remote workers it’s a different kind of math entirely.”
Why Clifton Arizona Real Estate Matters in 2026
Clifton matters in 2026 because it represents one of the last truly affordable single-family home markets in the state, anchored by an industrial economy that has demonstrated remarkable durability across more than 150 years of copper-price cycles. The town is small, the geography is unforgiving, and the buyer pool is narrow… but the buyers who do want Clifton tend to want it for reasons that don’t fade with market cycles: employment at North America’s largest copper mine, lifestyle, scenery, or a path into Arizona homeownership at a price point that most of the state no longer offers.
Key drivers supporting Clifton Arizona Real Estate include:
- The Morenci copper engine… Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci operation is the largest copper producer in North America and the single largest employer in Greenlee County. As long as global copper demand exists, Clifton has a base.
- Single-zip simplicity… 85533 covers the entire incorporated town and surrounding rural land. No school-boundary roulette, no zip-line price arbitrage, no “which side of the line” confusion that plagues larger metros.
- Affordability differential… a median sale price near $188,000 puts Clifton at 35 to 40 cents on the dollar versus the Arizona statewide median, and entry-level inventory under $100,000 still exists for the right buyer.
- Improving days-on-market… DOM has compressed from triple digits a year ago to about 31 days now, signaling buyer absorption is keeping pace with new listings.
- Year-over-year price strength… median sale price is up about 12.6% from a year ago, a meaningful gain that signals the market is recovering from the post-pandemic correction.
- Improving safety trend… per AreaVibes, year-over-year crime is down 16%, and the multi-agency law-enforcement presence (Clifton PD, Greenlee County Sheriff, AZ DPS) all headquartered in town supports strong response times.
- Morenci Unified school strength… a B-rated unified district per ADE FY25 with an A-rated Metcalf Elementary and a high school that partners with Eastern Arizona College for free dual-enrollment toward an Associate’s Degree.
- Historic Chase Creek district… National Register of Historic Places status (#90000339, listed March 1, 1990) gives the downtown core a preservation framework that newer markets can’t replicate.
- Outdoor lifestyle access… Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway (US-191), and the San Francisco River corridor are essentially at the town’s edge.
- Government-jobs concentration… Clifton’s county-seat status means county, town, sheriff, and court employment all anchor here, providing a stable non-mining payroll base.
None of these drivers are speculative. They are the long-term structural reasons Clifton has survived where other Arizona copper towns have not, and they are the reasons a buyer looking at Clifton in August 2026 should view it as an affordability and lifestyle play… not a speculative appreciation bet. A dedicated full-time agent who knows the Clifton-Morenci corridor specifically can tell you which streets, which districts, and which property profiles deliver on those structural drivers and which ones are exposed to copper-price volatility or flood-plain considerations.
August 2026… Buyer & Seller Takeaways
- Buyers: The August 2026 Clifton market gives you real negotiating leverage on properties that have sat or that need work, but well-priced clean inventory in the mesa neighborhoods is moving in 30 days. Pre-approval matters more than in most rural markets because cash buyers compete on the lower-priced fixer inventory. Pull a CrimeGrade neighborhood map before making an offer.
- Sellers: Year-over-year median is up 12.6% and DOM has dropped from 140 to 31 days… your window for clean retail pricing has opened. Get a dedicated full-time agent who knows the difference between Chase Creek pricing, Shannon Hill pricing, mesa-neighborhood pricing, and the rural Outer Loop. A wrong comp here can cost months.
- Mining-industry buyers: Freeport-McMoRan Morenci is 10 minutes away. If you are relocating for a mine job, factor in the multi-shift schedule when choosing location: the mesa neighborhoods give the quietest residential setting, Chase Creek gives historic character with older systems, and Shannon Hill splits the difference.
- Retirees and remote workers: Affordability is the headline. A median near $188,000 means buyers from Phoenix or Tucson can typically buy outright with the equity in a metro suburb home. Confirm internet service quality on the specific street before closing… rural Clifton broadband varies.
- Historic property buyers: The Chase Creek Historic District (#90000339) gives the downtown core preservation status. If you are buying inside the district, pull the original platting, confirm flood-plain status (Clifton has flooded historically), and budget for older mechanical and structural systems.
- Investors and 1031 buyers: Vacant land in 85533 runs from under $15,000 to over $200,000, and the Eastern Arizona / Greenlee County corridor remains one of the only places in Arizona where small-acreage tracts under $50,000 still exist. Verify utility access (water, septic, power) before any land offer.
Upcoming events in Clifton and Greenlee County: August 2026 through December 8, 2026
Fall is peak visiting season for the Clifton-Morenci corridor… county fair weekends fill the limited local lodging, and buyers timing a property tour around one of these dates see the community at full strength. Clifton is a small market, so this list covers the county seat plus the Safford and regional Eastern Arizona anchors within driving distance.
- Aug 26-29, 2026 … Apache County Fair, Apache County Fairgrounds, St. Johns. Details
- Sep 17-20, 2026 … Greenlee County Fair (rodeo, junior livestock auction, mud drags, carnival, live-music dances), Greenlee County Fairgrounds, Duncan. Details
- Sep 24-27, 2026 … Cochise County Fair, Cochise County Fairgrounds, Douglas. Details
- Sep 24-27, 2026 … Pueblos del Maiz food and culture festival, Tucson. Details
- Sep 25-26, 2026 … NatureSweet SalsaFest (Salsa Trail restaurant competition, car show, beer garden, live music), historic Town Square, downtown Safford. Details
- Oct 8-11, 2026 … Graham County Fair, celebrating 100 years, Graham County Fairgrounds, 527 E. Armory Road, Safford. Details
Clifton Arizona Real Estate Frequently Asked Questions
The median sale price for single-family homes in Clifton Arizona Real Estate (ZIP 85533) in August 2026 is $188,000, up 12.6% year over year. Price per square foot runs near $106 and the average sale price sits closer to $214,000. Volume is light (four closings in the latest month) so individual sales can swing the monthly median materially. Sale-to-list ratios are running near 95%.
Clifton Arizona Real Estate is a balanced market in August 2026. Months of supply sits at 2.0, active inventory holds at 8 single-family homes, and days on market run 31 days… dramatically down from 138 days a year ago. Well-priced clean inventory is moving fast. Overpriced listings still sit, so pricing strategy matters more here than in larger metros where comp depth supports a wider asking range.
In the current market, three-bedroom single-family homes are typically trading between $150,000 and $280,000 depending on district, age, and condition. Historic Chase Creek three-bedrooms run lower, mesa-neighborhood three-bedrooms (Calle Contento, Calle Alta Vista, Hackberry Drive, Bobcat Drive) hold the higher end of that range. A recent comp: 351 Calle Alta Vista Boulevard, a 3 bed / 2 bath at 1,674 sq ft, closed at $315,000 at 3% under list.
Four-bedroom homes in this market are limited inventory and trade between $230,000 and $400,000. The mesa neighborhoods carry most of the four-bedroom stock. Recent comp: 304 Calle Contento, a 4 bed / 2 bath at 2,387 sq ft, closed at $270,000 at 4% under list. Larger four-bedroom homes on acreage along the Outer Loop or up Ward Canyon Road can push to $400,000 with full mountain views and barn or shop outbuildings.
The entry price for Clifton AZ homes for sale in August 2026 starts under $100,000 for character-rich fixer-uppers in the Chase Creek Historic District and South Clifton, with recent closings between $14,000 and $70,000 on vacant land and small lots. Clean move-in-ready Clifton AZ homes for sale typically start near $150,000. The single-family inventory is divided into three price tiers: under $100,000 (fixer / historic), $150,000 to $250,000 (mid-market resale), and $250,000 to $400,000 (mesa neighborhoods and larger lots).
To find Clifton homes for sale before they appear on the national portals, you need a dedicated full-time agent with relationships inside the Greenlee County brokerage community. In this micro-market, inventory regularly trades off-market or pocket-listed between local agents before any public exposure, particularly historic homes in the Chase Creek district that owners want to sell to preservation-minded buyers without a broad listing. We work the local network directly and notify active clients within 60 seconds when matching inventory surfaces.
Multiple-offer situations on Clifton homes for sale are uncommon but happening more frequently in 2026 than they were in 2024 and 2025. The clean mesa-neighborhood listings under $250,000 see the most competition, particularly from Freeport-McMoRan workforce hires relocating from out of state. Most other listings still clear at 95% of list with one offer, but sale-to-list has tightened from 90% a year ago. A dedicated full-time agent who knows the comp depth here is the difference between winning a clean offer and overpaying.
Clifton 85533 real estate is unique on three counts. First, the single-ZIP geography means there is no boundary roulette inside the town. Second, the economy is anchored by the largest copper producer in North America (Freeport-McMoRan Morenci), giving the ZIP a demand base that survives commodity cycles. Third, the Chase Creek Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places (#90000339), which gives the downtown core a preservation framework that no other Eastern Arizona town offers at this price point.
Clifton 85533 real estate sits at a lower entry price than Safford and at a similar entry price to Duncan, but with very different drivers. Safford is the larger Graham County employment center with Eastern Arizona College and Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center; Clifton trades on Morenci mine proximity. Duncan is a smaller agricultural town near the New Mexico line with thinner inventory. For mining-industry buyers, Clifton wins on commute. For commuting professionals serving the Safford-Thatcher corridor, Safford makes more sense.
A dedicated Clifton realty office knows the difference between Chase Creek pricing, Shannon Hill pricing, mesa-neighborhood pricing, South Clifton pricing, and the rural Outer Loop. A general Arizona agent will pull metro-wide comps that do not apply to a 3,822-resident mining town and either overprice your sale or talk you into overpaying as a buyer. Ask any agent for their closed transaction count in Clifton over the last 12 months. If they cannot answer in one sentence, you have your answer. Nearly half of licensed agents closed ZERO deals last year.
Yes. A Clifton realty agent inside the local network gets calls about off-market inventory before any public listing exposure. This matters more in Clifton than in most Arizona markets because the inventory is thin and the seller pool often prefers a direct, quiet transaction. Active clients get notified within 60 seconds when off-market inventory surfaces through our private broker relationships… a personal text from a dedicated agent, not a list, not a drip, not a subscription.
Clifton has a population of 3,822 per the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimate, making it the largest town in Greenlee County and the county seat. The town recorded 3,912 residents in the 2020 Census. Median household income is $78,480 and the median age is 30.9 years… young for rural Arizona, a direct reflection of the working-age mining workforce at the Freeport-McMoRan Morenci operation four miles away.
Yes. Relocation is the core of this market: Census data shows the largest inbound-to-Arizona origin states are California, Washington, Texas, Colorado, and Illinois, and Freeport-McMoRan hires bring buyers to Clifton from across the country. We tour properties on video, flag the flood-plain and historic-district considerations you cannot see from out of state, and send off-market inventory before it reaches the national portals. Fill out any form on this page and a dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton replies personally, FAST.
All Clifton Arizona Real Estate residential addresses K-12 are served by Morenci Unified School District (B district letter grade per ADE FY25), located four miles up Coronado Boulevard in Morenci. Top schools include Metcalf Elementary (A grade, 92.08 points), Morenci High School (B grade, 68.18 points, perfect 10.00 graduation rate score), and Fairbanks Middle School (C grade, 57.59 points). The original Clifton Unified School District closed in 2010. Morenci High partners with Eastern Arizona College for free dual-enrollment toward an Associate’s Degree.
Clifton Arizona Real Estate is policed by a single-agency framework: the Clifton Police Department headquartered at 520 N. Coronado Boulevard, with the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office also headquartered in town at 824 S. Coronado Boulevard and AZ DPS covering US-191. Per CrimeGrade, Clifton holds a D+ overall safety grade at the 23rd percentile. Per AreaVibes, violent crime risk is 1 in 389 and year-over-year crime is down 16%. Crime distribution is uneven across the town. The north neighborhoods read as safest. Pull a CrimeGrade neighborhood-level map before any offer.
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Buying or selling in Clifton, send us a note. A dedicated full-time agent/broker that specializes in Clifton responds personally, FAST… with real comps, off-market awareness, and zero auto-drips.
Resources
What Does Clifton Commercial Real Estate Look Like?
Clifton’s commercial real estate market is small and mining-driven. The Chase Creek Historic District has the most visible commercial inventory, with a mix of preserved storefronts, vacant retail buildings awaiting restoration, and active local businesses. Industrial inventory is dominated by mining-support buildings along the US-191 corridor between Clifton and Morenci. Office space is limited and concentrated in the government corridor near the Greenlee County complex on 5th Street. Cap rates trade meaningfully above Phoenix metro rates because the buyer pool is narrow and tenant turnover risk is real, but pricing per square foot can be a fraction of larger metros.
For commercial transactions and business sales, you need specialists… not residential agents handling commercial deals on the side. Here’s what’s actually moving in this market right now:
Office Lease Rates $8 to $14 → Annual NNN range | Retail Lease Rates $10 to $18 → Annual NNN range | Industrial Lease $0.45 to $0.85 → per SF/month | Cap Rates Trading 8.5% to 10.5% → Recent sales |
Active Listings 5 to 8 ▲ Lease + sale | Total Inventory 95,000 SF → Across types | For Sale Range $95K to $850K → Mixed | Anchor Asset 18,000 SF → Chase Creek District |
Buying or Selling a Clifton Business?
Thinking about buying or selling a Clifton business… with or without the real estate? Clifton businesses range from Chase Creek storefronts and historic-district hospitality concepts to mining-services contractors that support the Morenci operation, plus the typical small-town mix of family-owned retail, restaurants, and trades. We have dedicated full-time business brokers who specialize in Arizona business transactions and know how to value, market, and close Clifton businesses at maximum value… with complete confidentiality from first conversation through closing day.
▶Talk to a Business Broker◀Buying or Selling a Clifton Commercial Building?
Thinking about acquiring or selling a Clifton commercial building? Clifton commercial buildings range from historic Chase Creek retail and lodging structures (some on the National Register of Historic Places) to industrial flex space along US-191 to government-corridor office buildings near the Greenlee County complex. We have dedicated full-time commercial real estate agents who cover this entire submarket. Don’t trust commercial property to a residential agent who handles it occasionally.
▶Talk to a Commercial Agent◀
Buying a Business, Fix & Flip, or Commercial Building in Clifton?
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Coverage area: Clifton Arizona Real Estate across Clifton, AZ, all of ZIP code 85533, and the immediately surrounding rural Greenlee County land along the US-191 Coronado Trail corridor. Price-reduction rate (percent of active listings with a price cut) could not be independently verified for the 85533 ZIP this cycle and is omitted rather than estimated; it will be added when a verifiable figure is available.
Data sources: Monthly closed-sale and active-listing data is compiled from local sales records and verified across multiple area data sources before publication. Public records, builder sales centers, and city planning documents are used for new construction figures and address verification. School ratings are drawn from Arizona Department of Education state report cards, Niche, GreatSchools, and SchoolGrade. Crime data comes from CrimeGrade, AreaVibes, and FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
Update cadence: This report is rebuilt the moment new market data is released each month, typically between the 7th and the 10th. Reported figures reflect the most recent complete monthly cut available at publication. Figures presented as ranges reflect normal mid-month variation across data sources, so you always see realistic numbers… not cherry-picked ones.
Author: Compiled by Arizona Homes and Condos Realty. We intentionally do not list properties on this site… Arizona’s market changes too fast for static listing pages to remain accurate.
Here is what actually happens when you reach out. If you are a buyer, a dedicated full-time agent who specializes in your exact target area starts working on your behalf immediately… researching both on-market AND off-market opportunities. Today’s real estate moves so quickly that the best properties often never reach the national portals at all. You need someone with local relationships pulling for you.
If you are a seller, a local dedicated full-time listing agent reaches out personally to discuss your goals, your timeline, and the details of your property… so we can position you for the strongest possible outcome.
Last updated: August 10, 2026.