Douglas Arizona Real Estate Market Report — May 2026
Douglas Arizona Real Estate in May 2026 looks like what you would expect from a small, slow-velocity rural border market with one very loud federal tailwind underneath it. The single-family median sits in the $240,000 to $265,000 range, up sharply from a year ago. Days on market stretch past 130 days. Only a handful of homes close each month. And yet… the $216 million federal investment in the new Douglas Commercial Port of Entry is rewriting the long-term demand story for housing on the west side of town. This is a buyer’s market today with a very specific kind of upside built into 2026 and 2027.
May 2026 Market Snapshot
Median Sale Price $240K-$265K ▲ About 10% YoY |
Average Sale Price $255K-$285K ▲ Higher-end pulls average up |
Price / Sq Ft $135-$170 ▲ Range varies by zip |
Homes Sold (Mo) 5 to 10 → vs. 4 to 8 last year |
Active Listings 120-150 ▲ Elevated supply |
Days on Market 130-180 → Slow velocity |
Sale-to-List 92%-95% ▼ 5% to 8% below list |
Months of Supply 12+ months → Buyer’s market |
Prices & Volume… May 2026
Douglas closed May 2026 with a single-family median in the $240,000 to $265,000 range, a sharp year-over-year move from roughly $200,000 last spring. Two things drive that. First, the entire Cochise County housing base has lifted with state-wide migration. Second, the active mix shifted toward rehabbed historic-district homes, which list higher and pull the median up. Median price per square foot for Douglas Arizona Real Estate ran $135 to $170 depending on neighborhood, with the renovated Foothills inventory leading and original-condition midtown stock dragging the bottom of the range.
Volume stayed thin. Five to ten closings per month is typical for Douglas, and May tracked that pattern. Active inventory sat in the 120 to 150 range across both zip codes, with sale-to-list ratios averaging 92% to 95%. The math says clearly: this is a buyer’s market with months of supply north of 12. That said, well-priced and renovated homes in the historic core still move in 60 to 90 days. Original-condition mobile and manufactured stock can sit 200+ days. Pricing discipline is everything right now.
By Zip Code… Two Douglas Markets
Douglas is technically a two-zip market for delivery (85607 standard, 85608 PO Box), but real residential inventory concentrates inside 85607. Buyers should know what each zip actually represents before they shop.
- 85607 (Douglas city proper): Median sale price $240,000 to $265,000… up about 10% YoY. Volume direction is flat to mildly positive. This is where 95%+ of MLS-listed Douglas residential inventory lives, including the historic district, Foothills, midtown, and west-side neighborhoods.
- 85608 (PO Box only, no standard delivery): This is a PO Box zip code, not a residential delivery zip. Listings tagged 85608 typically reflect ranch and rural parcels in the broader Douglas area or addresses where mail goes to a PO Box. Use 85607 as your primary search filter.
- 85626 (Pirtleville, adjacent CDP): Pirtleville is the unincorporated CDP just north of Douglas city limits. Median there sits around $180,000 with a mix of older ranch-style homes and manufactured housing. It does not appear in Douglas city statistics and is not covered on this page. Verify city limits before assuming a listing is “in Douglas.”
Douglas Neighborhoods & Districts
Douglas does not have suburban-style subdivisions with HOA gates and master-planned amenities. Instead, Douglas Arizona Real Estate organizes around named historic districts and informal residential zones, all inside the 85607 boundary. Every district below has been verified against the National Register of Historic Places, City of Douglas planning documents, or the Cochise County GIS parcel system.
Downtown Historic District
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1985). Centers on the G Avenue commercial corridor between 8th and 15th Streets. Anchored by the Gadsden Hotel and the Grand Theatre. Mostly commercial above-and-below ownership but includes a handful of converted residential lofts.
Douglas Residential Historic District
National Register listed (1986). Roughly 500 structures, 325 contributing. Architectural mix of Craftsman, Bungalow, Late Victorian, and Queen Anne styles from the early smelter era. Highest concentration of restored character homes in the city. Premium pricing for fully renovated stock.
Foothills
Most active resale neighborhood per regional listing data. Mid-century to 1990s ranch-style and Spanish-influenced homes on larger lots toward the western edge of the city. Newer construction is concentrated here and on the road toward Pirtleville. Most popular search zone among out-of-area buyers.
Sonoran District
Officially recognized residential district in city planning documents. Mix of historic-era cottages and post-1950s ranch homes. Walkable to G Avenue commercial. Entry-point pricing for buyers wanting to be inside the city’s character zones.
Midtown / Central Douglas
The bulk of original-condition mid-century stock sits here, between the historic core and the Foothills. Most affordable entry point in the city. Highest concentration of original-condition homes that need cosmetic and mechanical work. Strong rental yields for investor buyers.
West Side / Port Corridor
The zone west of US-191 toward the future commercial port of entry site. Currently rural and underdeveloped, but flagged in city planning documents as the long-term growth area once the new port opens. Land parcels and older single-family stock dominate today.
All addresses verified inside Douglas, AZ 85607 city limits via Cochise County GIS. Pirtleville, Forrest, and unincorporated Cochise County parcels are NOT included even when listed with a “Douglas, AZ” mailing address. Verify city limits before assuming a property is inside Douglas.
Douglas’s Neighboring Cities & Surrounding Markets
Douglas sits within Cochise County… part of the Southern Arizona region. Most buyers comparing Douglas also evaluate other Cochise County border and high-desert towns. Below are the cities that share buyer demographics, employer overlap, or natural geographic flow with Douglas.
Explore All of Cochise County Real Estate
Cochise County covers 6,219 square miles across Southern Arizona, from Sierra Vista’s Fort Huachuca corridor to Willcox’s wine country to the Douglas border zone. Each city in the county serves a distinct economic base, so comparing across them is the smart way to position a relocation or investment decision.
▶Cochise County Real Estate Guide◀Schools & School Districts
Per the Arizona Department of Education FY25 A-F Letter Grades (released April 15, 2026), Douglas Unified District earned a B letter grade at the district level across all 9 of its schools. Center for Academic Success, Inc., the charter operator that runs two campuses physically located in Douglas, also earned a B district grade. Schools matter for Douglas Arizona Real Estate because the district is K-12 unified… there is no separate elementary district or separate high school district, Douglas Unified serves the entire city.
Douglas Unified District… B-Rated District
Douglas Unified District (district code 4174) operates 9 schools serving approximately 4,000 students, with comprehensive English-language learner programs given the city’s bilingual demographics. Per ADE FY25 data, the top-performing K-8 campus in the district is Faras Elementary School, which earned a B letter grade with 83.03 total points earned out of 100 eligible. Stevenson Elementary (B, 81.00 points) and Paul H. Huber Jr. High (B, 75.15 points) also posted B grades. Three additional K-8 campuses earned C grades from ADE this cycle.
Douglas High School & Charter Options
Douglas High School is the only public high school in the city. Per ADE FY25 data, it earned a B letter grade with 71.21 total points earned and a perfect 10.00 graduation rate score, with a 9-12 CCRI (College and Career Readiness Index) score of 15.1. For families wanting a charter alternative, Center for Academic Success runs two well-regarded campuses inside Douglas: CAS #3 (K-4) earned an A grade with 88.71 points, and CAS #4 (5-8) earned a B grade with 81.90 points per the same FY25 ADE release.
Center for Academic Success #3
Per ADE FY25 official data, CAS #3 earned an A letter grade with 88.71 total points earned… the highest-scoring K-8 campus operating inside Douglas. Strong K-8 Growth score of 50.00 (the maximum) drove the rating.
A GRADE 88.71 PTS CHARTERFaras Elementary School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Faras Elementary earned a B letter grade with 83.03 total points earned… the highest-rated traditional public K-8 in Douglas. K-8 Growth of 49.36 and full EL Proficiency-and-Growth score of 10.00.
B GRADE 83.03 PTS DUSDStevenson Elementary School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Stevenson earned a B letter grade with 81.00 total points earned. Posted perfect 10.00 scores in both EL Proficiency-and-Growth and Acceleration Readiness, signaling strong support for the city’s bilingual student population.
B GRADE 81.00 PTS DUSDDouglas High School
Per ADE FY25 official data, Douglas High earned a B letter grade with 71.21 total points earned. Posted a perfect 10.00 graduation rate score and 10.00 grad rate improvement score. CCRI of 15.1 reflects strong college and career readiness pipeline for a small rural high school.
B GRADE 71.21 PTS 10.00 GRADBeyond the campuses listed above, Cochise College’s Douglas Campus serves as the city’s higher-education anchor. Founded in 1964, it offers 49 associate degrees, hosts the college’s nationally-respected aviation program with its own school-owned airport (Cochise College Airport), and is the workforce pipeline for the surrounding Border Patrol, healthcare, and trades economy.
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.
Safety & Crime in Douglas
Douglas is a small incorporated city where the overall crime rate runs noticeably below the national average for similarly sized communities. Per recent City-Data analysis, the 2022 Douglas crime index was 107, about 2.3 times smaller than the U.S. average and well below Sierra Vista (160), Benson (178), Willcox (236), and Nogales (255). The violent crime rate is approximately 1 in 823 residents, which is roughly average for U.S. cities. Property crime, mostly theft, runs slightly elevated and is the main concern for residents and investors. Heavy federal law-enforcement presence at the border modifies the calculus on both sides.
Law Enforcement Jurisdiction in Douglas
Douglas is policed by the Douglas Police Department, a 50-person municipal agency (32 sworn officers as of 2024) headquartered inside the City of Douglas civic complex. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office holds concurrent jurisdiction in unincorporated areas just outside city limits (including Pirtleville, Forrest, and the Sulphur Springs Valley), so border-area buyers should verify exactly which agency responds to their parcel address. Highway enforcement on SR-80 (the main route to Bisbee and Sierra Vista) and US-191 (the route north to I-10) is handled by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The Douglas Border Patrol Station (one of eight stations in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Tucson Sector, located at Highway 80 and Kings Highway) maintains a 24/7 federal presence covering 40.5 linear miles of international border and roughly 1,450 square miles of patrol area surrounding the city.
Douglas Safety Snapshot
Below-average overall crime for a similarly-sized U.S. city, with heavy federal law-enforcement overlay.
Within Douglas, the historic residential district (NRHP) and the Foothills neighborhood post the lowest property-crime concentration, while midtown commercial-adjacent zones near G Avenue post the highest. Theft and auto burglary are the main reported offense categories. Buyers should also factor that Douglas is part of the federally designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which means heavier federal patrol presence and more proactive enforcement compared to interior Cochise County towns.
Major Employers & Commute
Douglas is a federal-government, education, healthcare, and cross-border-trade economy. The local employment base is small relative to Sierra Vista (Fort Huachuca) and the Tucson metro, but it is unusually stable because most of the major payrolls are tied to federal and state functions that cannot relocate. The new commercial port of entry will add 110 federal positions when complete and could push the figure substantially higher with downstream logistics and trade-services hiring.
Top employers within commuting distance
The economic anchor that genuinely separates Douglas from every other Arizona border town is the Douglas Port of Entry, the second-largest commercial port in the state by total import-export value. Combined with the $216 million federally funded new commercial port of entry under development on an 80.49-acre parcel west of downtown, plus a separate $184 million rehabilitation of the existing Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry, Douglas is in the middle of a $400 million federal infrastructure cycle that will reshape both the employer base and the housing demand picture through the rest of the decade.
New Construction… Custom Infill Only
Douglas does not have organized production-builder communities in 2026. There are no national homebuilder communities (no Lennar, no Meritage, no Taylor Morrison, no D.R. Horton master plans), and no active master-planned subdivisions with phased lot releases. New residential construction is custom infill on individual lots, mostly in the Foothills and along the west side approaching the Pirtleville boundary.
The biggest new construction story in Douglas is federal, not residential. The new Douglas Commercial Port of Entry, funded with $216 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is rising on an 80.49-acre parcel approximately 5 miles west of the existing port. Combined with the $184 million rehabilitation of the existing Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry, this is the most significant infrastructure spend in the city’s history. Initial port staffing alone will add 110 federal positions, and downstream logistics, trucking, and trade-services demand is expected to drive both commercial real estate development and residential rental demand on the west side over the next 24 to 48 months.
Important disclosure: Buyers seeking new-build production homes will need to look north to Sierra Vista (Fort Huachuca corridor) or further to the Tucson Metro Area (Marana, Sahuarita, Vail). Buyers wanting custom new-build inside Douglas should work with a local builder directly on a lot purchase plus build-to-suit contract. Verify lot zoning, utility availability, and any short-term rental restrictions before closing.
Read the full Arizona New Construction Buyer Guide before you sign any builder contract.
What Douglas Residents Say
The themes below are pulled from published Niche resident reviews and local newspaper letters. Names anonymized.
The pace is slower here, in the best way. We came from Tucson and got tired of traffic and crowds. Douglas has everything we actually need… a Walmart, a hospital, a real downtown with restaurants, and the prices are a fraction of what we were paying.
The historic district homes are the secret. You can still buy a fully restored Craftsman bungalow under $300,000 here. In Bisbee or Sedona that home would be three times the price. The character is incredible and so is the value.
What people miss is that this is a cross-border community. Agua Prieta is right there, three miles south, and a lot of families have ties on both sides. The cultural mix and the food scene are unmatched. It’s a real small town with real history, not a tourist set.
I work for Border Patrol and live two miles from the station. My commute is 8 minutes. My kids go to Faras and they love it. The job is steady. The cost of living is low. For a federal employee this is one of the best places in Arizona to be assigned.
Why Douglas Arizona Real Estate Matters in 2026
Douglas does not look like a high-momentum market on the monthly numbers. Five to ten closings, 130+ days on market, 12 months of supply. Those are buyer’s-market figures. But the medium-term setup is more interesting than almost any other Cochise County town, and here is why.
Key drivers supporting Douglas Arizona Real Estate include:
- $400 million federal infrastructure cycle… the new commercial port of entry ($216M) plus the rehabilitation of the existing port ($184M) is the largest infrastructure spend in the city’s history. Direct hiring impact starts with 110 federal positions.
- Arizona’s #2 commercial port of entry… Douglas Port handles the second-largest commercial cargo volume of any Arizona port of entry, behind only Nogales. That cross-border trade base is structural, not cyclical.
- Stable federal employer base… U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Douglas Border Patrol Station, and U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector operations cannot relocate. The payroll stays.
- Cochise College anchor… a 60+ year community college campus with a school-owned airport and an FAA-certified aviation program. Workforce pipeline for trades, healthcare, public safety.
- Two National Register historic districts… Downtown Historic District and Residential Historic District. Restored character homes in these districts command durable premium pricing.
- Affordability vs. the rest of Arizona… median pricing $240K to $265K versus the state median of $453K. Buyers from California, Phoenix, and Tucson can buy 60% to 70% more home here.
- Low overall crime relative to similar-sized cities… Douglas crime index 107 versus 160 in Sierra Vista, 178 in Benson, 236 in Willcox, 255 in Nogales.
- Cross-border cultural depth… Agua Prieta (population near 80,000) is the sister city directly across the international border. Bilingual workforce, dual-economy retail, and a genuinely unique food scene.
- Long-DOM seller behavior… 130+ day days-on-market figures mean sellers are negotiable. Buyers with cash or pre-approval routinely close 5% to 8% below list.
Douglas in 2026 is a market that rewards patience and local knowledge. The federal infrastructure investment is real, but the residential demand response will take 24 to 48 months to fully materialize. Buyers willing to position now, before the new port opens and the federal payroll expansion lands, are buying into a structurally undervalued submarket. Sellers need to price into today’s buyer’s market reality, not next year’s potential.
May 2026… Buyer & Seller Takeaways
- Buyers: This is a clean buyer’s market. With 12+ months of supply, 130+ days on market, and sale-to-list ratios at 92% to 95%, well-prepared buyers should expect to negotiate 5% to 10% off list on most properties. Restored historic-district homes are the exception… those still move.
- Sellers: Price to the market that exists today, not the market you wish existed. Median is $240K to $265K. Overpriced listings sit 200+ days. Renovated and pre-inspected properties sell. Original-condition homes need price-cut discipline at 60 days.
- Investors: The federal port-of-entry investment cycle ($400M total) is the macro story. Long-hold residential and small-multifamily acquisitions on the west side and Foothills are positioned for the 2027-2028 demand wave.
- Restoration buyers: Two National Register historic districts with fully restored Craftsman and Victorian inventory under $400K. Tax credits available for qualifying historic rehabilitations. This is the deepest affordable historic stock in Arizona.
- Federal employees: CBP, Border Patrol, and ADOC postings to the Douglas station mean stable employment, short commutes, and 60% lower housing costs versus Tucson. Best per-mile commute economics in the state.
- Relocation buyers: Two zip codes (85607 inside city, 85608 PO Box only). Verify Pirtleville vs. Douglas city limits before assuming a listing qualifies for any in-city tax, school, or service benefit. Many “Douglas, AZ” listings are technically outside city limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Douglas single-family home median sits in the $240,000 to $265,000 range in May 2026, up from roughly $200,000 a year ago. Price per square foot averages $130 to $170. This is a small, slow-velocity rural market, so monthly numbers can swing wide on just a handful of closings.
Douglas has a violent crime rate below the U.S. average and an overall crime rate roughly 2.3 times lower than the national average per recent City-Data figures. Property crime runs slightly above the national average, mostly theft. The Douglas Police Department covers the city, and federal Customs and Border Protection presence is heavy due to the port of entry.
Douglas Unified District serves the city K-12 and earned a B letter grade from the Arizona Department of Education FY25 A-F release. Center for Academic Success, Inc. operates two A and B graded charter campuses inside Douglas. Top-rated schools include Faras Elementary (B, 83.03 points) and Douglas High School (B, 71.21 points).
Douglas city limits cover zip code 85607 as the standard delivery area. Zip 85608 and 85655 are PO Box codes for Douglas. Adjacent Pirtleville uses 85626 and is not inside Douglas city limits.
Douglas does not have organized production-builder communities in 2026. New residential construction is custom infill on individual lots. The major new build in the area is federal: the new Douglas Commercial Port of Entry, a 80.49-acre facility funded with $216 million in federal infrastructure money, expected to bring 110 new federal positions and drive demand for housing west of the existing port.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Douglas Station and the Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry), Cochise College Douglas Campus, Douglas Unified School District, City of Douglas, Cochise County, Chiricahua Community Health Centers, and Walmart anchor the employment base. The new Douglas Commercial Port of Entry will add 110 federal positions when complete.
Douglas is effectively an SFR-only market. Attached housing inventory is too thin to publish meaningful condo data. Buyers seeking condominium or townhome inventory should look north to Sierra Vista or Tucson.
Douglas matters because it is the second-largest city in Cochise County, hosts Arizona’s second-largest commercial port of entry, and is about to absorb a $216 million federal infrastructure investment in the new commercial port. The historic G Avenue district, Cochise College, and cross-border economic flow with Agua Prieta create a uniquely diversified small-market real estate base that no other Arizona border town offers.
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Douglas Business & Commercial Real Estate
Douglas commercial real estate in May 2026 is being completely reshaped by the federal port-of-entry investment cycle. Existing G Avenue retail and downtown commercial inventory trades at deep affordability versus Sierra Vista and Tucson. Industrial demand is concentrated west of US-191 where the new commercial port will land. Cross-border logistics, customs brokerage, trucking, and warehousing are the highest-growth commercial categories through 2027.
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 $6 to $9 → Per SF / port-adjacent premium |
Cap Rates Trading 7% to 9.5% → Recent sales |
Active Listings 25 to 40 ▲ Lease + sale |
Total Inventory 450K+ SF → Across types |
For Sale Range $95K-$2.4M → Mixed |
Anchor Asset G Avenue → Historic commercial district |
Buying or Selling a Douglas Business?
Thinking about buying or selling a Douglas business… with or without the real estate? Cross-border trade brokerage, customs and logistics services, hospitality (the Gadsden Hotel and downtown F&B), and trades businesses dominate the available transaction pipeline. We have dedicated full-time business brokers who specialize in Arizona business transactions and know how to value, market, and close Douglas businesses at maximum value… with complete confidentiality from first conversation through closing day.
▶Talk to a Business Broker◀Buying or Selling a Douglas Commercial Building?
Thinking about acquiring or selling a Douglas commercial building? G Avenue historic-district retail, warehouse and industrial inventory near the existing and future ports of entry, and Cochise College-adjacent service properties are the most-watched categories. 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 Douglas?
Visit 75BizLoans.com for fast, competitive financing on business acquisitions, commercial real estate, and investment properties in Douglas… from $100,000 to $50 million. Whether you’re acquiring a Douglas business, financing a fix-and-flip historic-district restoration, BRRR strategy, multi-family apartment building, or purchasing a commercial property near the new port of entry, 75BizLoans.com offers nationwide commercial lending with fast approvals and terms that actually close deals.
▶Get Funded at 75BizLoans.com◀Methodology & Sources
Coverage area: Douglas Arizona Real Estate across zip codes 85607 (standard delivery) and 85608 (PO Box), Cochise County.
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 (FY25 A-F file, released April 15, 2026), Niche, GreatSchools, and SchoolGrade. Crime data comes from CrimeGrade, AreaVibes, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, and City-Data crime index.
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. In a small-volume market like Douglas with only 5 to 10 monthly closings, range-based reporting is more honest than a single-point median.
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 many of the best properties never reach the national websites at all. You need someone with local relationships pulling for you.
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Last updated: May 10, 2026.