Parks, Bellemont and Williams

West of Flagstaff, I-40 and historic Route 66 run through three communities that buyers often weigh together. Bellemont, about 11 miles out at 7,166 feet, is home to Flagstaff Meadows, the National Weather Service's Flagstaff office, and Camp Navajo. Parks, a rural census area of about 170 square miles at roughly 7,300 feet, is mostly acreage in the pines. Williams, at 6,916 feet and about 33 miles from downtown Flagstaff, is a city founded in 1881, the southern terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway, and the last Route 66 town bypassed by I-40.

We've closed homes in all three, and the right one usually comes down to two questions: how much land you want, and where your water comes from.

Over the last twelve months the MLS shows 138 closings across the three: 95 single-family, 22 manufactured, and 21 townhomes. Single-family homes sold between $250,000 and $4,995,000, with a median of $569,000 and the middle half between about $499,000 and $712,000. Bellemont's 30 single-family sales had a $573,500 median, and its 21 townhomes sold between $399,000 and $543,910. Williams' 44 single-family sales had a $547,500 median, and Parks' 21 had a $550,000 median on about 2.2 acres. Median days on market was 89.

Each place lives differently. Bellemont is newer and more suburban, with national forest at the edge of the neighborhoods. Parks is quiet acreage along Old Route 66 and the open prairies, where the water plan matters as much as the house. Williams has a Route 66 downtown, the Grand Canyon Railway depot, and Bill Williams Mountain on its doorstep, and it is working through real water and sewer constraints, covered below.