The biggest swing in a first home here is not the house. It is whether the lot already has water, sewer and power at the property line. Two listings twenty minutes apart can carry the same price and a very different cost to move into.
Start with what homes are selling for, then work through what the lot adds.
What first homes are selling for
These are August 2026 medians for single-family homes in the three towns most first-time buyers compare.
| Town | Median sale price | Months of supply | Median days on market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingman | $269,393 | 3.1 | 40 |
| Bullhead City | $294,995 | 4.1 | 66 |
| Fort Mohave | $365,000 | 5.3 | 54 |
Source: Momentum MLS
Across the wider service area there were 4.3 months of supply and a median of 45 days on market, so Kingman was the tightest of the three and the quickest to go under contract. Financing costs sit on top: the 30-year fixed averaged 6.95% in Freddie Mac’s survey dated September 17, 2026. All of these move monthly, and our fall market update carries the current read with the same sources.
In town or out of town, the decision that moves your budget most
Inside Kingman, Bullhead City or Fort Mohave, water, sewer and power are usually at the meter. Outside them, three line items appear that a town lot never shows you.
A well, or hauled water. Before anyone drills, a Notice of Intent to Drill, Deepen, Replace, or Modify a Well, form DWR 55-40, goes to the Arizona Department of Water Resources. On a parcel of five acres or less, a well for domestic use also needs a site plan showing the proposed well and any septic tank or sewer on the property or within one hundred feet (A.R.S. 45-596), and that package goes to the county or local health authority for review. Mohave County Development Services charges $160 for the notice. If the parcel has no well, water gets hauled to a tank. Ask what a delivery costs to that specific address and what size tank the site needs before you write an offer, because both change with distance.
A septic system. Mohave County permits on-site septic systems, and a percolation test and soil evaluation come first. A conventional residential septic permit is $518, which covers the initial plan review and two inspections. The county also requires at least 100 feet between a well and a septic system, which is a siting question as much as a cost one.
The distance to power. UNS Electric builds single-phase line extensions to an individual residential applicant up to 550 feet at its own expense, for initial site improvements. Mohave Electric builds up to 625 feet without charge where the property served is not within a subdivision. Past those allowances you fund the line, and the bill depends on footage and terrain, so get it quoted in writing.
Our guides to Golden Valley, well and septic, water rights and going off-grid work through each of these in detail.
If it is a manufactured home, the loan changes before the house does
A large share of the affordable inventory here is manufactured, and that changes the financing conversation more than the shopping.
Federal construction and safety standards, the HUD Code, apply to homes that entered the first stage of production on or after June 15, 1976. A home built to the standard carries a certification label on each transportable section, and a data plate inside that lists the date the unit was manufactured. Those two things are what a lender, an appraiser and an insurer look for, so find them before you fall for the kitchen.
Placing one in unincorporated Mohave County carries a permit fee of $650 including three inspections, on a county fee table marked effective July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, so confirm the current figure before you budget.
Start with our guide to new versus used manufactured homes and, if the plan is to put one on your own land, manufactured home placement.
Down payment help is a separate question
Arizona runs down payment assistance and first-time buyer programs that can change what you need at closing. We keep that in its own guide rather than repeat it here: read Arizona first-time homebuyer grants for the programs, FHA versus conventional for the loan comparison, and the VA loan guide if you have served.
Talk to a lender before you shop. Which program you qualify for narrows the list of homes worth touring, especially when manufactured homes are in the mix.
What to look at on a showing here
- Where water goes in a storm. Washes, grading and the low corner of the lot tell you more in August than in January.
- Roof, seals and window condition. Wind and blowing dust are constant in this corridor, and they find the weak points.
- Well and septic records if the home has them, including the last pump-out and any perc test on file.
- The manufactured label and data plate, if it is a manufactured home.
- How far power runs from the pole to the building site on a rural parcel.
- Who maintains the road you drove in on. Many are not county maintained.
Our guide to buying acreage in Mohave County covers the land version of this list.
What it costs to own, not just to buy
Property tax here is computed on the Limited Property Value, not on what you paid, and rates are stated per $100 of assessed valuation. Your rate depends on which districts the parcel sits in, so ask for the actual figure on the specific address rather than a county average. Insurance, power and water round out the monthly number, and on a rural parcel the water line can be a delivery schedule instead of a bill.
For the wider comparison, our cost of living guide puts Kingman next to Phoenix and Las Vegas.
A first-home checklist for Mohave County
- Get pre-approved, and ask the lender specifically about manufactured homes and rural parcels.
- Decide in town or out, and price the difference honestly.
- On a rural lot, price water, septic and the power run before you commit.
- Read the tax figure for the address, not the county average.
- Walk the lot for drainage, then walk the house for wind and dust damage.
- Ask who maintains the road.
Talk it through before you write an offer
If you want these numbers run against a specific address, call The Hassell Team’s Kingman office, Keller Williams Arizona Living Realty, at (928) 715-7653, or get in touch. You can also start with our buyer resources.
Sources
- Momentum MLS (Western Arizona REALTOR® Data Exchange, Inc.), Market Review dashboard, August 2026 data, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://momentummls.com/market-review/
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of September 17, 2026, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
- Arizona Department of Water Resources, well drilling in Arizona, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.azwater.gov/permitting-wells/well-drilling-arizona
- Mohave County Development Services, septic and well permitting fees, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.mohave.gov/departments/development-services/environmental-qualitywaste-disposal/septic-well-permitting/
- UNS Electric, line extensions tariff sheet 907, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://docs.uesaz.com/wp-content//uploads/907-UNSE-Line-Extensions.pdf
- Mohave Electric Cooperative, service rules and regulations, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.mohaveelectric.com/member-service/rates/service-rules-regulations/
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, eCFR, 24 CFR 3282.8, 3280.11 and 3280.5, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-B/chapter-XX/part-3280
- Mohave County Development Services, manufactured homes and factory-built buildings, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.mohave.gov/departments/development-services/building-division/manufactured-homesfactory-built-buildings/
- Mohave County Development Services, Building Division (jurisdiction), retrieved 2026-09-30, https://www.mohave.gov/departments/development-services/building-division/
- Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. 45-596 (notice of intention to drill; well site plan), retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.azleg.gov/ars/45/00596.htm
- Mohave County Assessor, 2024 assessor booklet (Limited Property Value), retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.mohave.gov/media/c1eedkip/2024-assessor-booklet_assessor-book-single-pages-2024-1.pdf
- Mohave County, FY2025-2026 tax levies and rates, retrieved 2026-09-21, https://www.mohave.gov/media/lecfu4to/fy2025-2026-mohave-county-tax-levies-and-rates-adopted-8-18-25.pdf