Despite dropping home values, some still flock to Tombstone to capitalize on small town appeal and affordable prices.

Craig Oldfather said the peaceful nature of Allen Street is one of many reasons he is looking for a home in Tombstone. Oldfather grew up in Benson, and moved to larger metropolises after graduating from school.

“Those big cities, it’s all great fun when you are young,” Oldfather said. “But when you are tired of that hustle and bustle, you need somewhere to slow down.”

“After New York, Los Angeles seemed quieter and after Los Angeles, Phoenix seemed quieter and then Tucson seemed chill,” he continued. “For other people, it must feel like you are at the end of the world but for me, coming to Tombstone is me coming back to my roots.”

Those roots are what Barbara Highfield, a broker at Tombstone Real Estate, says keeps people coming back, despite a topsy-turvy housing market.

The median home values have fluctuated hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last three years. In November 2008, the median home value in Tombstone was $275,000. At its lowest point, it plummeted to $75,000 in February of last year. Today, it hovers around $188,000, according to statistics on zillow.com.

Tombstone Real Estate sold 22 homes in 2011, ranging from $19,100 to $185,000. Some homes stayed on the market 35 days while others stayed on more than a year and a half.

But according to Highfield, “it's a great time to buy. Come one, come all.”

Highfield said the main markets locally are Phoenix, with interest from buyers in Texas, California and the northwest looking for that Tombstone flair to a home.

"They want to have a flavor of Tombstone so they really like the older houses," she said. "Those are the ones that seem to be the most popular."

The Tombstone trend is apparent all over the county.

In Cochise County, one out of every 718 homes is in foreclosure, with 81 foreclosure properties on the market today. In Arizona, that number lies at one out of every 248 housing units last month. Out of 70,135 foreclosure homes in the state, the average price of sale is around $130,800.

But homes like an 1880s shotgun-style home on the corner of Fifth and Safford are being listed in the mid-$60,000 range. That price range should bring in the cross section of buyers looking for homes in Tombstone, according to Bonnie Boutte, a Tombstone real estate agent.

People leaving the area, she said, usually are moving closer to family or to medical care in a larger city.

But for those moving to Tombstone, according to Boutte, the reasons are quite varied: Some are retiring and remember Roy Rogers and the O.K. Corral and want to go to Tombstone to play, others are Border Patrol agents who like the small town feel, while others still are just looking for a warm weather community where everybody knows your name.

Boutte said the reasons she and her husband moved to Tombstone 10 years ago are many of the reasons her buyers are looking for a home of their own there today.

“It’s a small community, the countryside is beautiful, and we have some of the most perfect weather in all of Arizona. It’s not too cold, it’s not too hot,” she said, quipping about how Tombstone’s humidity feels close to zero in comparison to her old Louisiana home.

Russell Jennings, owner of Tombstone RV Park and Resort, said that he’s seen more people switch from homes to RVs in the park.

“In the last year or two years, we’ve seen a lot of people selling their homes and buying an RV and that’s going to be their home,” he said. Most people he said are there either because they want to travel and take their home on the road, or are buying in anticipation of hard economic times.

Unlike other cities, “it’s not like they are sitting in their rigs looking for something to do,” though. The same Tombstone charm that brings in homebuyers can attract even part-time RV residents.

But Jennings said because of the economy, some people who did move to the park after selling their homes had a hard time making monthly payments because of expenses not matching fixed incomes of retirees or those hit hard by the slowing in the tourism market that runs the city.

Those in Tombstone, however, agree that the uniqueness of the town gives its housing market something other larger cities in the state might not have.

And Oldfather agrees that the comfort of living in a small town that’s going to stay small helps houses in the city get bought and sold.