Big House, Small Yard Becoming the Rule

Aside from a few notable exceptions, the trend for new upscale homes being built in Northwest Arkansas is that the business class prefers to spend little time on the exterior of their friendly confines.

It’s not unusual to see $350,000 homes with minute yards. The lawns are so tiny that a pair of sheers would cut the grass almost as fast as it would take to to get the lawn mower out of the garage.

Home builder Roger Kelley said such homes are just a sign of today’s life in Northwest Arkansas.

“If you’ve got two professional folks in the same household, they may not want to mess with a yard,” Kelley said. “They just want a nice home.”

Many of the upscale homes in Benton and Washington counties have been sold to employees of the vendors that have set up offices in the area to be near the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Many of those individuals may have moved into the area from far away with no intentions of staying around for several years. They may not have put much time and effort into their yards. Therefore, Kelley believes, a large yard would only complicate a top resale price down the line.

“I’m sure that factors into it,” Kelley said. “Most of them don’t have time to do yard work. They may tinker around a little bit, but they’re not going to spend two or three hours a day working on the yard.”

A prime example of small lots with large homes is in east Fayetteville. A 2,634-SF house at Candlewood subdivision has a listing price of $426,900, but sits on a lot that is only 0.3 of an acre. Several lots available to build on at Candlewood are priced at $69,900 and are just over 0.4 of an acre.