Area Home Value Tops Little Rock, Springfield: Median Home Value of $90,700 in 2000 Lags Behind 2003 Prices by 49-79 Percent

The median home value in Northwest Arkansas is higher than in the nearby cities of Little Rock, Tulsa and Springfield, Mo.r”This is such a booming area with Wal-Mart bringing in vendors,” said Lisa Biggs, executive officer of the Metro Area Board of Realtors based in Springdale. “I suspect that would be the reason.”rAt $90,700, according to the 2000 census, the median price for a home in Northwest Arkansas is less than in the larger metropolitan areas of Kansas City ($104,400), Dallas ($96,200) and Memphis ($90,900).rBut the median home price here is more expensive than in most nearby metropolitan statistical areas of comparable size.r”I didn’t realize we were more than Little Rock,” Biggs said. “But with the other areas, it’s not surprising.”rBiggs said it’s difficult to find homes in Northwest Arkansas in the $90,000 range, which is the median value that owners reported to the U.S. Census Bureau based on appraisals and home sales. The least expensive homes in Northwest Arkansas cost about $70,000, she noted.r”Prices have really gone up in the last two years,” said Garry Rhodes, executive broker with Lazenby Real Estate in Fayetteville.rAccording to the Northwest Arkansas Multi-Listing Service, the average price for homes sold in the past 12 months was $158,753 in Bentonville, $157,822 in Rogers, $162,223 in Fayetteville and $135,179 in Springdale. Average number of days on the market was 78 in Bentonville, 77 in Rogers, 33 in Fayetteville and 73 in Springdale.rThose average selling prices are 49 to 79 percent higher than the median home values reported to the Census Bureau in 2000 for the Northwest Arkansas MSA.r”I anticipate prices to increase tremendously if they’re going to continue what they’ve been doing,” McNaughton said. “If it continues to do what it has done for the last couple of years, it’s going to get crazy.”r”Ever since the airport opened up and I-540 and the Wal-Mart vendors situation, it’s driving the cost for median houses very high,” said Terri Lynne McNaughton, owner and president of Terri Lynne McNaughton GMAC Real Estate in Fayetteville. “It all falls back to simply supply and demand. The stock market hasn’t been that good so a lot of people have jumped back into real estate and are buying rental properties.”rMcNaughton is also president of the Metro Area Board of Realtors.

rTAB CHARTrr

Median Home Valuerr

Metropolitan Statistical Areartrr

Regional—————————Median Home Value
rFayetteville-Springdale-Rogers——$90,700
rJonesboro——————————$74,800
rLittle Rock——————————$82,100
rKansas City, Mo.———————$104,400
rJoplin, Mo.——————————$69,300
rSpringfield, Mo.————————$89,000
rTulsa————————————$81,900
rOklahoma City————————$76,900
rMemphis———————————$90,900
rDallas————————————$96,200
rShreveport——————————$70,100

rrNational
trNew York City————————$199,800
rLos Angeles—————————$193,400

rrSource: Median value for all owner-occupied housing units as reported by home owners to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000.