Fewer Building Permits Issued in Q2

The number of residential building permits issued in Northwest Arkansas during the second quarter of 2007 decreased by 56 percent from the second quarter 2006, according to the Arvest Bank-commissioned Skyline Report.

From March to May, the absorption rate for houses on the market declined slightly from the first quarter and stayed well above the rate for the second quarter of 2006.

But the number of housing units on the market continued to outpace the number of consumers in the area as illustrated by the 2,411 completed but unoccupied homes in Benton and Washington counties.

Kathy Deck, lead researcher for the Skyline Report at the Center for Business and Economics Research at the Walton College of Business, said the data still indicate a strong demand for residential real estate and “real improvements in the residential market in Northwest Arkansas.”

The multifamily housing market is also showing the effects of market saturation as vacancy rates continued to increase. The vacancy rates for the second quarter of 2007 increased only 0.5 percent over the rates for the first quarter of 2007 but they still remain well above the 7.5 percent rate that was recorded for the second quarter of 2006.