Regional, statewide home sales down again in 2010

It’s official. And it’s not pretty.

Fort Smith regional homes sales were down more than 6% in 2010, the third consecutive year of declining home sales in the region and in Arkansas.

The number of new and existing homes sold during 2010 in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 1,866, down 6.4% compared to 2009, according to a report released Wednesday (Jan. 26) by the Arkansas Realtors Association.

The value of the homes sold during 2010 in the three counties totaled $236.167 million, down 3.8% compared to 2009. About the only bright spot in the housing report was that the value of homes sold during 2010 in Sebastian County was $171.295 million, up 2.13% compared to 2009.

Home sales in Arkansas during 2010 totaled 24,128, down 4.78% compared to 2009. The value of statewide new and existing home sales during 2010 totaled $3.483 billion, down 3.86% compared to 2009.

December sales statewide totaled 1,808 homes, down just 0.88% compared to December 2009. The number of homes sold during December in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 130, down 17.7% compared to December 2009.

“The report confirms what we’ve been saying all year — the end of the first time homebuyers tax credit created an exaggerated dip in the Arkansas housing market,” Amy Glover Bryant, ARA director of communications, said in a statement. “We knew that once the tax credit ended their would be a slow down in sales activity; however, we believe this month’s report represents a return to what we would categorize as normal numbers.”

While there were exceptions, the credit effectively expired by June. The number of new and existing homes sold during the January-June 2010 period in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 974, up 8.4% over the same period in 2009. By July, the number of homes sold in the area was down compared to the 2009 period.

Home sales in Benton and Washington counties in the Northwest Arkansas economy totaled 5,341 during 2010, down 7.97% compared to 2009. The value of homes sold in the two counties during 2010 was $864.408 million, down 8.15% compared to 2009.

REAL ESTATE STATS
Number of homes sold
Crawford County
2010:  503
2009:  583
-13.72%

Franklin County
2010: 85
2009: 108
-21.3%

Sebastian County
2010:  1,278
2009:  1,303
-1.92%

Value of homes sold
Crawford County
2010:  $58.304 million
2009:  $69,726 million
-16.38%

Franklin County
2010:  $6.568 million
2009:  $8.123 million
-19.15%

Sebastian County
2010:  $171.295 million
2009:  $167.724 million
2.13%

Average price of homes sold
Crawford County
2010:  $115,913
2009:  $119,599
-3.08%

Franklin County
2010:  $77,271
2009:  $75,217
2.73%

Sebastian County
2010:  $134,034
2009:  $128,722
4.13%

The top five Arkansas counties in terms of number of homes sold during 2010:
Pulaski County (4,104, down 7.36% from 2009)
Benton County (3,271, down 8.45% from 2009)
Washington County (2,070 down 7.22% from 2009)
Saline County (1,449, down 1.96% from 2009)
Craighead County (1,375, down 0.07% from 2009)