Mortgage Banker Says 2013 Will Be Year to Remember

Bank of the Ozarks mortgage banker Mike Bearden says 2013 is setting up to be a major rebound year for the housing market in Arkansas.

“I told a realtor friend of mine the other day years from now when we retire, we’re going to be talking about what ’13 was, how busy ’13 was,” Bearden said in a Talk Business Arkansas interview.

Home sales in Arkansas’ four largest metro markets during the first three months of 2013 totaled 4,057, up 8.17% compared to the 2012 period. The value of homes sold during the quarter totaled $646.218 million, up 15.12% compared to the 2012 period, according to The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report.

Bearden says mortgage bankers at his financial institution can’t keep up with the workload.

“In the last 30 days, I’ve seen most of the agents I work with can’t talk to all of the people they want to talk to. There’s not a lot of inventory out there, especially in Little Rock,” he said.

Bearden contends that smartly priced homes are definitely moving and that there is room for more inventory to further boost sales.

He also says that there is a rise in new home construction for the first time in years.

“Our construction people are busy. What happened 4, 5 or 6 years ago, if you or I wanted to build some spec houses, they loaned you the money,” said Bearden. “Now we’ve got a lot going in but its with real builders, which is better for the marketplace.. .You’ve got to be stronger now to get a construction loan than 3 or 4 years ago.”

You can watch Bearden’s full interview below.