Demand and steady sales push NWA home prices higher in January

Home prices gleaned by sellers in Benton and Washington counties continued to rise in January. Median sale prices increased 13.7% and 6.7%, respectively among the two counties when compared to the same month in 2014, according to Paul Bynum, analyst with MountData.com

There were 436 homes sold in the two counties last month, with an accumulated volume of $81.298 million. The market was up 8.18% in Benton County and 19.4% in Washington County, Bynum reported. He said it took just 66 days on average for homes to obtain a contact and buyers paid 97.8% of the list price, one of the healthiest months recorded in recent months.

BENTON COUNTY
Benton County is off to a good start in 2015 as agents sold 257 homes with a total value of $45.932 million last month. Unit sales were flat, but higher home prices pushed the volume up 9.3% from $41.986 million posted in the same month last year. 

The median home price of $178,727, or $87.3 per square foot, in Benton County is being fueled by a stable demand for new homes and more homeowners moving up and down now that they are regaining positive equity positions, according to local agents. A recent report by Irvine, Calif.,-based RealtyTrac.com found that 23% of the homeowners in Northwest Arkansas are seeing their equity resurface, and that was on top 13% who were already in strong equity position.

Average prices in Benton County have recovered about 24% of the 30% lost during the 2006 peak to the 2011 trough period and since. In Washington County, 27% of the market loss has been recovered, according to Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.

“I’m off to a great start this year closing a $550,000 cash sale last month in western Bentonville. A buyer from California relocated here for a job and purchased in the Versailles subdivision, near the new Bentonville West High School,” said Vicki Briolat, agent with Crye-Leike Real Estate.

She said buyer confidence is positive and there are far fewer low ball offers coming in as the foreclosure market continues to weaken. 

“Some people were buried so long under flat to negative equity in their homes, but that is changing as property values continue to rise. We are looking for a strong spring season and with Walmart bonuses coming in March, now is the time for resellers to list if they want to move up or down,” Briolat said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY
Bynum said agents in Washington County also had a good month. There were 179 homes sold with a value of $35.365 million, up compared to 145 homes worth $28.059 million in the same month last year. 

The median price per square foot rose to $90.7 in Washington County last month, up 6.7% from the year-ago period and 15.2% higher than in January 2013. Across the nation, median home sale prices are up 6% from a year ago.

At $159,125, the median price in Washington County is 4% more expensive than in neighboring Benton County, and is 52% more expensive than in Crawford County, it’s neighbor to the South.

Agents said east Fayetteville remains an area with more rapidly rising prices given there is limited new building because there have been few new developments in recent years.  Jeremy Pate, development director with the City of Fayetteville, recently told The City Wire that one, perhaps two, new east side residential developments are being reviewed by city planners. 

Austin Bivens, agent with Keller Williams in Fayetteville, said much of the growth in the Fayetteville in recent years has been west of Interstate 49 in recent years, but there are many families who prefer the east side of town.

Fayetteville also appeals to young adults who want to live near the music and entertainment district. Real estate website Zillow predicts Millennials will overcome Gen X as the largest group of home buyers this year. More than half of 18- to 34-year-olds said they plan to buy a house in the next one to five years, according to a survey by Zillow last summer. 

That said, some of the best values on home prices are found in east Springdale, which was an area hit hard by the foreclosure market. The median home prices in the east Springdale zip code were roughly 30% cheaper than homes in the west Springdale zip code, according to MountData.com.

Median Home Prices (January)
Benton County
2015: $152,750
2014: $128,900
2013: $140,500 
2012: $137,950

Washington County
2015: $159,125
2014: $150,000
2013: $137,950
2012: $130,500