NWA new building permits soar 53% in April after flat first quarter

Homebuilders and commercial contractors in Northwest Arkansas ramped up new projects in the region’s four largest cities last month. The cumulative new residential and new commercial permit values issued in April totaled $69.437 million, up 53% from the $45.356 million reported a year ago.

Residential permits were the lion’s share of the new projects in Bentonville, Fayetteville Rogers and Springdale totaling $46.443 million for 196 new home starts. The new home market permit values rose 33.9% from the $34.686 million reported a year ago. Housing starts are up 38% in April from the 142 starts reported a year ago. This surge comes on the heels of a flat first quarter.

CITY RESULTS
Bentonville reported the biggest gains in residential building last month with 64 permits valued at $18.547 million. This compared to 29 homes worth $8.471 million in April 2014. 
 
For the first four months of 2015 residential building is up 21.3% in Bentonville with 191 permits worth $57.297 million, compared to $47.221 million in the same period last year.

Bentonville and it’s neighbor Centerton were among the fast growing cities in the nation. Continued population growth in the Bentonville School District convinced educators to build a second high school which is under construction in Centerton and helping to kickstart growth in west Bentonville.

Springdale homebuilding also rebounded with April permits valued at $9.686 million for 40 new homes in the city. A year ago Springdale issued 24 permits valued at $6.199 million. The April rebound helped the city gain ground but permit values lag a year ago for the four-month period.

Road infrastructure improvements on the west side of Springdale are creating better access and spurring more residential building. So far this year the city has issued permits for 87 new homes with a combined value of $21.699 million. The building pace is slightly below the 98 homes this time last year which were valued $24.229 million. 

Builders in Rogers were also more active in April securing 46 new home permits valued at $8.352 million, compared to 40 permits worth $7.044 million in the same month last year. As more commercial development is underway in southwest Rogers, there are also more visible residential rooftops sprouting up between I-49 and U.S. 71-Business near Pleasant Grove Road. There also is infill homebuilding near the downtown region of Rogers.

For the first four months of 2015, the city of Rogers issued 155 permits compared to  119 in the same period of 2014. Permits values are up 26% to $26.992 million through April, compared to $21.414 million a year ago.

Fayetteville was the only one of the four in the report to have a slower April than last year for home builders. The city issued 46 new residential permits in April, compared to 49 a year ago. The permit values were $9.858 million, down 24% from $12.972 million in April last year. For the first four months of 2015 Fayetteville issued 125 new residential permits with a value of $26.158 million. The permit values are down 23.7% from $34.322 million in the same period last year.

For the region, residential building permit values totaled $80 million through April. This is up 13.5% from the $70.48 million reported a year ago among the four largest cities.

In Benton and Washington counties there were 349 new homes listed for sale in the local MLS, according to MountData.com. Based on the number of sales completed in the last three months there is 3.5-month supply of new homes on the market. Through April agents sold 399 new homes with a median sales price at $108 per square foot or $229,900. 

The limited number of homes listed for sale is an indication homebuilding should remain steady throughout the summer and fall.

COMMERCIAL SECTOR
Commercial building in Northwest Arkansas was active in April with the four cities issuing several new projects totaling $22.994 million, more than twice the $10.67 million reported a year ago. 

For the first four months of this year the combined cities issued new commercial permits valued at $68.819 million up 22% from $56.235 million in the year-ago period. 

New commercial permit figures for the four cities were:
• Bentonville with 2 permits valued at $3.749 million, versus $4.201 million a year ago;
• Fayetteville with 3 permits valued at $14.54 million, versus $1.481 million a year ago;
• Rogers with 4 permits valued at $4.392 million, versus $3.869 million a year ago; and
• Springdale with 1 permit valued at $329,982 versus $1.139 million a year ago.

The largest permit issued last month was a $10 million new church project for Fellowship Bible Church in Fayetteville. Also coming to Fayetteville is What-A-Burger ($1.375 million); Raisin Cane Chicken ($900,000); industrial warehouse ($2.249 million).

Panda Restaurant in Springdale received a permit valued at $329,982 last month for its location at 1087 N. 48th St.

The Arkansas Health Department also issued permits for the following:
• Khana Indian Grill, 2101 N. College, Fayetteville;
• Jimmy Johns, Zoe’s Kitchen, Pilates, Joplimo Mattress at College Marketplace, 3379 N. College, Fayetteville; and
• The Sweetery, 1149 West Walnut St. Suite A, Rogers.

In Benton County, Burlington Coat Factory Store is under construction in Rogers. That permit was valued at $3.6 million. Ozark Regional Vein ($100,000) is also under construction at 5433 Walsh Lane. Mercy Clinic’s General Surgery offices at 1001 Horsebarn Road also got a $612,000 new construction permit last month.

In Bentonville a new Neighborhood Market in the Midtown Center downtown off the square ($2.746 million) was pushed the city permit office last month. The other permit issued was for MusicWorks ($1.002 million) at 2400 S.E. J. St.