Northwest Arkansas home sales up 8.12% in August, value up almost 11%

Real estate agents sold 812 homes in August in Benton and Washington counties worth a cumulative $162.153 million, a robust unit gain of 8.12%, while sales volume increased 10.42% from the same month in 2014, according to MountData.com.

Agents say they are busy with plenty of active buyers in both markets. Benton County sales totaled 509 units valued at $104.645 million last month, up 6.7% and 5.89%, respectively. In neighboring Washington County, there were 303 sales valued at $57.508 million, up compared to 274 units worth $48.017 million a year ago.

Prices are moving higher in both counties month-to-month and certainly year-over-year. Last month the median home price sold in Benton County was $172,437, or $92.70 per square foot. The median sale price is up 4.48% from a year ago and homes are selling quicker as well, according to MountData.com.

Median home prices in Washington County rose 7.8% to $162,800, or $94 per square foot in August compared to a year ago.

Kathy Deck, director for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said prices are back up to their pre-recession days, which was a long time ago. She is not concerned about the rising home prices in Northwest Arkansas because demand for housing is growing. She said the region is home to a large number of millennials – young professionals – who have been in no rush to buy homes but that is changing. She said the household formation numbers in the region are growing in part because of the large millennial presence.

“I don’t see the price appreciation we are seeing at this time as unsustainable. We don’t have home inventories building up and multifamily vacancy rates are also a decade low number,” Deck said. “These and the region’s growing population and jobs numbers are all supportive of higher prices.”

She said the potential for a Federal Reserve decision to raise interest rates is likely helping push some folks off the fence into the home buying pool because the other conditions are also right in the housing market.

New 30-year fixed mortgage rates in the local metro range from 3.75% to 4.37% for borrowers with an average 660 credit score, according to Bankrate.com. Seven years ago when the local real estate market tanked interest rates for new purchases were 6%. Once the Fed begins to act on raising rates, most bankers believe housing rates could rise up 1% by the end of this year, but that is still below where rates have been for most of the past decade.

STELLAR YEAR
Local real estate professionals expect 2015 will be a stellar year based on the first eight months already in the books. In Benton County agents have already sold 3,504 homes valued at more than $710,310 million, with total volume projected to surpass $1 billion before year-end. Year-over-year sales volume is up more than $110 million over last year, up 18.5%.

In Washington County, agents have sold 2,069 homes worth more than $397.392 million in the first eight months of this year. Sales volume grew by more than $71.6 million or 22% year-over-year.

The two-county metro has already gone over $1.107 billion sales so far this year, which was a full month earlier than last year.

THE NUMBERS
Home Sales (January through August)
Benton County
Sales Volume
2015: $710.310 million
2014: $599.349 million

Unit Sales
2015: 3,504
2014: 3,102

Median Sales Price
2015: $169,000
2014: $155,000

Washington County
Sales Volume
2015: $397.392 million
2014: $325.705 million

Unit Sales
2015: 2,069
2014: 1,802

Median Sales Price
2015: $163,000
2014: $150,000