Home sales down almost 4% in the Fort Smith metro through April

Fort Smith metro home sales through April were down 3.8%, but the value of the homes sold was up 5.5%. Sebastian County, the largest in the metro, posted an almost 13% decline in home sales and an almost 11% decline in the value of homes sold.

Trends from the first four months are up against a 2024 during which metro home sales were up 6.6%, and the total value of the sales was up 14%.

Homes sold in the metro in the first four months totaled 968, down 3.8% compared with 1,006 in the same period of 2024. The combined value of the home sales totaled $234.462 million, up 5.5% compared with the same period in 2024, according to data provided by Ashlee Milton, an executive broker with Chuck Fawcett Realty in Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas.

A gain in the value of homes sold despite a decline in the number of homes sold is a product of rising home prices. The metro average home price in the first four months of 2025 was $242,212, up 9.6% compared with the same period in 2024.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that April existing-home sales were down 0.5%. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new home sales were up 10.9% in April.

“Home sales have been at 75% of normal or pre-pandemic activity for the past three years, even with seven million jobs added to the economy,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Pent-up housing demand continues to grow, though not realized. Any meaningful decline in mortgage rates will help release this demand.”

The metro set a record in 2021 for home sales and the combined value of homes sold. Following are the past five years of Fort Smith metro home sales and combined value of the sales.
2024: 3,495; $828.359 million
2023: 3,279; $726.981 million
2022: 3,829; $824.491 million
2021: 4,400; $853.409 million
2020: 3,978; $651.925 million

SEBASTIAN, CRAWFORD COUNTY SALES
Sebastian County home sales in the first four months of 2025 totaled 392, down 12.9% compared with the 450 in the same period of 2024. Home sales in the county represent 39% of homes sold in the metro.

The value of Sebastian County homes sold in the first four months was $94.569 million, down 10.8% compared with the $105.995 million in 2024. The average home sales price was $241,247 in the first four months, above the $235,544 in the same period of 2024.

Home sales in Crawford County in the first four months of 2025 totaled 212, down 2.8% compared with the 218 in the same period of 2024. Home sales in the county represent 21.1% of homes sold in the metro in the first four months of 2025.

The value of homes sold was $51.479 million in the first four months, up 8% compared with the same period in 2024. The average home sales price was $242,825, up 11.1% compared with the $218,605 in the same period of 2024.

Metro area data comes from Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties in Arkansas, and parts of eastern Oklahoma.

METRO HOME SALES NUMBERS
• Fort Smith Region (Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties, and areas of eastern Oklahoma)
January-April 2025
Homes sold: 968
Value of home sales: $234.462 million
Average price: $242,212

January-April 2024
Homes sold: 1,006
Value of home sales: $222.223 million
Average price: $220,897

• Sebastian County
January-April 2025
Homes sold: 392
Value of home sales: $94.569 million
Average price: $241,247

January-April 2024
Homes sold: 450
Value of home sales: $105.995 million
Average price: $235,544

• Crawford County
January-April 2025
Homes sold: 212
Value of home sales: $51.479 million
Average price: $242,825

January-April 2024
Homes sold: 218
Value of home sales: $47.656 million
Average price: $218,605