Through March, Northwest Arkansas home sales top $418 million

Realtors in Northwest Arkansas sold a combined $418.86 million in residential properties through March this year.

That’s according to data provided by Eric Harris, an agent with Crawford Real Estate & Associates in Lowell. The sales volume is up 14.5% from $365.89 million in the same three months of 2016.

Agents in the two-county area sold 1,943 homes in January-March, compared to 1,855 sales in the year-ago period, a difference of nearly 5%.

Median selling prices — the middle price of the market — through March also continued to climb: $180,000 in Benton County, up 6.1% from last year, and $170,000 in Washington County, up 9% from 2016.

Kim Minor, principal broker and owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Results in Bentonville, said low inventory in the majority of price ranges, major hikes in the costs of building materials and an increase in interest rates are all contributing to the sales volume increasing at a faster pace than the actual units sold.

She said the market is fast approaching the record high prices seen just before the crash of 2006-2007.

“The rise in cost of building materials and the labor to build has forced new construction prices up,” Minor said. “The low inventory of resale homes is favoring builders but driving up the average sales prices. It’s also causing sellers to have second thoughts about selling because they can’t find a home to purchase.”

The interest rate this week for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.88%, essentially flat from last week. The 15-year fixed rate stood at 3.14%, up slightly from 3.10%, according to Bankrate.com.

Minor said her company’s numbers match the market, with a “slight rise” in transactions compared to the first quarter of 2016, but an escalating volume at a higher rate.

“Buyers are willing to pay more for properties because they have fewer to choose from,” she said. “We will negotiate our way through more and more multiple-offer situations as the inventory shortage continues.”

MARCH TOTALS
In the month of March, real estate agents sold 541 homes in Benton County, with a combined sales volume of $122.5 million. In March 2016, home sales in Benton County totaled $102.9 million (up 19%) on 493 units (up 9.7%).

In Washington County, home sales totaled 280 in March for a sales volume of $56.8 million. That’s compared to 287 homes sold and sales volume of $58.8 million in November 2013.

Brandon Long is the broker/owner of Weichert, Realtors—The Griffin Co., which has offices in Bentonville, Springdale and Fayetteville. He said the absorption rate — how long, on average, inventory will sit on the market — in the two-county area is 2.6 months. He said Bentonville (3.65 months, 110 monthly sales, $280,000 average sales price) leads the way, followed by Rogers (2.69 months, 132 monthly sales and $250,000 average sales price) and Fayetteville (2.37 months, 150 monthly sales and $235,000 average sales price).

Long said some experts say the “ideal” absorption rate — where neither buyers or sellers have the advantage — is around 5 to 7 months of supply. With such a low inventory in the region, he said multiple offers for a home are the norm, and buyers are becoming more inclined to pay a little extra to ensure they get the house they want.

“It’s most definitely a sellers’ market right now on any home below $500,000,” he said. “In the 20 years I have been in real estate, I’ve never seen so many homes sell for above appraisal price.”

Long said his company’s business is up about 14% this year compared to 2016, which he termed “really good.” This year’s hot start, he said, was aided by a merger with a Weichert franchise in Springdale owned by Bob and Sandy Downum. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the merger added 27 new agents to The Griffin Co., bringing its agent count to 168.

“Bob and Sandy had some of the most well-trained associates in our area, so we were fortunate to be able to fold them in on March 1 this year,” he said.

HOME SALES (January through March)
Benton County
Sales Volume
2017: $275.57 million
2016: $236.53 million
Up 16.5%

Unit Sales
2017: 1,245
2016: 1,171
Up 6.3%

Median Sales Price
2017: $180,000
2016: $169,500
Up 6.19%

Washington County
Sales Volume
2017: $143.29 million
2016: $129.36 million
Up 10.7%

Unit Sales
2017: 698
2016: 684
Up 2.0%

Median Sales Price
2017: $170,000
2016: $156,000
Up 8.97%