Area home sales may have peaked in April-May period

Home sales in Crawford and Sebastian counties totaled 133 in August, down 20.8% compared to August 2009, with the now-expired federal stimulus effort to promote homebuying appearing to have moved the normal “peak” time for area home sales.

Crawford County recorded 39 new and existing homes sold in August, down 32% compared to August 2009, while Sebastian County posted a 15% decline with 94 homes sold. The figures are from the King Realty Group’s August report prepared by Realtor Ernie Schimmelman.

A federal tax credit once provided up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers and up to $6,500 to home buyers. The program required homes to be under contract by May 1 and closed before Sept. 1.

“The historically peak sales months of July-August moved in 2010 to April-May. This also shows that the stimulated peak was less than 2008’s normal peak in July-August and about the same as 2009’s July peak,” Schimmelman noted in his report.

The number of new and existing homes sold during the January-July 2010 period in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 1,101, up 1.47% over the same period in 2009, according to a report released Sept. 9 by the Arkansas Realtors Association. The value of the homes sold in the three counties during the first seven months of 2010 totals $137.994 million, up 3.75% compared to the same period in 2009.
 
The overall effect of the federal stimulus on the regional market is uncertain, according to Schimmelman.

“We may not be able to accurately quantify how many of the buyers participating in the April-May surge would have bought in 2010 even without a stimulus plan,” Schimmelman said. “But we can say, at this point, that whatever motivated these buyers, there wasn’t enough of them to dramatically change the results that could reasonably be expected in 2010. We’ll have to wait until the end of 2010 to determine if the annual sales volume was changed by the stimulus.”

One thing certain is that homes priced under $200,000 continue to be the largest part of the residential market, with the price range representing 74.1% and 72.8% of the Crawford and Sebastian county markets, respectively.

A report from Tom Cannava, principal broker with Bradford & Udouj Realtors in Fort Smith, shows 13% of the 839 homes in the Fort Smith market with a pending contract as of Sept. 5. The report, which provides some insight into current market conditions, indicates 14% of the 301 homes in the Van Buren market with a pending contract.
Cannava’s figures also show that the average days-on-market as of Sept. 5 for homes in Fort Smith is 144, with the Van Buren average at 126.

The King Realty Market Group Report (as prepared by Ernie Schimmelman):
Crawford County (August)
Homes listed: 417
Homes sold, August 2010: 39
Homes sold, August 2009: 57
Mean price, August (rolling 12-month rate): $121,531
Homes listed $0 to $200,000: 309
Homes listed $201,000 to $500,000: 94
Homes listed $501,000 and up: 14

Sebastian County (August)
Homes listed: 911
Homes sold, August 2010: 94
Homes sold, August 2009: 111
Mean price, August (rolling 12-month rate): $133,552
Homes listed $0 to $200,000: 664
Homes listed $201,000 to $500,000: 204
Homes listed $501,000 and up: 43