Regional home sales up in August

Home sales Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties during August were up more than 28% compared to August 2010, but sales in the three counties are down almost 5% for the first eight months of the year.

According to the Arkansas Realtors Association, home sales in the three counties during August totaled 190, up 28.37% compared to August 2010. The value of homes sold in the counties reached $24.986 million, up 22.6% compared to August 2010. The increase was fueled primarily by a 34.3% increase in home sales in Sebastian County.

Home sales statewide during August totaled 2,401, up 19.87% compared to the 2010 period. The value of the homes sold in August was $337.815 million, up 11.6%.

"Considering the bumpy nature of our local and national economy, we feel Arkansas home sales are doing very well for the year,” Amy Glover Bryant, director of communications for the ARA, said in a statement. “For the first 8 months of the year the number of homes sold in Arkansas is only down 3.48 percent and average prices are down 2.62 percent.  That’s a strong showing considering the economic uncertainties facing most Americans these days and that almost all of the 2011 numbers have been in contrast to a time period when our results were being compared with months when the government’s first time home buyer’s tax credit was in play.”

YEAR-TO-DATE
Sales of new and existing homes in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 1,225 during the first eight months of 2011, down 4.73% compared to the 2010 period. The value of homes sold in the Fort Smith area during the first eight months of 2011 is $162.85 million, down 8.3% compared to the 2010 period.

Sebastian County sales during the first eight months total $103.049 million, down 11.4%, with Crawford County sales of $39.861 million down 5.12% for the first eight months.

The year-to-date dip in the number and value of homes sold in the Fort Smith area continues a trend in which 2010 marked the fourth consecutive year of decline in the residential real estate market. The number of new and existing homes sold during 2010 in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 1,866, down 6.4% compared to 2009. The 2009 numbers were down 6.39% from the 2,081 sold in 2008, and the 2008 sales were 12.5% below those of 2007.

Statewide, home sales for the first eight months of the year total 16,549, down 3.48% compared to the 2010 period.

REAL ESTATE STATS
Number of homes sold
Crawford County
Jan.-Aug. 2011: 350
Jan.-Aug. 2010: 353
-0.85%

Franklin County
Jan.-Aug. 2011: 78
Jan.-Aug. 2010: 65
20%

Sebastian County
Jan.-Aug. 2011: 797
Jan.-Aug. 2010: 865
-7.86%

Value of homes sold
Crawford County
Jan.-Aug. 2011:  $39.861 million
Jan.-Aug. 2010:  $42.01 million
-5.12%

Franklin County
Jan.-Aug. 2011: $6.406 million
Jan.-Aug. 2010: $4.866 million
31.63%

Sebastian County
Jan.-Aug. 2011:  $103.049 million
Jan.-Aug. 2010:  $115.974 million
-11.14%

Average price of homes sold
Crawford County
Jan.-Aug. 2011:  $113,889
Jan.-Aug. 2010:  $119,011
-4.3%

Franklin County
Jan.-Aug. 2011:  $82,130
Jan.-Aug. 2010:  $74,872
-9.69%

Sebastian County
Jan.-Aug. 2011:  $129,297
Jan.-Aug. 2010:  $134,074
-3.56%

STATEWIDE
The top five Arkansas counties in terms of number of homes sold during Jan.-Aug. 2011:
Pulaski County (2,658, down 8.79% from 2010)
Benton County (2,440, up 9.66% from 2010)
Washington County (1,561, up 8.63% from 2010)
Craighead County (1,219, up 2.09% from 2010)
Saline County (913, down 11.36% from 2010)