Residential building permits down 18% through 1Q

Residential building permit activity for single-family homes in Northwest Arkansas’s four largest cities is down 18% from last year’s pace through the first three months of 2023.

According to permit data from each city collected by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, there were 365 residential building permits issued in the first quarter in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale. That compares with 446 permits in the same period of 2022.

The permits through March this year have a combined value of $120.2 million, down 37.4% compared with $192.21 million last year.

Officials in Fayetteville issued the most permits through March with 133 ($34.46 million), down 17% from the previous year of 161 ($62.29 million).

The report from the other cities through the first three months was:

• Bentonville: 98 permits, $41.76 million (2023); 91 permits, $62.34 million (2022).
• Rogers: 94 permits, $32.89 million (2023); 77 permits, $32.19 million (2022).
• Springdale: 40 permits, $11.09 million (2023); 54 permits, $39.50 million (2022).

In Bella Vista, through March this year, city officials issued 112 permits valued at $41.38 million. That’s down from 146 permits and $50.13 million in the same period of 2022.

Building officials in Centerton issued 120 single-family permits in the first quarter of this year. That’s down 15% compared with 142 permits in the same period of 2022.