August building permit values down 53.3% in the Fort Smith metro

Fort Smith metro building activity did not come to a halt during the dog days of summer, but it did slow tremendously. August building permits issued in Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren totaled $12.198 million, 53.3% less than the $26.113 million in August 2024.

Values dropped 54.2% from the $26.643 million reported in July.

Year-to-date, the three cities reported $216.651 million in permitted construction, up 21.4% from the $170.286 million in the first eight months of 2024.

Fort Smith issued 215 permits in August with a value of $9.696 million, down 40% from the $16.047 million value of 228 projects permitted in August of last year. The city has issued $189.639 million in building permits through August, up 22% from the $155.416 million reported in the same period in 2024.

There were five permits issued for new residential construction of single-family homes in August with a total value of $839,850, down 83.3% from $5.016 million with nine new single-family home construction projects in August 2024. There also were three new residential duplex projects permitted in the month with a total value of $609,040.

There were no new commercial projects permitted in the month, compared to two new commercial construction projects in August 2024 that had a combined value of $1.395 million.

VAN BUREN, GREENWOOD PERMITS
Van Buren, the region’s second largest city, had 74 projects permitted in August with a value of $1.806 million, an 80.5% decrease from the $9.237 million value of 77 projects permitted in August 2024.

The city issued nine permits for residential construction during the month with a value of $90,872, an 86.4% decrease from the $670,000 value of eight residential projects in August of last year.

The city issued one permit for new commercial construction for construction of a new $1.7 million, 3,600-square-feet processing addition at Simmons Foods, 2101 Twin Circle Drive in Van Buren.

Van Buren had $16.575 million in permitted building activity in the eight months of 2025, down 3.92% from the $17.25 million during the same period in 2024.

Greenwood issued 28 permits in August with a combined value of $696,314, 16% less than the $828,592 value of 37 permits in August 2024. Through August, Greenwood has issued building permits with a value of $11.417 million, up 21% from $9.433 million in the same period of 2024.

Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren building permit values in 2024 totaled $271.09 million, a 45% decline from $492.29 million in 2023. It was the first year since 2017 that regional building activity declined.

REGIONAL BUILDING ACTIVITY RECAP
Combined permit value totals for the three cities
2024: $271.09 million
2023: $520.64 million
2022: $480.37 million
2021: $343.28 million
2020: $265.97 million
2019: $241.74 million
2018: $231.78 million
2017: $210.84 million
2016: $211.34 million
2015: $218.89 million
2014: $198.98 million