Home sales activity continues to rise in Arkansas’ four large metro markets
by June 2, 2016 1:07 pm 189 views
It’s a good time to be a Realtor. The pace of home sales in Arkansas’ four large metro markets continues to rise, with unit sales up almost 12% in the first four months of the year – better than the first quarter gain of 10.33%.
The number of homes sold in Arkansas’ four large markets totaled 7,394 in the first four months of 2016, up 11.93% compared to the same period in 2015. Also, the four-month tally tops the pre-recession 2007 high when 7,094 homes were sold.
The combined value of homes sold in the January-April period was $1.28 billion, up 16.16% compared to the same period in 2015 and up 19.7% compared to the same period in 2014, according to the Arkansas Home Sales Report.
The Arkansas Home Sales Report captures home sales data in the state’s 14 most populated counties within its four largest metro areas – Central Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, Jonesboro/Northeast Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas. The report, which records closed sales, accounts for between 70% and 75% of total Arkansas home sales. The report is produced by Talk Business & Politics and is sponsored by El Dorado-based Deltic Timber.
Sales price per home in the first four months was $173,231, up 3.78% compared to the same period in 2015 and up 11.48% compared to the same period in 2014. The average price per home sold ranges from $204,511 in Northwest Arkansas to $131,275 in the Fort Smith metro.
APRIL SALES
Home sales in Arkansas’ four largest markets totaled 2,156 in April, up 9.28% compared to April 2015 and up 14.93% compared to April 2014. The value of combined April home sales in the four markets was $396.643 million, up 16.23% compared to April 2015 and up 33.69% against April 2014. The average home price in April in the four markets was $183,972, up 6.37% compared to April 2015.
The January-April 2016 home sales were up 8.77% in central Arkansas, up 17.25% in the Fort Smith metro, up 4.42% in the Jonesboro metro and up 17% in Northwest Arkansas. Benton County in Northwest Arkansas and Pulaski County in central Arkansas continue to be the state’s busiest in terms of home sales. Of the 7,394 home sales in the first quarter, 3,285, or 44.42%, were in the two counties.
The value of home sales for the first four months was up 10.6% in central Arkansas ($549.529 million), up 13.79% in the Fort Smith metro ($91.892 million), up 9.33% in the Jonesboro metro ($95.037 million), and up 24.27% in Northwest Arkansas ($544.407 million).
Days on market in January-April averaged 90.17, better than the 104.36 in January-April 2015.
THE REGIONAL PICTURE: January-April 2016
Central Arkansas — Home sales
Jan.-April 2016: 3,324
Jan.-April 2015: 3,056
Jan.-April 2014: 2,949
Fort Smith area — Home sales
Jan.-April 2016: 700
Jan.-April 2015: 597
Jan.-April 2014: 556
Jonesboro area — Home sales
Jan.-April 2016: 708
Jan.-April 2015: 678
Jan.-April 2014: 645
Northwest Arkansas — Home sales
Jan.-April 2016: 2,662
Jan.-April 2015: 2,275
Jan.-April 2014: 2,027
The top five counties in terms of January-April 2016 home sales:
Benton — 1,666, up compared to 1,424 in January-April 2015
Pulaski — 1,619, up compared to 1,373 in January-April 2015
Washington — 996, up compared to 851 in January-April 2015
Craighead — 571, up compared to 553 in January-April 2015
Saline — 510, down compared to 523 in January-April 2015
Link here for a PDF document of the April 2016 data.
THE 2015 PICTURE
Home sales in Arkansas’ four largest markets were up almost 10% in 2015, and marked five consecutive years of gains in the number of homes sold and four consecutive years of gains in the total value of the homes sold.
Home sales in Arkansas’ four largest markets totaled 24,125 in 2015, up 9.86% compared to 2014 and up 14.6% compared to 2013. The 2015 gains were driven by a a double-digit annual gain in Northwest Arkansas, according to The Arkansas Home Sales Report.
2015 home sales were up 8.66% in central Arkansas, up 6.22% in the Fort Smith metro, up 3.57% in the Jonesboro metro and up 14.7% in Northwest Arkansas.
The value of home sales was up 11.62% in central Arkansas ($1.832 billion), up 8.66% in the Fort Smith metro ($312.801 million), up 11.14% in the Jonesboro metro ($316.576 million), and up 13.55% in Northwest Arkansas ($1.573 billion).