High-end amenities ample

Residential real estate sales ace Meza Harris said the residential market shifted upscale in 1999.

Previously, the sale of a $350,000 to $400,000 home was considered a rarity around area real estate offices. But last year, it became commonplace.

Harris credits the continuing influx of suppliers to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. in Lowell and Tyson Foods Inc. in Springdale with the high-end buying bonanza.

“The suppliers to the big companies here are just demanding the higher priced homes,” Harris said. “Things at The Pinnacle in particular really took off. I had a lot of success there. For example, I sold a $739,000 home on Vintage Point in The Pinnacle that I showed probably 12 times in two months.

“Used to be that you might show a house like that around here twice in several months if you were lucky.”

Agents said amenities that “Big 3” suppliers requested in 1999 included homes with three-car garages, four bedrooms, two living and dining areas and a minimum of 3,500 SF. Other popular extras included limestone entryways, multiple fire places and different types of wood blended throughout the home for trim and cabinet work.

John Carpenter, a top 10 finishing agent from Re/Max Associates Inc. Realtors in Fayetteville, said the biggest trend he noticed last year in upscale home buying was that buyers have become more educated.

“What we’re seeing is buyers are becoming more educated in what they’re requiring for their dollar,” Carpenter said. “There are so many builders in our market, buyers have learned that they need to ask for what they want.”