Fort Smith area real estate sales off to rocky start in 2010

If the real estate market is a sign of consumer confidence in the near-term economy, consumers in the Fort Smith area aren’t very confident.

New and existing home sales in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties for the first two months of 2010 totaled 201, down 11.8% from the same period in 2009. Figures released Monday (March 29) by the the Arkansas Realtors Association also show that the value of area homes sold during the first two months totals $22.363 million, down 18.16% from the same period in 2009.

What’s potentially troubling about the 2010 numbers are that they are compared to a lackluster 2009 for the regional home sales market. There were 1,948 homes sold during 2009 in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties, down 6.39% from the 2,081 sold in 2008.

There was such a drop in homes sold during February in Sebastian County that the county dropped out of the list of top 5 Arkansas counties ranked by homes sold. Garland County (Hot Springs) moved into the slot.

Statewide, the ARA reported 2,494 homes sold, down 5.71% compared to the same period in 2009. The value of the homes sold statewide in the January-February period was $342.137 million, down 6.88% compared to the 2009 period. Home sales statewide totaled 24,862 during 2009, just 0.95% below 2008 sales.

The ARA report was no surprise to Ernie Schimmelman, who noted in his King Realty Market Group Report that the February numbers would be down in Crawford and Sebastian Counties.

“Home sales in our region continue to decline. Crawford County closings are down 27% from February 2009, and Sebastian County’s are down 21%,” Schimmelman, a Realtor with King Realty, said in a statement. “Of particular note is that no homes valued above $250,000 were sold during February in Crawford County.  However, homes with a value of $150,000 or less are selling within 5 months of market presence.  For the home buyer it’s a great time to be shopping, sellers are willing to negotiate.”

Of the 362 homes listed for sale in Crawford County, 281 (77.6%) are valued at $200,000 or below, according to Schimmelman’s report. Of the 909 homes listed in Sebastian County, 665 (73.1%) are valued at $200,000 or below.

ARA Spokesman Ethan Nobles cited persistent high unemployment rates (7.7% in February, up from 6.8% in February 2009) as a reason for the poor home sales data. The unemployment rate in the Fort Smith metro area jumped to 8.9% in January, a full percentage point higher than December 2009 and resulted in a record number of unemployed in the area.

“It goes without saying that people without jobs — or those in fear of being unemployed — aren’t likely to run out and buy houses,” Nobles said in a statement.

Nobles said the industry is hopeful that federal tax credits that were supposed to prevent the numbers seen in January and February will still come to the rescue in the next few months.

“Realtors in Arkansas have reported increased activity in March due to interest in the first-time and repeat home buyer tax credits which expire at the end of April. Since everyone wanting to take advantage of those credits must get a house under contract before May 1 and close on it before July 1, we do expect to see sales increase in March and April,” Nobles predicted. “It seems that the availability of up to $8,000 in tax credits for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for repeat buyers has motivated a lot of people to shop for homes.”

Nationwide, single-family home sales fell 1.4% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million compared to a rate of 4.43 million in January. The February 2010 sales were 4.3% higher than the 4.19 million level in February 2009.

REAL ESTATE STATS
• Number of homes sold
Crawford County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: 64
Jan.-Feb. 2009: 65
-1.54%

Franklin County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: 8
Jan.-Feb. 2009: 6
33.3%

Sebastian County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: 129
Jan.-Feb. 2009: 157
-17.83%

• Value of homes sold
Crawford County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: $7.305 million
Jan.-Feb. 2009: $7.803 million
-6.38%

Franklin County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: $567,795
Jan.-Feb. 2009: $395,200
43.67%

Sebastian County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: $14.491 million
Jan.-Feb. 2009: $19.129 million
-24.25%

• Average price of homes sold
Crawford County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: $114,155
Jan.-Feb. 2009: $120,053
-4.91%

Franklin County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: $70,974
Jan.-Feb. 2009: $65,867
7.75%

Sebastian County
Jan.-Feb. 2010: $112,336
Jan.-Feb. 2009: $121,845
-7.8%

• The top five Arkansas counties in terms of number of homes sold during Jan.-Feb. 2010:
Pulaski County (448, down 5.68% from 2009)
Benton County (312, down 9.04% from 2009)
Washington County (202, down 4.72% from 2009)
Saline County (160, up 12.68% from 2009)
Garland County (137, down 0.72% from 2009)