Arkansas Housing Market Mostly Stable
Reports of rising home mortgage foreclosure rates and falling home sales across the nation can tarnish a housing market’s reputation.
So local real estate agents in the Arkansas housing market stay busy trying to fight that image, the Fort Smith Times-Record reports.
In Sebastian County, Ark., the market has managed to stay stable, even with a little drop during the first quarter of the year.
The county’s average Arkansas home prices, number of units sold and values of homes sold all had less than 2 percent of a decline.
And real estate agents say that they will take it, said Ken Efurd, vice president of sales for Ron Calhoun and Associates.
The number of new and existing homes sold in Sebastian County dropped 1.38 percent this quarter to 358 compared to 363 in 2006, according to the Arkansas Realtors Association report released Monday.
For March, the county sold 135 homes, just two less than last year.
“I think it’s just what we’ve been seeing,” Efurd said. “It shows [an Arkansas housing market] that is very much balance.”
Sebastian County’s average home sale price during the first quarter dropped 0.19 percent from $119,008 last year to $118,782 this year. March was a good month with the average home sale price increasing nearly 5 percent to $116,180 from $110,692 for the same time last year.
In Crawford County, the average home sale price increased almost 12 percent for the first quarter at $121,878 compared to $108,931 last year.
Tom Cannava, principal broker for Bradford & Udouj-Fianna Realty, said Legacy Park in Van Buren has sold about half of the 85 lots in the subdivision, which has houses ranging from $235,000 to $400,000.
January and February’s high averages took up the slack on March’s average price of $106,157, which was down from $107,313 for the same month in 2006.
The number of units sold in the county took a hit during the first quarter with an 11 percent decrease from 201 last year to 178 this year.
Home sales in March also dropped from 80 last year to 73 for the first three months of this year, as Arkansas mortgage activity declined.
Crawford County’s total value of homes sold for the first quarter dropped from $21.89 million last year to $21.69 million this year.
In March, values totaled $7.74 million this year compared to $8.58 million last year — a 9 percent decrease.
Sebastian County didn’t fare much better for the quarter in values, down 1.56 percent from $43.19 million for the first three months of 2006 to $42.52 million this year. However, March experienced a 3 percent boost in value from $15.16 million last year to $15.68 million this year.
Efurd said values of homes sold can’t necessarily be tied to appreciation rates of homes.
“What it does mean to realtors is we’re still seeing the median and average home prices moving up,” he said. “We certainly would rather see that than in the other direction.”
In Franklin County, the number of units sold dropped from 32 for the first quarter last year to 19 this year. Values of those houses sold also dropped from 34 percent to $1.60 million from $2.43 million in 2006.
Average home prices did increase 10 percent for the first three months this year to $84,279 from $76,169 last year, fueled in large part by affordable mortgage rates and low cost of living.
SOURCE: Fort Smith Times-Record