FAYETTEVILLE — The bankruptcy of John David Lindsey will probably lower real estate prices, economists said, as 13 local banks prepare to sort out more than $120 million owed by the investor and his partners.

Recently updated filings with the bankruptcy court begin to tell the story of a real estate empire gone bust in the past three years.

Arvest, Bancorp South, Bank of Fayetteville, Chambers, Community First Bank of Harrison, First Federal, First Security, First National Bank of Fort Smith, Liberty Bank, Metropolitan National, Regions Bank of Rogers, Signature Bank and United Bank have been petitioning the bankruptcy court to let them claim real estate from Winslow to Bella Vista. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing automatically stays any action by lenders as the court makes an inventory of assets and liabilities accumulated by the debtor.

These lenders want to take back 226 single family homes, 410 lots, three multifamily complexes and 227 acres of land. There are several large commercial buildings, including Signature Plaza in Fayetteville, the Peaks office building in Rogers, Arkansas Health and Education Center in Fayetteville and Paradise Point mixed-use space also in Fayetteville that will be returned to local lenders as the bankruptcy proceeds.

The 226 single family homes coming back to the banks will nearly double the amount of bank-owned property in the region, said Paul Bynum of Mountdata.com.

Lindsey’s Fayetteville home appraised for $513,350 in 2008, according to county records, and will also be surrendered to Arvest Bank, which holds a first and second lien against the property. Chambers Bank and Signature Bank hold a third and fourth mortgage against the home. The debt against the home totals $698,524, according to the filing.

The Lindsey real estate is on top of a combined $322 million of real estate assets already held by local banks at the end of 2009, up from $145 million in 2008, according to bank filings with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“Banks will be writing off the losses and restoring their loss loan provisions for several years following this big bankruptcy,” said John Dominick, banking professor at the University of Arkansas.

Tom Reed, appraiser and partner at Streetsmart Data Services in Fayetteville, said it’s hard to pinpoint the impact on real estate prices as a result of the bankruptcy.

“The banks don’t need the property on their books, and if the houses are leased, that would give the banks some extra time in trying to sell the property at a higher rate,” Reed said.

The Lindsey filing indicated at least 40 of the residential properties are leased, based on security deposits held by Lindsey. Reed said bank-owned homes typically sell for less than those marketed through the Multiple Listing Service.

In the fourth quarter, bank-owned homes in subdivisions where building is ongoing were priced 20 percent less than comparable homes on the listing service, Reed said.

Vickie Briolat, an agent with Crye-Leike Real Estate, will close on a bank-owned sale next week. The Bentonville home appraised for $456,000 five months ago, but the lenders agreed to take less to get the property sold. It was listed at $399,000 as a short sale — less than the loan amount due, Briolat said.

“I was surprised to see the bank accept an offer nearly 10 percent below the short sale price of $399,000,” she said.

While it’s a great deal for the buyer, she said other homes in the neighborhood had been selling around $400,000, but now the comparable will be lower for anyone else who sells in the near term.

Reed said neighborhoods that contain several of the Lindsey foreclosure properties will be subject to lower prices if the banks rush to sell them.

Thornbrook Village in Bentonville has more than 50 homes financed by Liberty Bank, making it the subdivision with the most obvious price exposure at this time.