Area Home Sales Up, Foreclosures Low But Steady

A shrinking inventory of homes is helping sellers pull in higher prices and move property quicker.

Holli Sublette and husband, Patrick, sold their Lowell home in two weeks. The family of four is moving into a newly constructed home in Rogers. Sublette said they close on the deal Friday. The Sublettes sold their house at 502 Topaz St. for $116,000, the price they were asking.

By the Numbers

Regional Home Sales

The recorded home sales in Benton and Washington counties the past three Octobers.

Year Value Of Homes Sold Units Median Price

2010 $70.07 million 434 $125,000

2011 $65.97 million 422 $114,000

2012 $84.55 million 470 $143,250

Source: MountData

“There are no bank-owned or HUD houses in our neighborhood right now, which is raising the prices for the existing homes up for sale,” she said. “It’s nice to see houses sell and retain some of their value.”

The two-county area had 3,454 homes for sale at the end of October, down from 3,520 a month earlier, according to MountData, a real estate marketing firm. More than 7,000 homes were on the market at its peak in August 2007.

“There is no doubt the decrease in inventory is helping the market,” said Paul Bynum, MountData owner and principal broker.

Houses average 65 days on the market, and sellers are getting almost 98 percent of their asking price.

Realtors sold 470 homes in October, up from 422 last October.

Bynum said there were 818 new listings and 560 pending sales at the end of last month. There were 677 new listings and 437 pending sales a year earlier. Pending sales is a real estate transaction that has a signed contract but has not closed.

“The pending number in October is phenomenal, and I’m predicting we should end the year with more sales than last year,” Bynum said.

The number for 2012 sales through October is 5,112 homes compared with 5,015 last year. Sales for the year have been stable, but the value of homes sold is up 17 percent. The total value of home sales through October were $888.96 million compared with $758.82 million last year.

The number of homeowners facing foreclosure in Benton and Washington counties also stabilized.

Benton County had 95 foreclosed homes last month, up slightly from 92 in September, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. The county has one in every 980 homes in some stage of foreclosure and leads the state.

By the Numbers

Foreclosure Filing Summary

Compares the number of filings in October 2011 to October 2012.

2011 2012 Percent Change

Benton County 96 95 -1 percent

Washington County 88 38 -56.8 percent

Statewide 524 526 +0.4 percent

Nationwide 230,678 186,455 -19.2 percent

Source: RealtyTrac

Washington County had 38 homes in foreclosure in October, down from 50, or 24 percent, over September. One in every 2,311 homes in the county was in foreclosure and the county ranked 12th last month.

Foreclosures nationally increased 3 percent from September, but were down 19 percent from last October. One in every 706 U.S. homes had a foreclosure filing last month.

Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, said foreclosure trends across the country vary depending on how each state dealt with the high volume of delinquent loans during the height of the housing crisis in 2010.

More than 770 homes in Benton and Washington counties faced foreclosure in October 2010.

Arkansas’ foreclosure rate dropped last year following a ruling from the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, that only lenders “authorized to do business in the state” could use the nonjudicial foreclosure method. The case was resolved this summer allowing all lenders to proceed with foreclosures.

Arkansas offers both judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures. Judicial cases go through the court system, and the majority of cases go the nonjudicial route because it is cheaper and quicker.

Many real estate experts worried the market would be flooded with foreclosed homes after the case concluded, but that has not happened.

“I think we are still on our way to recovery, but it will take some time,” Bynum said. “People will be cautious for at least the next five years.

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