Local real estate professionals declare the Northwest Arkansas housing market is steady and strong.
Real estate agents sold 728 homes last month, up from 692 in June 2013, according to a monthly report by MountData, a real estate marketing firm.
By The Numbers
Regional Home Sales
The recorded home sales in Benton and Washington counties the past three Junes.
Year*Value of Homes Sold*Units*Median Home Price
2014*$143.4 million*728*$162,050
2013*$128.9 million*692*$153,450
2012*$111.6 million*620*$139,000
Source: MountData
June marked the first time since January that sales outpaced 2013 numbers; sales for the year through June are down 2 percent, from 3,471 in 2013 to 3,397 this year.
"Anyone who has been in the business more than five years would say this is a great year," said Paul Bynum, owner and director of MountData.
Kay Weiderhaft, mortgage market leader for Bank of Arkansas Mortgage Group, said the market has been very active and less than $700 separated loaned mortgage values from last month and June 2013.
"There is some cry from real estate agents to get more inventory of existing homes," she said. "I think there are a lot of folks out there shopping and not finding what they want."
She said that is particularly true for homes in the $150,000-$250,000 range.
Whitney Morgan, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette in Fayetteville, also said he sees some inventory shortage.
"Builders are filling some of the shortage gaps, and in some cases where building activity is strong it is adversely affecting existing home sales," he said.
Existing homes priced under $200,000 are in a seller's market, according to MountData. A seller's market means there are fewer homes for sale in specific price ranges and sellers can demand higher prices from competing buyers.
June's median sales price rose to $162,050, up from $153,450 a year earlier. The median price through the first six months was $150,000, up from $148,950 in the first half of 2013.
Morgan said new homes are attractive to some buyers who can afford to spend an additional $10,000 to $15,000 for new construction with a home warranty.
There are 427 new construction homes on the market and the price range with the most listings, 108, was between $150,000-$199,000.
Weiderhaft said first-time home buyers are still a potent part of the market despite strong investor activity. Investors and first-time home buyers competed for low-priced foreclosure properties a few years ago, but that competition has dissipated because there are fewer foreclosures on the market.
"This is a healthier place for the market to be at," she said.
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, reported there were 55 foreclosures in Benton and Washington counties in May, down from 226 a year earlier. The company will release its June report later this week.
Benton County also ranked 16th on RealtyTrac's list of the nation's top 25 markets for investors to buy residential rental property. The report analyzed median sales prices for residential property and average fair market rents for three-bedroom properties to determine annual gross rental yield.
The report showed the median sales price in April in Benton County for three-bedroom homes was $125,000. The monthly fair market rent was $1,009.
Anderson County, S.C., ranked first on the list. Three-bedroom homes sold for a median price of $69,900 and had a monthly fair market rent of $893.
Bynum said investors pulled back some across the country and "didn't speed things along as much" in Northwest Arkansas. That might be because of the 3 percent first quarter decline in the nation's gross domestic product. It's the first negative GDP report since 2006, and Bynum said by definition if the GDP is negative two quarters in a row it is considered a recession.
He said the second quarter GDP report will help him shape his full-year housing forecast. The preliminary report will be out in August. Bynum did predict sales would be down in July because of a year-over-year decline in pending sales. There were 631 pending sales at the end of last month versus 675 pending sales at the end of June 2013.
Bynum still believes sales will stay strong through the year.
"We should be very close to last year's numbers, and last year was a very good year," he said.
NW News on 07/15/2014