Home sales in Arkansas continued their strong growth in March, rising 9.7 percent compared with March last year, the Arkansas Realtors Association said Thursday.
Sales have increased for 19 straight months, improving at a monthly pace of about 10 percent over that period, said Michael Pakko, chief economist at the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
There were 2,770 homes sold in the state in March and almost 6,800 sold through the first three months of the year, up 9.2 percent compared with the first three months last year.
March sales are typically part of the upswing from a slow winter season into the summer months when more homes are sold, Pakko said. This year's total for March is closer to peak summer month sales in 2013 and 2014, Pakko said.
Sales are approaching a pace that could lead to a new record. The annual home sales record, set in 2006, was 33,896.
"We're pretty close to returning to the pre-recession boom period in the Arkansas real estate market," said Pakko, referring to the recession that started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.
Pakko projected in October that home sales could increase by 10 percent or more in 2016 compared with 2015.
"There was probably a little bit of overactivity [before the recession]," Pakko said. "But it's been 10 years and we've seen economic and population growth since then. So that's a good sign that we're getting back to a healthy real estate market in Arkansas."
If home sales this year grow by 10 percent over last year, there would be more than 34,600 homes sold in the state, about 700 more than in 2006.
This year is also the best year for growth for the Arkansas economy "in quite a while," said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
"We're having so many job announcements and the metropolitan areas are doing well," Deck said. "There's also job growth in nonmetro areas."
Benton County home sales were up 13 percent in March and Washington County sales were up almost 19 percent. Pulaski County sales were up 16 percent.
Homes priced in line with comparable sales in the market and in move-in condition are selling the fastest, said Janet Jones, owner of The Janet Jones Co.
"Interest rates are good, the weather is great and people are optimistic and they're buying right now," Jones said. "We do have a shortage of listings but on the other hand there are some great homes on the market."
The housing inventory is low in Northwest Arkansas also, Deck said.
"But the price increases will take care of that," Deck said. "If prices go up enough, people will want to take advantage of that and get the equity out of their homes."
Banks generally are not making as many speculative loans as were being made when the recession hit, Deck said.
Business on 04/29/2016