The housing market in the different towns of NW Arkansas varies, but in February Fayetteville and Springdale activity were similar--slightly up from last year with 55 homes sold last month compared to 49 in February last year.
On the low end in Springdale, the market is now a strong sellers market in all price ranges under $150,000. In the lowest price range, $50-$75K, there is only a 3.1-month supply. The determining factor is the number of months supply of inventory--below 6 months being a seller's market and above that, a buyer's market. The market varies according to price range, with the number of months' supply increasing as the price increases, so that the high end is still a strong buyer's market.
For awhile it appeared that buying a livable home for under $75,000 in Springdale was a thing of the past. This is still mostly true, but there are now more homes on the market in this price range than there have been in the past few years. The typical home in this price range has generally been an older 2-bedroom home under 1000 square feet. In the past some of these had some remodeling done and were in good condition, but now most of these homes can be characterized as "fixer uppers." Some are extremely good buys for investors who may want to fix and sell them.
In the last year, according to the MLS database, there were 186 homes sold between $50,000 and $75,000, 88 of which were over 20 years old. In February, 12 homes of this type sold, compared with 14 in February last year. At this time there are 48 homes in this price range on the market. One change in this price range is the large number of foreclosures and short sales, some of which are 3/2 newer homes, priced under market. Investors and first-time home buyers may find good opportunities here.
Between $75,000 and $100,000, in the last year 173 homes were sold according to the MLS database, only 9 under 5 years old (no more new construction in this price range), about 1/3 over 20 years old, and the rest between 5 and 20 years old. Last month 9 homes sold in this price range, compared with 5 in February last year. Now there are 52 homes on the market (a 3.6-month supply and a sellers market). Only 1 of these is under 5 years old with more than half of the rest over 20 years old.
Since few new starter homes are now being built in this price range, re-sale homes are becoming shabbier and more expensive. One problem for home sales during the peak years is that prices rose too far, too fast, while wages of people willing and able to purchase modest homes did not. The only area where a newer home can be purchased in this price range is in NE Springdale--Butterfield Gardens, Paradise View, Silverstone, Stockton or Dreamcatcher, although there may be foreclosures and short sales available in other areas in this price range. A large number of the available homes in this price range are short sales, as the REO properties are generally sold quickly. Short sale transactions take a long time to complete and many buyers (and buyer agents) don't have the patience for them.
At higher prices in Springdale, the picture changes. In the last year 302 houses were sold between $100,000 and $200,000, with 67 of them new or under 5 years old. At present there are 172 houses on the market in this price range (an 5.57-month supply) of which 16 homes between $100-150K are new or newer homes and 10 homes between $150-$200K are new or newer homes. Between $100-150K, there is actually a seller's market, with a 5.2-month supply of homes. This rises between $150-$200K, where there is an 9.9-month supply.
Several subdivisions have homes under $150K: off Hwy 412 East are Serenity and Spring Creek, in NE Springdale there's Hidden Hills, Dreamcatcher, and Butterfield Gardens. There is also a new subdivision called Parker Place northeast of Harber Meadows off Elm Springs Road with homes in this price range. Some subdivisions where homes previously sold for higher prices are now in this price range as well.
Above $150K, there are homes now available in Spring Creek Estates in east Springdale, and Westfield in NW Springdale. A new planned development called Legendary toward Elm Springs also has homes in this price range, as does Parker Place.
Between $200,000 and $300,000, there were 93 homes sold in the past year. Now there are 79 homes on the market in this price range (10.2-month supply), of which 10 are new construction or less than 5 years old. There are homes in this price range now listed in a new phase of Harber Meadows, Tuscany, Rosson Creek and Spring Hill.
On the high end (above $300,000) there is also a more than ample supply of homes. In absolute numbers there are 38 homes on the market now between $300,000 and $400,000 and 42 homes on the market above $400,000, although these numbers represent a 21.9-month supply for the latter price range and 14.25-month supply for the former in the Springdale market. Sellers in this price range are facing an extremely competitive market because of the large number of homes on the market. Two homes sold last month between $300-$400K, same as last year in February, and above $400K, one home sold in Springdale last month, again the same as last year in February.
A positive trend in these higher price ranges is that there are only 16 new and newer homes currently on the market in these price ranges, of which only 3 are characterized as "new." This means that builders realize that current inventory must be absorbed before more new higher-end homes can be built.
For newer but not brand new homes, there are homes available in Plantation in NW Springdale, Copper Creek (behind Stonewood), and a couple of new subdivisions (Grand Valley, east of Springdale, Carriage Crossing in northwest Springdale, and Spring Ridge in NW Springdale). A phenomenal new development is the new high end golf community called Clear Creek in the Johnson area, between Fayetteville and Springdale. Currently there are some incredible custom homes on the market there, starting at about $800,000.
Other high-end homes are "one-of-a-kind" homes with acreage for horses and other amenities. There are also homes for sale by builders directly to the public, which are not counted here.
ZIP Codes: 72762, 72764 Location Characteristics: Springdale is a town of about 62,000 just north of Fayetteville. As with Northwest Arkansas as a whole, its small-town atmosphere and moderate cost of living contribute to a high quality of life. Plus there are now minor league baseball games there--the NW Arkansas Naturals (farm team of the Kansas City Royals).
About Judy Luna:
Judy is one of only about 30 e-Pro certified agents in Northwest Arkansas and one of only 200 Cyberstars (TM), a select group of realtors nationwide who effectively use technology and the internet in their real estate business. As such she welcomes buyers or sellers who wish to fully utilize the internet and email to make the homebuying/selling process more efficient and less time-consuming. She can help sift through the multitude of informational sites and focus on the important issues in real estate transactions. As a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) she is an experienced agent in all aspects of residential real estate, and as an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), she also has additional training designed to guide buyers through the process of purchasing a home.
These reports reflect the views and opinions of their authors and are not necessarily the views and opinions of Realty Times.
