story by Ryan Saylor
rsaylor@thecitywire.com
Home sales in the Fort Smith area continue to show gains in the northern half of the region, while the southern half's figures are almost flat.
For the first eight months of the year, Crawford County's home sales have increased 33.74% to $47.079 million compared to $35.202 million during the same period a year ago. In Sebastian County, home sales have increased 1.54% to $120.437 million compared to $118.613 million during the first eight months of 2013.
Breaking the numbers down for the month of August, Crawford County is up 4.77% to $6.765 million for the month of August compared to $6.457 million during the same period last year.
Sebastian County's August sales figures declined 24.43% for the month of August, bringing in only $16.559 million last month compared to $21.912 million in August 2013.
Larry Stanfill, a broker with Chuck Fawcett Realty's Greenwood office, said there were a variety of reasons sales could be so lopsided between the counties.
"I do know that in Greenwood, for example, the market is upside down. There's more homes than there are buyers. That's been the case and Greenwood is still in that position. There are just a lot of homes for sale. People are moving to Greenwood, but not in comparison to what's for sale."
The excess inventory may be bad news for homeowners looking to sell, but it is good news for buyers looking for a bargain, Stanfill said.
He noted the median sale price as having been impacted by the current market, with the MSP of Crawford County homes dropping 1.73% from $115,500 last August to $113,500 this August. In Sebastian County, the drop was even steeper, diving 15.95% from $128,500 last August to $108,000 in August 2014.
"Appraisal values are staying steady," he explained. "But it is still a buyer's market and sellers have had homes on the market for a year or longer, so they're doing what they can to move out from under them."
And in many cases, Stanfill said that means slashing the price on homes.
Another factor playing a part in Crawford County's strong performance compared to Sebastian County was the back and fourth on the potential loss of Rural Development loans. It was expected that Van Buren would lose the loans at the end of September following a decision by a local Arkansas office of the United States Department of Agriculture, which stated the city no longer met the qualifications of a rural community due to its close proximity to Fort Smith. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack later imposed a one-year moratorium on Van Buren and six other communities in Arkansas from losing Rural Development loan eligibility.
"I do know that played a role in (Crawford County's sales figures)," Stanfill said, noting that many people were rushing to get in before the Sept. 30 deadline initially handed down by the USDA. With the one-year delay, the new deadline will be Sept. 30, 2015.
"Rural Development is important to the smaller towns in (the region)," he added. "If we lose rural development, it'll hurt us."
Looking at the rest of the year, Stanfill said market observers and industry insiders should expect the slowdown that is typical of the winter months. But he said if his sales at present are any indication of the rest of the year, the typical winter slowdown may not be as bad as years past.
"We will probably remain steady, but winter months are typically the slower months. As for me, I'm having the best year I've ever had and I still have quite a bit going on for closings in the next month and I'm hoping it holds. But historically, November, December, January, and February are our slowest months. So I'm expecting it (to be the same) this year. Even so, I'm pleasantly surprised it's staying as busy as it is. I'm staying strong on my end."
Home Sales Data (January - August)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2014: 407
2013: 323
Total Sales Volume
2014: $47.079 million
2013: $35.202 million
Median Sales Price
2014: $106,000
2013: $106,250
• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2014: 913
2013: 839
Total Sales Volume
2014: $120.437 million
2013: $118.614 million
Median Sales Price
2014: $114,450
2013: $116,500