story by Ryan Saylor
rsaylor@thecitywire.com
Homes sales for the month of May were pretty even with the same month last year, though total sales volume in Crawford County was up slightly while Sebastian County saw a decline in sales volume.
In Sebastian County, sales of new and existing homes were valued at roughly $14.791 million with 105 homes sold in the month of May. The same period last year saw 102 homes sold, but with a value of $15.028 million, a total decline of 1.58% year over year.
Crawford County saw 46 home sold during the month of May, while 44 homes were sold during the same month in 2012. The value of homes sold this year totaled $5.691 million, while last year's sales only totaled $5.266 million, an increase of 8.073%.
Overall, home sales in the combined Crawford-Sebastian County area were even with last year, only rising 0.01% during the first five months of 2013 versus the same period last year.
Chuck Fawcett, broker/owner of Chuck Fawcett Realty in Fort Smith, said he feels good about the housing market and said the numbers show some stabilization in the market. And while the numbers may not reflect definitive increase in business, Fawcett said his business is buzzing.
"Right now the market is pretty strong. We sold three or four brand new houses in the past month," he said, adding that he had additional customers looking to buy existing homes in the market, something that has been a big driver in the housing market as of late.
With the push to purchase already-existing homes versus new, the average sale price was impacted last month.
In Sebastian County, the average price of a home sold during the month of May was $140,869, while the same month last year saw an average price of $147,334. In Crawford County, the average last month was $123,712, an increase from $119,674 during the May of last year.
Fawcett said homes built by mass-producers of homes, such as Rausch-Coleman, could be partially to blame for the declining average price in Sebastian County. But he said the increase in Crawford County was a direct correlation to the lower cost of living north of the Arkansas River.
"More people are getting a lot more house in Van Buren," he said. "They can get a lot more house over there than in Fort Smith."
For the remainder of the year, Fawcett sees a surge in the number of home sold and the value of new homes coming to the market.
"Yes, because right now in Sebastian County we have a subdivision out off Massard Road that will have more expensive homes and Carrington Creek is doing a subdivision out on Massard that will have expensive homes with probably 100 or so lots. That will be good for Fort Smith."
Homes Sales Data (January - May)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2013: 182
2012: 222
Total Sales Volume
2013: $19.767 million
2012: $25.232 million
Media Sales Price
2013: $109,900
2012: $102,000
• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2013: 444
2012: 405
Total Sales Volume
2013: $59.283 million
2012: $53.807 million
Median Sales Price
2013: $110,000
2012: $110,000