Aug 13 2008
Arkansas housing market report for June 2008
According to the sales data from multiple listings services around Arkansas, the number of homes sold in June fell 24.2 percent when compared to sales in the same month last year, but average home prices increased 1.9 percent.
To download a copy of the report in Excel format, click right here. Need a free Excel reader to view the report? You can download one of those handy things right here.
The report covers only single-family, new and existing residences sold by Realtors®. For sale by owner properties are not included.
Through the first six months of 2008, sales are down statewide 20 percent compared to 2007 and average prices are holding steady at $154,805.
Judging from the report, it appears that average prices in resort areas performed very well in June. Garland County turned in the highest average sale price at $217,404 — an increase of 3.1 percent from the same month last year. Cleburne County continued to post strong gains in prices with a June average of $176,766 and Polk County provided a bit of a surprise by reporting a June average sale price of $180,655 — the fifth highest average in the state and increase of 34 percent over the average recorded in June 2007.
Almost every major market reported decreased sales in June with the notable exceptions being Craighead County, which saw sales increase 2 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Smaller markets, in general, reported healthier sales than larger ones, with Clark County, Cross County, Grant County, Greene County, Johnson County, Miller County and Polk County all reporting impressive gains for June.
The good news here is that inventories are declining in most areas as downward pressure on prices and low interest rates continue to attract more buyers to the market. Interest rates are a concern, however, as those have been on the rise lately. The New York Times, on Aug. 9, reported that financial publisher HSH Associates noted that rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan hit a low of 5.89 percent in April and climbed to 6.7 percent by the first of August.
