Arkansas Home Prices See Improvement

According a report released by the Arkansas Realtors Association last Thursday and the Times Record, home sales in Arkansas improved in October 2009 from the same month in 2008 for only the third time in 45 months. 2,332 homes sold in October 2009 compared to 1,879 last year, a 24.11 percent increase that can be credited to the expiring tax credit. 

Ethan Nobles, association spokesman, said, “This is the result of everybody going out to buy a house in October.” He also noted that the government extended the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers until April 30, 2010. It was originally slated to expire on Nov. 30. Nobles also expressed hope that the increasing trend in home sales would continue through the first of 2010.

According to the association’s blog, Nobles believes another factor for the improvement seen in October was low interest rates. The average national rate on a 30-year, fixed-interest mortgage is 4.7 percent and rates stayed below 5 percent throughout the entire month of October. Nobles thinks the improvement was a result of homebuyers taking notice of the low rates and purchasing property accordingly.

In Arkansas, the total value of homes sold in October was $324.5 million; an increase of 20.36 percent from $269.9 million in October 2008 but the average sales price fell 3.02 percent to $138,130.

The most home sales in the state in October were in Pulaski County. This area experienced a 30.77 percent increase from 2008. The second-highest number of sales was in Benton County, which showed a 35.77 percent increase from last year. Third was Washington County, where sales increased 25 percent over the past year.

The highest average home prices were in Carroll County. They had increased 9.7 percent since October 2008. Miller County had the second highest, down 16.82 percent, and Boone County was third, up 47.84 percent.