Now that I’ve finally gotten around to putting together the report for August it’s nearly time for the September report.  No worries though.  I wasn’t putting it off due to terrible information or some statistic taking a nose dive, I’ve just been busy.  Enough excuses.  Things are still looking very promising overall as we go into the slow months.  Here is the Northwest Arkansas Residential Home Prices and Real Estate Market Report for August 2009…

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Housing Market Report

Numbers remain fairly steady month over month in Benton and Washington counties.  You can see from the table above that we had 518 sales in Northwest Arkansas in August.  Sales are on a good steady pace since back in May.  We may even see sales stay steady through the winter months.  Typically you’ll see a 20% drop or so in home sales in wintertime but we have a rebounding market so they may stay the same.  The average sales price slipped a bit from last month but I believe that is just a monthly price fluctuation and not any kind of indicator home prices are not still rising.

Average Home Prices for Sold Properties in Northwest Arkansas

As I said above… still all good news here with the drop in sold prices this month only because of a monthly market fluctuation, and not some insidious indicator of a drop in home prices.  I expect prices to stay near current levels through the winter with no large appreciation at least until spring time.  There is another wave of foreclosures coming in 2010 that will probably negatively affect home prices but if we can keep inventories down until then, it will likely not be nearly as bad as we have seen values plummet over the last two years.  There will be more on the coming foreclosures later.

June Numbers by City

Good overall sales for August.  It’s amazing how low Bentonville’s DOM is.  I don’t think you could say that for the general population of homes over, say, $250,000 though.  Everything by city is fairly self explanatory this month.  If you do have further questions about the report, please feel free to contact me by phone, email, twitter, or facebook.

Northwest Arkansas Pendings, Solds, and Expireds by Month for 2009

We saw the number of sold properties for August increase slightly while many properties expired over the past month.  Probably due to the listing rush this past spring.  You’ll see a higher number of expired over the next couple of months as many of those properties expire, mostly because they were overpriced to begin with.

Current Inventories in Each Northwest Arkansas City by Month

Inventories remain pretty stable again this month.  Not bad, not good necessarily, but as long as sales continue to stay the same or increase, prices will rise.  Looking back, the dip in March in inventories may have been some sort of mistake on my part when I researched that data.  I’ll go back and find out for sure when I do the year-end numbers in a few months.

Average Days on Market By City

Not too much to say here… find your city and you’ll have a vague idea of how long your home might be on the market if it is priced at or within 5% of market value.  A better idea is to see how long comparable properties have been on the market because DOM is very subjective to the price range the property is in.  High end properties have fewer buyers which in turn makes them sit on the market longer than a home in the $150,000 range.

Absorption Rates by Price Range

From last month’s report: 

Months of inventory on the market continue to drop as sales remain strong and inventories stay constant.  Over the next few months I expect the low-end to level off and maybe even creep back up a bit to ten months or so.  The higher price ranges should continue to fall as outstanding inventories continue to be sold.

The majority of the market’s (nearly 2300 units) absorption rate is down to nearly 7 months, the lowest it has been in over a year.  It’s certainly not time to start calling for a seller’s market yet but a drop below 4 months will mean just that.

Well that’s it for the August 2009 Home Prices and Real Estate Market Report for Northwest Arkansas.  If you would like a copy of the report in an easy to read PDF because you like paper or because you want to keep it for your records you’ll have to contact me and I’ll send you one by email.

Thanks for coming back and reading if you are a regular informed homeowner, and welcome if you are a newbie to the report.  You can always find all of my market reports in the market conditions category of my site.  Have a great month and enjoy the fall, my favorite time of year in Northwest Arkansas… Go Hogs!

The Northwest Arkansas Skyline Report for the second quarter of 2009 sponsored by Arvest Bank is out.  The report collates and measures some key statistics in the Northwest Arkansas Real Estate Market… check out this quarter’s key highlights below.  If you are looking for a bit more detailed (and useful in my opinion) monthly report please check out our monthly market data or subscribe to our updates.

From the Arkansas Business Journal (written by: Susannah Patton)

New residential construction in northwest Arkansas in the second quarter of 2009 continued at a lower pace than in previous years but picked up slightly from the first quarter. The numbers come from the second-quarter residential Skyline Report, commissioned by Arvest Bank Group Inc. and compiled by the Center for Business & Economic Research in the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.  In the second quarter, 266 residential building permits were issued, an increase from the 185 issued in the first quarter but a decrease from the 416 permits issued in the same period last year.  Benton County accounted for 146 permits, while Washington County accounted for 120.  The number of complete but unoccupied houses declined in the second quarter as 382 houses in active subdivisions became occupied.  The absorption rate is an increase from the first three months of this year, when 277 homes became occupied.  There were 1,247 homes sold in the second quarter, a decline of 4.6 percent from the second quarter of 2008.

The Skyline Report pulls it’s data from multiple sources so is very accurate in it’s conclusions.  If you’d like to see more about the Skyline Report and what’s in it, please contact me and I’ll be happy to get you a copy of the latest report.  Remember to come back the first week of each month and read EXIT Pro Realty’s conclusion’s on the current state of the housing market in Northwest Arkansas.

It’s hard to believe but the average price of a home sold in July in Northwest Arkansas was $178,103.  That’s up 29.5% from it’s low only 5 months ago!  After three months of sustained positive growth in home prices, absorption rates coming back into line, and strong pending sales I’d have to say Northwest Arkansas is recovering from it’s milder-than-the-national-average housing crisis.

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Housing Market Report

Pending sales are back up slightly from last month’s 4 month low of 428.  The number of sold properties is steady with 484 in July and a sold price per foot of $87.65, up $12 per foot since February! The number of listed properties remains very steady around 5400 units.  Now, on to the really big news…

Average Home Prices for Sold Properties in Northwest Arkansas

I’d be doing a little jig as a homeowner right now.   Three consecutive months of increased home values have brought us back to the same price level as Northwest Arkansas had just about a year ago in July-August, 2008.  We’re talking about sustained price increases for sold properties.  Nothing but good news here.  As you’re staring at the graph try not to salivate all over your keyboard.

June Numbers by City

Strong sales from each major city in Northwest Arkansas occurred in July.  While foreclosure and distressed properties are still impacting average sale prices of homes it certainly isn’t as big an issue as we saw six months ago.  One thing I did notice was that Rogers had the lowest SP/LP or Sale Price to List Price ratio.  This means that, on average, people are buying homes for about 92.5% of their list price in Rogers.  Compare that to Bella Vista where sellers are raking in 98.29% of their list price…

Northwest Arkansas Pendings, Solds, and Expireds by Month for 2009

Not too much news here except that pending sales are up for next month… just meaning that we should see good sales for August.

Current Inventories in Each Northwest Arkansas City by Month

Inventories remain remarkably stable across the board in each major city of NWA.  This give us good data for absorption rates coming up in just a minute.

Average Days on Market By City

Days on Market tend to follow SP/LP ratios so it’s no surprise to see Rogers with a high DOM.  It’s fairly normal to see DOM rise a bit in the dog days of summertime.

Absorption Rates by Price Range

Months of inventory on the market continue to drop as sales remain strong and inventories stay constant.  Over the next few months I expect the low-end to level off and maybe even creep back up a bit to ten months or so.  The higher price ranges should continue to fall as outstanding inventories continue to be sold.

In summary… things are really looking strong for the housing market in Northwest Arkansas.  I think now is as good a time to list your home as there has been in the last year.  I think now is also a good time to buy a home, even with interest rates above their low a couple of months ago.  This may be the perfect time to get an incredible deal on a home and still sell your existing home for a good price.  First-time Homebuyers… don’t forget about the $8,000 housing tax credit available to you.  It’s a great program that is due to be phased out by the end of the year so ‘get while the gett’in’s good.’

That’s about it for the July 2009 Home Prices and Market Report for Northwest Arkansas.  If you would like a copy of the report in an easy to read PDF because you like paper or because you want to keep it for your records you’ll have to contact me and I’ll send you one by email.

Thanks for coming back and reading if you are a regular informed homeowner, and welcome if you are a newbie to the report.  You can always find all of my market reports in the market conditions category of my site.  Have a great month and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Some interesting numbers (that’s not an oxymoron is it?) this month in the Northwest Arkansas Housing Market.  As the days continue to get hotter so does the housing market.  Prices have remained steady from last month and most other indicators point to a market making a slow comeback.  Check out June 2009’s Home Prices and Housing Market Report for Northwest Arkansas…

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Housing Market Report

It looks like numbers have remained fairly steady month-over-month for Northwest Arkansas.  It also looks like some of the frenzy associated with the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit has worn off, creating a more modest number of pendings for the month.

Average Home Prices for Sold Properties in Northwest Arkansas

It’s nice to see home prices stabilize somewhat.  June’s average home sale came out to $169,160 just slightly above May’s average sales price.  It will be interesting to see where prices go for the rest of the summer and into fall.  I’m suspect that they’ll stay leveled off without any major changes but you never know what the economy or the government holds.

June Numbers by City

Again, no astounding news here.  Numbers for the rest of the summer should remain fairly even.  It’s good to know the Sp/Lp (or Sale Price to List Price) ratio if you are listing your home.  Check out a recent article I wrote about the 10 most important real estate numbers to know when selling a home.

Northwest Arkansas Pendings, Solds, and Expireds by Month for 2009

Wow, the number of pending sales went down drastically this month.  Like I said before, I think that is most likely because of the tax credit as well as the cyclical nature of home purchases.  Everybody rushes to view homes in the spring and buy in the early summer.  I expect the number of pendings to start to level out some.

Current Inventories in Each Northwest Arkansas City by Month

Inventories for the month of June remained very steady with some cities seeing a slight rise and some a slight fall in homes on the market.

Average Days on Market By City

It looks like most cities are now bouncing around between the 140 and 160 days on market range.  Make plans for this if you have a specific timeline for selling your home.  While it’s easy to miss in the shuffle of all those colorful lines, notice the purple line that is the average of all homes in Northwest Arkansas… it looks to still be creeping up some to me.

Absorption Rates by Price Range

Ah, my favorite number.  If this isn’t an indicator of an improving market, I don’t know what is.  We’ve had a steady drop in the number of months of inventory on the market since the ‘bottom’ in February.  Lower supply means more demand for the homes currently on the market.  This will increase prices and decrease the number of days it takes to sell your home.  Good stuff to know.

That’s about it for the June 2009 Home Prices and Market Report for Northwest Arkansas.  If you would like a copy of the report in an easy to read PDF because you like paper or because you want to keep it for your records you’ll have to contact me and I’ll send you one by email.

Thanks for coming back and reading if you are a regular informed homeowner, and welcome if you are a newbie to the report.  You can always find all of my market reports in the market conditions category of my site.  Have a great month and enjoy the summer.

I have to apologize to everyone for it being June 17th and I am just now getting the May report done.  A lot has been going on in the market: interest rates have come up some, foreclosure sales are down (a good thing) home prices are up, pending sales are up, and general market sentiment is much higher than in the last few months.  Here is the Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Market Report for May of 2009.  I do hope you find it interesting.  Remember that you can find all of my monthly market reports in Market Conditions.

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Housing Market Report

We’ve got some pretty astounding numbers this month.  The average Sales Price of a home that sold in May vs. a home that sold in April of this year went up over $24,000 to $168,181.  An increase of  just over 17% in one month.  I’m not saying the average home in Northwest Arkansas’ value increased 17% in the past thirty days.  But what I do think is happening is just about as good.

Foreclosure sales have dropped off significantly to be replaced with traditional home sales.  As we know, foreclosures artificially lower average sales price of normal properties so I think we can safely say that more ‘normal’ homes are selling.

To further my argument for more normal sales, the price per square foot sold has gone from a low of just over $79 per foot in February to this month’s high of $90.48 per square foot.

Average Home Prices for Sold Properties in Northwest Arkansas

While we had a bit of a hiccup last month, this month’s average sales price of over $168,000 brings us back to fall 2008 levels.  I don’t know what you see but I see recovery.

May numbers by City

Below are individual city numbers.  I will remind everyone that these numbers don’t add up to the complete NWA numbers because smaller cities and rural areas are not taken into account here.  If you want specific numbers on other cities or areas you can contact me, call your Realtor, or do it yourself (if you are a Realtor).

With the exception of Bentonville… each town had a statistically significant increase in home sales over the past month.  50% more homes sold in Fayetteville in May than in April! If that’s not significant, I don’t know what is.

Northwest Arkansas Pendings, Solds, and Expireds by Month for 2009

I love to see pending sales trend up like this.  It means many more closing in the next 30-60 days. You can also see the number of expired dropping significantly.  To me, this means homeowners and buyers are coming to a meeting of the minds when it comes to value and the ultimate sales price.

Current Inventories in each Northwest Arkansas City by Month

Besides some building going on in Fayetteville that is skewing their numbers a little…currently listed property inventories are falling in each sub-market of Northwest Arkansas.  Less supply equates to higher prices.  As Ron Burgundy would say, “It’s science.”

Average Days on Market by City

This one is kind of a messy graph.  But it does help you see how each city is faring and how long properties typically stay on the market.  The average for all of NWA went up to 168 days this  month.  Hopefully, with the drop in supply and increase in demand… we’ll see these numbers drop over the next few months.

Absorption Rates by Price Range

For a numbers guy like myself… this is the most interesting graph of all.  As absorption rates continue to fall each month we’ll see prices come into balance.  Supply and demand will stabilize and a healthy market will resume here in Northwest Arkansas.  Pay special attention to the blue line as that is where the majority of properties in Northwest Arkansas fall.  If the absorption rate continues to fall to 7 or lower… *gasp* we’ll be looking at seller’s marketing again.

Before we go… a note on Absorption Rates

Many pure staticians would say I don’t figure or quote absorption rates correctly.  Well, I do what makes sense.  I also ‘levelize’ the figures by average the past 3 months worth of sales in the data.  I find it is a truer representation of the trend.  And the trend, ladies and gentlemen, is what we want to know anyway.

Take this quote from WikiAnswers:

The number shows the rate at which the inventory of homes for sale are being sold. A declining figure indicates [to] people the inventory is decreasing as more homes are being sold than are coming onto the market. A rising absorption rate implies that there are more homes coming onto the market than there are buyers willing to buy at the market prices.

The absorption rate lets you know how well the market is absorbing the current inventory of listings. The ultimate question the absorption rate answers is, “Is the current inventory level shrinking or growing“?

I hope that helps you see how useful a tool the absorption rate can be.

Well that’s it for this month’s market report for Northwest Arkansas.  After some months of slogging through the detritus, it looks like NWA is coming through the bubble (I call it a Swell for Northwest Arkansas) better off than most of the rest of the country.  If you haven’t read it yet, check out The Forbes List of Best Cities for Recession Recover over at our broker site EXITprorealestate.com

As always please leave your thoughts about the state of the market if you have any.  If you like this market report and want to continue to read them on a regular basis (they make more sense that way) then use the form just below to subscribe by RSS or email.  Thanks for reading.

I now have the Market Report above available as an unbranded PDF!  I want people to use the market data we have so feel free to print this off…attach your card, and pawn it off as your own!  If you’re real snazzy you can even modify the PDF to embed your contact info and email it out to all of your clients…don’t say I never gave you anything.  Download the 1-page PDF here.

April Buyers bring May closings!  If last month’s Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Market Report was uplifting…this month’s Market Report should have you singing in the rain.  While prices in Northwest Arkansas are nowhere near their highs of several years ago, there is a definite bullish trend in prices, absorption rates, and pending and closed inventory that should make buyers get out and ‘get while the gettin’s still good.’  National buyer confidence for house is trending upward and the trend supports the numbers in this month’s Residential Real Estate Market Report for Northwest Arkansas.

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Housing Market Report

While the average home sale price did dip a bit from last month…I stand firm that the shift to higher home prices has begun.  Many of the sales closed this month were foreclosure inventory coming off the market and so drove the average sales price of homes in Northwest Arkansas down some this month.  I fully expect May numbers to show an inclrease in sale prices over April.  Pending home sales remain strong this month over the last few showing that buyers are buyer and and sellers are selling…now that’s a magical equation.  Just to recap, February had 526 pendings, March had 1092, April had 843.  Compare this month to all my monthly market reports here.

Here are the running average home prices in Northwest Arkansas

As you can see…the average sales price for homes that closed in April fell a bit from March, but this is mostly due to the high ratio of foreclosure sales to standard or owner-occupied sales.

April Numbers by City

Here are the April number broken down by major city.  It has been pointed out to me recently that, when added together, these numbers don’t equal the numbers for all of Northwest Arkansas.  This is because the numbers below are just for the cities involved…rural, outlying areas, and smaller satellite cities change the figures when put into the greater Northwest Arkansas equation.

As usual, number gurus can cross reference the numbers above with past months numbers to see the nitty gritty details.  For the rest of us, here are the graphs.

Northwest Arkansas Pendings, Solds, and Expireds by Month for 2009

Sales up, pendings down a bit but still up, and expireds down…pretty good news for sellers.

Current Inventories in each Northwest Arkansas City by Month

Not to much we can deduce here except that inventory levels will probably remain stable as both supply and demand increase over the next few months.

Average Days on Market by City

Every city went down from last month except Bella Vista and Springdale.  I expect the days on Market to stay relatively level for the next few months as more homes come on the market and homes that have been on the market for a long time finally sell off.

Absorption Rates by Price Range

I think this is one of the best (and most telling) signs of a recovery.  As absorption rates fall by leaps and bounds we see a healthy market come back into focus.  Based on these number I would say the bottom of the market was in February 2009.  Certain neighborhoods and price ranges obviously differ, but everything points to the bottom being in February.  As absorption rates fall you will see prices stabilize more and demand creep back up to the level of supply.

Have a statistic that you want to see in the Report?  Need a little more explanation?  Would you like this information in pdf or word document form?  Contact us and let us know or leave a comment below.  Thanks for reading and we’ll see you back here next month for the Residential Real Estate Market Report for Northwest Arkansas.

Finally ladies and gentlemen…some decent news!  As spring thaws out the ground, trees, and home buyers of Northwest Arkansas, we are beginning to see a change in the trend of absorption rates, sale prices, and number of homes going under contract.  Check out this month’s uplifting and hopeful Residential Real Estate Market Report for Northwest Arkansas.

Northwest Arkansas Home Prices and Housing Market Report

For the first time in months, the average sale price of a home in Northwest Arkansas has increased from just under $140,000 in February to around $150,000 in March.  Pending home sales have skyrocketed as well going from 526 pending sales last month to a staggering 1092 homes pending this month.  That will bring the sold figures for April up significantly.  Compare the chart (and entire article) with January and February 2009.

If you are on the fence about listing your home…My professional opinion is that Buyers are OUT in force this spring and they are hungry to make a deal. Check out this graph of the real estate “bounce” that is going on right now…

Here are the March numbers broken down by major city:

Hardcore data fans can cross reference the table above with the last few months to see some of the startlingly good news of increased sales, cities with lower inventories, and generally higher sales prices.

For all the visual learners….there are the graphs below.

Northwest Arkansas Pendings, Solds, and Expireds by Month for 2009

Look at the jump in Pendings!!!

Current Inventories in each Northwest Arkansas City by Month

Every major city in Northwest Arkansas saw inventories fall from February to March.  Basic supply and demand theory says that as supply drops and demand increases, price will increase accordingly.

Average Days on Market by City

Days on Market lags behind the rest of the indicators a little bit but you can see them begin to trend downward.  We;ll know for sure when we see the DOM for all cities drop in April.

Absorption Rates by Price Range

I calculate these rates on a three month average so these rates are more normalized than other indicators.  It’s pretty easy to see by the graph that the number of months to absorb current inventories is falling.  Again, another couple of months should see the rates drop significantly.  Remember that you heard it here at EXITrealestate540.com first.

With just a couple of unremarkable exceptions, every number and indicator and graph that I have seen shows that the housing market is bouncing the right direction for home owners.  Buyers need to see that the BOTTOM has probably happened.  I say, “get while the gettin’s good” and get out and buy yourself a house for a steal of a deal while they are still available.  I don’t foresee a major price increase over the next few months in homes or interest rates…but I do see a gradual appreciation that will support more home sales.  This support a decrease in absorbtion rates and inventories.   Overall…a good month for the Northwest Arkansas Housing Market.  April looks to be even better.

If you are curious what your home is worth we’ll be happy to do a no-obligation market analysis for you.  Even more importantly, if you have a time-frame that you need to sell your home in, we can give you a price range where your home should sell in the time allotted for the highest possible price.

Have a statistic that you want to see that isn’t included in the monthly report?  Let us know about it by leaving a comment below or contact us/me privately.

CNBC has recently complied a ‘Spring Real Estate Guide’ that both hits and misses the mark on everything ranging from the state of the current housing market to listing your home for sale by owner, buying foreclosures, getting loans, and going green.  Here’s my take on this jumble of articles from CNBC.com

Open the original articles from CNBC in another window by clicking here.

On Navigating a Mortgage Minefield

The media really shouldn’t be allowed to write about real estate…at all.  If they aren’t telling you the ‘amazing deals you can get with no money down and zero interest for the first year’ (like back in 2005) then they are telling you about the current ‘Market Mayhem.’  Playing on people’s vices and fears for ratings and readers is one thing…playing with people’s lives and money is something else entirely.

The article points out just a couple of good points:

Money is more difficult to get than it was before – I don’t think that is such a bad thing.  Not everyone needs or has the fiscal responsibility to own a home.

The Manhattan Condo Market now take up to 20 days to get a contract – Whoa…is that 20 WHOLE days on the market?

Mortgage Rates are Low - Not just low…but, like, holy crap, go out and refinance your house or buy a new one LOW.

I’d like to point out something that the writer of this article must not have known…

You can get a 100% loan…heck, you can get a 102% loan.  You can get 102% of appraised value at one our local banks in Northwest Arkansas.  I’m sure you can get it other places as well.  Oh, that is also a NO mortgage insurance loan.

How to Be Your Own Realtor

I’m not going even going to grace this one with a link or much comment except to say this:

Real estate is changing.  You (Mr. or Mrs. Homeowner) have a full time job where you specialize in a task that I know I couldn’t do.  Whether it’s plumbing, auto repair, accounting, finance, or any of the tens of thousands of specialty jobs out there…I know I can’t do them.

One of the best realizations a person can have is to realize their limitations, know they cannot do something, and then find someone that can do that something for them.

Some home owners think that because they live in the home, they know how to sell it.  That could simply not be further from the truth.  If you have a home to sell and have had a bad experience in the past.  I’m sorry.  The way the real estate industry is regulated allows it be be populated with ‘fly-by-nighters’ and unprofessional agents.  That’s why 6% of real estate agents do 94% of the business.  Don’t make a bigger mistake by trying to do it yourself…find a professional Realtor and get them to sell your home.  Here’s a taste of what I do for my clients to sell their home:

84 Marketing Steps that Sell your Home for a Rockin’ High Price

If you are dead set on trying to sell your home yourself…I have some free advertising for you:

Attention Northwest Arkansas For Sale By Owners!  This Free Service is for YOU!

Hurdles for Jumbo Borrowers

Getting a Jumbo Loan is always a little harder than getting a conforming (or smaller) loan.  Jumbo loans for Northwest Arkansas remain anything above $417,000.  If you are looking in some areas of the country though, jumbo loans have changed to more than $729,750.  So if you are looking for that semi-affordable second home in Aspen, Napa, Naples, or what ever tickles your fancy, now might be a good time to look at properties under 729 G’s.  Remember that you can do the ‘quick credit shuffle’ and add a few points to your credit score for a lower interest rate.

Foreclosures:  Courage and Work

I agree with just about everything in this article…in fact…I think I wrote on the subject about four months ago:

Everybody’s Talking about Northwest Arkansas Foreclosures, REO’s, and Short Sales, Oh MY!

Buying a foreclosure can be risky business, but with a seasoned REO professional in your corner, you can make some serious bucks.  I happen to have an REO shark in my office by the name of Ryan Russell.  Check out his list of foreclosure properties at NWAbankowned.com.  Tell him Ben sent you.

A closely related article to “Foreclosures:  Courage and Work”  is “Investing: Balancing Risk and Opportunity”  This article is more generalized but may help some people decide if now is the time for them to consider diverifying their investments into the housing market (It certainly hasn’t dropped 40% like the stock market).

All in all this is a good collection of articles to help the average American home owner decide their next step in this uncertain and sometimes confusing housing market.

If you want to be more than the average American home owner and want to be a highly informed, real estate savvy, Northwest Arkansas home owner, then subscribe to my article feed below and contact me anytime you have a real estate question.  Thanks for reading.

It’s officially spring and it looks like a combination of lower mortgage rates, the spring surge, inventories, home prices, and government intervention are about to create a perfect storm for a swarm of selling and buying of property in Northwest Arkansas.

Whoa…what’s about to happen?

We’re seeing it already.  Sellers that have been itching to sell their existing home and make a move are chomping at the bit to take advantage of current home prices, inventories, and interest rates and are ready to list and sell their homes now.  This will create a flood of new inventory on the market this spring and summer as well as a flood of new buyers.  Home prices may fall some more but homeowners can capitalize anyway!

NEWS FLASH…Things are never as bad as some people make them out to be!

Because of the concentrated efforts of the Obama administration, the Fed, Realtors, and Homeowners it looks like the world will not actually end. That’s great news!  Even better news is how many homeowners are in a position to make a great upgrade in home ownership for the minimum of cost.  Allow me to explain.

The way to get a killer home upgrade today

Here’s the dealio.  Take your ’starter home’ you purchased for $165,000 in 2003.  Unfortunately, that home is now worth only $142,000.  In a good situation, you have put somewhere between 5-20% down and can afford the hit you are going to take the house.  You are upgrading after all.

Now…Go home shopping.  You find a great home in Northwest Arkansas…It’s listed at $385,000 and it’s nearly 4,000 square feet.  It’s got a big yard, in a wonderful neighborhood.  A couple of years ago the house was listed for $550,000…let’s put it in a nice chart to bring the point home:

What’s more…interest rates are ridiculous right now!  Ridiculously LOW.  Well qualified buyers can easily get rates under 5%.

How am I so sure?

Mortgage refinancing applications have been rising for weeks and months, inventories are high but steadily falling, foreclosure rates are grossly over exaggerated nationally with foreclosures concentrated in a few key counties…mostly in California.  These along with a general hike in buyer and seller confidence in the market as well as the normal ’spring surge’ are all signs that the real estate market in Northwest Arkansas and around the country have no where to go but forward/up/get better.

What do you need to do?

There are three steps to deciding if now is the time to list your current home and buy a new one.  It goes without saying that first-time home buyers should DEFINITELY BE LOOKING…for the rest of us…here are the steps:

• Know your current home’s market price.  Only a Realtor can give you this number with any accuracy.  I happily give out free home evaluations.  If you don’t use me…use a Realtor that you trust.
• Search for Homes…that’s a no-brainer.
• Look into your financing options.  You can contact me for my short list of lenders and mortgage brokers I trust.

That’s it…that’s all you need to do to potentially make a great investment in your future and have a great new home with excellent financing to boot.

Now get out there and find your dream house…it’s on sale.

News about the news isn’t usually news…but when 40/29 talks about good news concerning the housing market…that’s news I’ve gotta share!  Check out the clip below that talks about the rise in new home construction in February of more than 22%.

One of our very own EXIT Pro Realty owners, Mark Cady, was interviewed on the state of the housing market and the direction the market is heading.  You can always find out the lastest market information (that you can’t get from the news) here on EXITrealestate540.com.  Make sure you check out the Market Conditions category of this site to stay on top of the market.

If you want to talk with Mark about the great things going on at EXIT Pro Realty or about the real estate market give him a call at (479) 636-7777.