story by Kim Souza
ksouza@thecitywire.com
Agents across the Fort Smith metro area sold 89 homes in February valued at roughly $12.461 million, which was a nice improvement over the year ago period.
Sales volume rose 65.9% from a year ago thanks to more transactions and a rising overall sales price.
MountData.com reports the median sales price for homes sold in February rose to $140,020, up from $101,453 a year earlier.
Kevin King, broker and franchise owner of Weichert King Realty Group, says the median price is likely being pushed higher from a few more higher-end home deals.
“I have seen more higher-end home listings in recent weeks, but the number of overall listings remains fairly stable in the Fort Smith market at 600 homes for sale,” King said.
He also reports more showings and interest from both buyers and sellers as 2013 has gotten under way.
“We have seen more relocation business as some executives are moving out and others are moving in. I am happy to see consumer confidence improve and remain hopeful this market will get some new job growth to stabilize unemployment in the coming months,” King said.
While Sebastian County showed housing gains last month, that was not the case in neighboring Crawford County.
Agents sold 22 homes last month in Crawford County, which was less than half of 51 homes sold a year ago, according to MountData.com. The sales volume tumbled 66% to $1.949 million from the year ago period.
Not only did sales languish across Crawford County last month, but the median sales price also declined sharply to $88,600 as more distressed and lower priced homes were sold.
During the first two months of the year, sales in Crawford County are down nearly 50% from the same period in 2012. The decline is split equally between lower unit sales and lower overall prices.
Looking ahead, King reported through the first two weeks of March, there had been 61 homes sold in Sebastian and Crawford counties, the median price was $147,400, a good bit higher than seen in February. He said roughly half of those deals were for homes located in Fort Smith.
King expects foreclosures will have a roller coaster impact over the next year as the backlog of inventory is pushed back onto the market.
“I see investors snapping up these discounted properties pretty quickly because there is still a strong rental demand here given the weaker job market and tougher credit guidelines among mortgage lenders,” King said.
Across Sebastian County home sales are up 14% on units sold and 14.7% higher in total volume for the first two months of 2013, when compared to the year-ago period, according to MountData.com.
Home Sales Data (January-February)
Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2013: 139
2012: 122
Total Sales Volume
2013: $18.652 million
2012: $ 14.508 million
Median Sales Price
2013: $11,250
2012: $105,000
Crawford County
Unit Sales
2013: 49
2012: 81
Total Sales Volume
2013: $4.653 million
2012: $9.236 million
Median Sales Price
2013: $89,500
2012: $100,000
Source: MountData.com