story by Ryan Saylor
rsaylor@thecitywire.com
Home sales in the area were down for the month of June, pulled down by a more than 50% decline in sales in Crawford County.
The county sandwiched between the region's two largest metro areas saw only 35 home sales during the previous month, totaling $3.096 million in value, a 51.21% decline from the same month last year. At that time, there were 49 homes sold with a value of $6.346 million.
Realtor Jason Kilbreath of Ron Calhoun & Associates said many factors are playing into the decline in home sales north of the Arkansas river.
"There's several factors. One can be the I-540 road work," he said, adding that the construction is causing many people to evaluate commute times when searching for a home.
Other factors Kilbreath mentioned include high gas prices and the possibility of the rural development loan going away. The loans are part of the farm bill, which has become a contentious issue as Congress has been debating renewal of the bill.
"I think the loss of the rural development loan is definitely going to continue to hurt sales. That's what a lot of people, especially first time buyers, that's what they use."
The beneficiary of Crawford County's woes appears to be Sebastian County, according to Kilbreath, who points to the sales for the same period, which only declined 1.9%, holding at $17.138 million with 118 homes sold. In June 2012, the county saw 127 homes sold at a value of $17.470 million.
For the first half of the year, Sebastian County had an increase of 7.78% in home sales, with 564 homes sold with a value of $76.824 million from January to June. The same period last year saw 532 homes sold with a value of $71.277 million.
In Crawford County, only 219 homes were sold during the first half of this year at a value of $23.127 million, a 26.76% drop from the same period last year, when 271 homes were sold at a value of $31.578 million.
With more people looking to buy closer to their workplaces and with more jobs coming to Fort Smith, Sebastian County is ripe for growth, Kilbreath explained.
"I absolutely see Fort Smith outpacing Crawford County with the uptick in jobs and the Barling I-49 interchange, with the 700 jobs that will come in there. That will spur a lot of activity in Sebastian County."
He also sees a housing rush beginning as interest rates on 30-year mortgages have started to increase during the last month. He said as more people try to lock in lower interest rates, the result will be a surge in home sales, especially of mid-sized homes, even into late next year.
"I think for this area for the time, medium-priced homes are the ones that are going to sell pretty quickly. Sebastian County is definitely going to keep the momentum even with the (I-540) construction completed. I think the (potential) loss of the rural development is definitely going to hurt sales (in Crawford County). With the jobs in this area and the price of gasoline, I think you're going to see that Fort Smith is where home sales are going to continue to rise."
Home Sales Data
(January-June)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2013: 219
2012: 271
Total Sales Volume
2013: $23.127 million
2012: $31.578 million
Median Sales Price
2013: $104,500
2012: $109,950
• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2013: 564
2012: 532
Total Sales Volume
2013: $76.823 million
2012: $71.277 million
Median Sales Price
2013: $114,900
2012: $113,000