Arkansas Housing Market Overview - November 2024
The Arkansas housing market in November 2024 presents a dynamic landscape with varying trends across key metrics. The Median Sales Price for homes in the state stands at $261,200, reflecting a modest year-over-year increase of 0.8%. This indicates a slight upward pressure on home prices, albeit at a slower pace compared to previous years.
Conversely, the Median List Price has experienced a slight decline, down by 0.1% year-over-year, settling at $274,300. This suggests a potential softening in seller expectations or a strategic adjustment to attract buyers in a competitive market. Despite this, the median Price Per Square Foot has risen by 5.1% to $151, indicating that buyers are willing to pay more per unit area, possibly due to limited availability of larger homes or increased demand for smaller, more affordable properties.
In terms of sales activity, the number of Homes Sold has increased by 7.1% year-over-year, reaching 2,733 units. This uptick in sales is complemented by a 10.0% rise in Pending Sales, totaling 2,947, suggesting strong buyer interest and a robust pipeline of transactions likely to close in the coming months. However, New Listings have decreased by 6.6% to 2,961, which could signal a tightening of supply or hesitancy among potential sellers.
Inventory levels have risen by 9.9% year-over-year, with 10,709 homes available on the market. This increase in inventory, coupled with a 10.0% rise in Months of Supply to 3.9 months, indicates a shift towards a more balanced market, providing buyers with more options and potentially easing upward pressure on prices.
The Median Days on Market have also increased by 10.0% to 48 days, suggesting that homes are taking longer to sell compared to the previous year. This could be a result of the increased inventory or changing buyer preferences. The average sale to list ratio has improved slightly by 0.3% to 97.1%, indicating that homes are selling closer to their asking prices.
Interestingly, the percentage of Homes Sold above list price has risen by 0.6% to 15.8%, highlighting that competitive bidding is still present in certain segments of the market. However, the proportion of Price Drops has decreased by 1.1% to 20.4%, suggesting that sellers are either pricing more accurately from the outset or are less willing to reduce prices.
Finally, the percentage of homes going Off Market Within Two Weeks has slightly decreased by 0.6% to 26.2%, indicating a slight slowdown in the speed of transactions. This could be attributed to the increased inventory and longer days on market, providing buyers with more time to make decisions.
Overall, the Arkansas housing market in November 2024 reflects a complex interplay of factors, with rising sales and inventory levels juxtaposed against modest price increases and longer selling times. This evolving landscape suggests a market in transition, with opportunities and challenges for both buyers and sellers alike.