The Skyline Report is a summary of the statistical analysis conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business. Sponsored by Arvest Bank, the semiannual report compiles research data for multifamily real estate, single-family residential and commercial real estate in northwest Arkansas.
According to the report, the average cost for single-family homes in Benton County in the first half of 2023 was estimated to be over $423,000. Home price increases are up more than 77% from five years ago, and still more than a 5% increase in comparison to numbers from the second half of 2022. In Washington County, the average cost was $392,000, up 67% from five years ago, and a whopping 8.1% higher than just even one year ago.
The report continues with a breakdown of average home prices per city. Of the four major cities in NWA, the lowest was reportedly Springdale, at an average of $288,083. Fayetteville follows at $333,460, Rogers at $365,636 and lastly, Bentonville at $442,377. Unsurprisingly, home sales decreased 8.8% from a year ago and 38.6% of total homes sold were new construction, the highest percentage in Skyline history.
Lease rates continue to increase; 42% higher than five years ago, averaging at a cost of $952 per month, an 11% increase than just a year ago. Even as 59,000 square feet of new space entered the retail submarket, the vacancy rate remained 7.9% in the first half of 2023. All cities except for Siloam Springs saw an increase in their vacancy rates for the first half of 2023. Rental vacancies increased to 2.2%, a majority of the increases were driven by new complexes in Bentonville, Rogers and Springdale, while Fayetteville was due to students moving out.
Vacancy rates by the bedroom are functionally zero percent–more indication that even with all the new construction entering the market, it is still not enough to match the growth in NWA.
Written by Claire Kim