Home sales in Arkansas rose more than 13 percent in October compared with October last year, the Arkansas Realtors Association said Friday.
There were 2,511 homes sold in October, up from 2,214 in October 2013.
"It was a very strong month for this time of year," said Michael Pakko, chief economist at the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Typically, home sales drop off in September and October, after school resumes. But this year, there was little decline from the number of homes sold in September, 2,525, to October, Pakko said.
"That is uncharacteristic," Pakko said.
October sales this year were better than any October going back to 2006, when the Realtors Association began releasing home-sales totals every month, Pakko said.
Benton County returned as the leading county in home sales with 441 in October, up almost 20 percent from the same month a year ago.
Pulaski County Realtors sold 357 homes in October, down about 4 percent from October last year. Washington County was third with 249 homes sold, an increase of about 19 percent compared with October 2013.
Home prices averaged almost $161,500 in October, up 5.3 percent from the same month last year.
The average price in Benton County was $207,384, up almost 19 percent.
A lot of the recovery from the recession happened a couple of years ago, said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
"But generally, prices backed off most of 2013 and in early 2014," Deck said. "So I think we shouldn't be surprised to see modest growth in housing prices at this point in a recovery. Particularly when we see very strong year-over-year unit readings. That signals that there is some demand out there."
In Northwest Arkansas, and particularly in Benton County, the growth in home sales has been consistent month after month, and not just in October, Deck said.
"We're also seeing building permits up, and all indicators for construction are improving," Deck said, which has caused some people to be concerned that there could be another housing bubble.
"But if you look at the new construction, it is very balanced," Deck said. "The absorption is happening about the same rate as new construction is taking place."
Cleburne County Realtors sold 24 homes in October and saw the highest average home price, $264,695, up almost 50 percent from October last year. One big home sale in October skewed the average price, said Boyd Anderson, a broker for Crye-Leike Realtors in Heber Springs and Greers Ferry.
"There was a $2.2 million sale," Anderson said. "It was a house out on a point [on Greers Ferry Lake] in a wooded area, in the [Heber Springs] city limits. It's a neat place."
The home has more than 5,700 square feet with five bedrooms and six baths, and is on 18.68 acres, Anderson said.
Without the $2.2 million sale, the 23 other homes sold in Cleburne County averaged about $180,500.
The most expensive real estate in Cleburne County is in the Eden Isle area, Anderson said. But the $2.2 million home is not at Eden Isle, Anderson said.
"We have a lot of $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 lakefront homes," Anderson said. "Lakefront property is our bread-and-butter market. But crossing north of the $1 million [sale price] is still rare here."
The lake has 276 miles of shoreline, although not all of it is in Cleburne County, Anderson said.
For the first 10 months of the year, 24,280 homes were sold in Arkansas, compared with 22,992 through October last year, an increase of 5.6 percent.
There were 3,983 homes sold in Benton County in the first 10 months this year, 55 more than were sold in Pulaski County over the same period.
Business on 12/06/2014