Real Estate Information

The numbers are in for first quarter of the year, and we have prepared the following report for you.

Residential Sales in Garland County, AR 

(information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors mls)

Average Days on Market

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  167

1/1/12 – 3/31/12:  179            

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  204

1/1/12 – 3/31/12:  220           

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  $159,733           

1/1/12 – 3/31/12:  $138,153           

Percentage of listings that Sold

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  28%

1/1/12 – 3/31/12:  33%

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  $32,585,629

1/1/12 – 3/31/12:  $30,393,831           

(Click here for a more detailed report of the current market in Garland County, AR)

While the numbers are very similar to last year at this same time, we noticed that there were actually more units sold this year, however the total sales volume was a little less than last year’s volume.

While the local average home sales price is a little low, the national statistics are reporting a different story - stating the luxury market is showing signs of improvement.  According to recent reports by the National Association of Realtors - for the first time, the $500,000 and above market segment represented 10% of all home sales in 2011.  Both the anecdotal and statistical information indicate that although the luxury niche is small, it is outperforming the market in general.

We have also experienced a significant increase in activity in the luxury market, with more showings of our listings priced above $500,000.  In fact, Jeff Kennedy with our team recently closed the largest residential sale in Arkansas this year.  The transaction all started from our internet marketing of a stunning waterfront estate in Hot Springs, custom-built and owned by Rick Ferguson and his wife, Deanna.  This unique property caught the attention of another savvy businessman, Jeremy Carroll, who also owned some really unique properties throughout the state.  After about 10 months of negotiations between both parties, and several trips to all parts of Arkansas to view the various properties owned by each party, another deal was made which involved the trade of a state park in South Arkansas along with a large amount of cash in exchange for a 13,828 square foot manor in West Little Rock and approximately 26 acres of land behind the home.  Contrary to the news report in February of this year by the Arkansas Business Journal, there were no donkeys or peacocks involved in the trade and the home was much larger than 8,900 square feet.

Even Warren Buffet believes the housing market is on the verge of improvement, and says along with equities, single-family homes are a very attractive investment right now. Appearing live on CNBC's Squawk Box, Buffett tells Becky Quick he'd buy up "a couple hundred thousand" single family homes if it were practical to do so. If held for a long period of time and purchased at low rates, Buffett says houses are even better than stocks. 

With rates still at historic lows, real estate is a wise investment.  

The numbers are in for January, and we have prepared the following report for you.

Residential Sales in Garland County, AR 

(information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors mls)

Average Days on Market

1/1/11 – 1/31/11:  174

1/1/12 – 1/31/12:  172            

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/11 – 1/31/11:  63

1/1/12 – 1/31/12:  68           

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/11 – 1/31/11:  $160,223

1/1/12 – 1/31/12:  $122,824           

Percentage of listings that Sold

1/1/11 – 1/31/11:  27%

1/1/12 – 1/31/12:  28%

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/11 – 1/31/11:  $10,094,089

1/1/12 – 1/31/12:  $ 8,352,040           

(Click here for a more detailed report of the current market in Garland County, AR)

While the numbers reflect a little slower start as compared to last year for the Hot Springs area, we are seeing many positive signs indicative of a growing economy in Hot Springs.  The infrastructure of Hot Springs is still on the move with the expansion of the highways, i.e. the Highway 70 West expansion and the south leg of Higdon Ferry expansion are both now complete and are attracting new commercial and residential building sites.  Other local projects are on the rise and stirring a lot of interest and growth with the north leg of Higdon Ferry, the south end of Highway 7, and the north leg of Highway 270 all under construction, and Highway 70 East just met state planning approval for expansion as reported by the Arkansas Democrat earlier this week.  These are all great signs of growth in our area.

We think this year might be the one in which the housing market starts to strengthen, according to the 2012 predictions of several housing industry observers and experts across the U.S. 

Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia.com, a real estate search and research website, says he sees rising rents, a humble recovery in housing prices and even some unexpected "hot" spots where he thinks price increases will exceed the average this year.

Kolko said his predictions are based on 14 months of U.S. job gains and the assumption that "there's no big crisis in 2012."

He also sees shrinking mortgage delinquencies in 2012, though foreclosures will rise as old delinquencies exit the paperwork pipeline.

Increasing demand for rental properties should mean higher rents, he added, but should also spark new construction to keep up with demand.

Mortgage rates should rise a bit, too, said Kolko; calling that a sign of economic strengthening. "Higher rates for a reason we can cheer," he said.

Rich Arzaga, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Wealth Management in San Ramon, California and an adjunct professor in personal finance at the University of California at Berkeley also agrees with Kolko about the rentals. "This was going to happen even without foreclosures. If you look at the statistics on homeownership, it shows that people are buying homes later in life, and that the echo boomers will drive rentals for a longer period of time."

Jeffrey Rogers, president of Integra Realty Resources, a New York-based real estate valuation and consulting firm, also agreed with Kolko's assessment of the rental market: Multifamily units - that is, building with five or more units - "are one of the property types that still received funding for new projects throughout the downturn." (See full article here)

Putting the market recovery in terms of graph curves  … It doesn’t seem to be a U-shaped recovery and it’s definitely not V-shaped.  We believe it’s more of a 'Nike swoosh recovery,' where it goes down fast and then goes up very gradually.

What are your predictions for 2012?

Even though many predicted 2011 to be a grim year for the economy, we prefer to reflect and find the good that came from it.

We have gathered the numbers and prepared the following report for you.

Residential Sales in Garland County, AR 

(information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors mls)

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 12/31/10:  172

1/1/11 – 12/31/11:  166             * Note - Listings sold a little faster in 2011
 

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 12/31/10:  1266

1/1/11 – 12/31/11:  1246           

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 12/31/10:  $152,355

1/1/11 – 12/31/11:  $154,150            *Note - Higher priced homes sold –and/or – homes sold for a higher price in 2011

Percentage of listings that Sold

1/1/10 – 12/31/10:  31.56%

1/1/11 – 12/31/11:  37.76%  Note – A higher percentage of listings sold in 2011

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 12/31/10:  $178,661,072

1/1/11 – 12/31/11:  $170,661,072            Note - While the total sales was lower in 2011 - inventory continuously dropped throughout the year …. This is greatly improving our market to a more balanced market.

(Click here for a more detailed report of the current market.)

There's a story we like about a business owner in Texas, who years ago--in the midst of a Recession--placed an ad in the local paper saying, "There are reports of an economic Recession, but we have decided not to participate!"  Love that statement!  Feel free to use it with us.

We wish you a wonderful and prosperous 2012!!

The market stats are in ... and while the overall pictures isn't glowing with improvement, we were able to find a silver lining in the cloud and a bit of positive news.  Below is the overall year-to-date report (information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors® mls):

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 10/31/10:  172

1/1/11 – 10/31/11:  166
 

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 10/31/10:  1067

1/1/11 – 10/31/11:  1039

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 10/31/10:  $152,158

1/1/11 – 10/31/11:  $150,605

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 10/31/10:  $162,353,137

1/1/11 – 10/31/11:  $156,478,698

​Then when we looked closer at the detailed report (click here for details), we noticed one really POSITIVE factor.  Inventory is at the lowest we have seen it in at least 4 years (total of 1072 homes on the market vs. an average of 1350 homes on the market in our area).  We think this could be a good indicator that our market may start to improve soon.  With inventory steadily dropping, we hope to see the pendulum swing back a little more evenly and start to level out the supply and demand.  

With inventory at its lowest, NOW may be your best chance to sell your home so let’s make sure it’s priced right, dressed right and it’s out-shining the competition.  If you have any questions or would like to talk more, please feel free to give us a call at 501.655.6247 or 501.276.4446.

In comparing the residential sales reports for Garland County, it appears that residential sales in Garland County for the first eight months of the year is down as compared to the same period last year.  The first quarter of 2011 started out holding steady and appeared to be a mirror image of the same period in 2010.  However, the second quarter of 2011 was the down period – whereas we did not see the spike in sales in our area as we normally do with vacation home sales in the summer months.  May and June of this year limped along in summer sales, then we had a nice spike in July with an increase in the number of units sold up 24% over June, however it wasn’t enough to increase our year-to-date figures.

In comparing the residential sales reports for Garland County, it appears that residential sales in Garland County for the first half of the year is down as compared to the same period last year.  Unfortunately, our market has yet to see the spike in sales that we normally see in the summer months.  

Take a look at the below statistics on residential sales in Hot Springs (information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors®mls). Click here for more detailed information on the Hot Springs market. 

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 6/30/10:  177

1/1/11 – 6/30/11:  161

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 6/30/10:  653

1/1/11 – 6/30/11:  589

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 6/30/10:  $147,907

1/1/11 – 6/30/11:  $142,804

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 6/30/10:  $96,586,343

1/1/11 – 6/30/11:  $84,111,989

While it’s no secret that we’re in a tough market, we believe we can still get the job done.  The Kennedy Team ranked #1 in total residential sales in Garland County for the past 3 year recession.  As the saying goes “When the going gets tough … the tough gets going!” and that’s exactly what we’re doing.  If you or someone you know is interested in selling , please give us a call and we'll be glad to help. 

In comparing the monthly residential sales reports for Garland County, it appears that residential sales picked up significantly in home sales in Garland County for April with a 48% increase over March.  The majority of those homes sold in April were homes sold under $150,000.

Then we compared the year-to-date market statistics and compared it to the same period as last year, and it appears that we’re still running a very similar race as last year.  Take a look at the below statistics on residential sales in Hot Springs (information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors® mls) . 

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 4/30/10:  176

1/1/11 – 4/30/11:  172

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 4/30/10:  383

1/1/11 – 4/30/11:  373

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 4/30/10:  $144,606

1/1/11 – 4/30/11:  $142,090

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 4/30/10:  $55,384,315

1/1/11 – 4/30/11:  $52,999,773

Click here for more detailed information on the Hot Springs market, and be sure to call the # 1 real estate team in Hot Springs – the Kennedy Team with Hot Springs 1st Choice Realty at 501.655.6247 or 501.276.4446.

In a transaction which set a record for most expensive U.S. residential sale ever, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner (who heads Digital Sky Technologies) has reportedly paid $100 million for a 25,500-square-foot Los Altos Hills (CA) home which was not even listed for sale. This record-setting sale is just one indication that the wealthy have opened their wallets and are shopping for homes again.

Nationally, the million dollar and above housing market rose 4% in February year-over-year as luxury buyers snapped up homes, often for all cash. The jump in luxury purchases is counter to the real estate resale trend in general.  In February, total residential sales dropped 2.8% as compared to February a year ago.  

While Hot Springs, Arkansas does not have triple digit luxury homes in our market, we currently have 25 homes priced at $1 million or more listed for sale.  While the luxury home sales have been down throughout the last couple of years, we are starting to see an increase in the number of showings of our luxury homes as of the first of this year.  The most expensive home for sale locally has an asking price of $4,899,000, one of our finest listings, built by one of Arkansas’ finest builders – Ferguson Custom Homes of Little Rock.

Why the rise in luxury sales?  According to Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, an organization  which trains luxury agents internationally, “The number of wealthy households in the U.S. and world-wide is almost back to where it was before the downturn.  Add the fact that many high net worth individuals are reassessing their investments and rethinking how and where to invest.  High-end U.S. residential real estate is now attracting many of these dollars, Euros, and Rubles. This bodes well for the luxury home market in the short term.  Luxury may well be the real estate segment that leads the recovery.” 

For more information on the luxury real estate market, please contact Hot Springs’ only certified luxury home marketing specialist, Jeff Kennedy with Hot Springs 1^st Choice Realty at 501.655.6247 or online at www.BestofHotSprings.com

Looks like residential sales in Hot Springs are running a close race with last year at this point.  We just compared the recent market statistics to the same period as last year, and the first quarter of 2011 is looking very similar to last year’s first quarter, with a slight increase in the average price of sold listings, and a slight drop in the number of days that it takes to sell a home – actually both positive signs of some improvement.  Take a look at the below statistics on residential sales in Hot Springs (information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors® mls) . 

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 3/31/10:  175

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  168

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 3/31/10:  255

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  246

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 3/31/10:  $134,594

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  $139,139

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 3/31/10:  $34,321,632

1/1/11 – 3/31/11:  $34,228,333

Click here for more detailed information on the Hot Springs market, and be sure to call the # 1 real estate team in Hot Springs – the Kennedy Team with Hot Springs 1st Choice Realty at 501.655.6247 or 501.276.4446.