Hot Springs Village and More Real Estate Update for Period Ending 7-31-23

By Lloyd Sherman, Associate Broker, Trademark HSV Real Estate

This report covers the current activities against the same timeframe last year. In this case, July of 2022 vs July of 2023. It also reflects the 2022, 2021, 2020 & 2019 annual results. I also break down sales for single-family properties by county and provide some additional granular data based on the current month.

Information provided comes directly from the MLS (Cooperative Arkansas Realtors MLS – CARMLS) and contains only information from within the Village boundaries. Other sources may be providing their statistics based on zip code, and most of them also contain lot and townhome information, which this report breaks out as their own categories. It is also worth noting these numbers are provided several days after the month has closed, which may result in differences down the road due to data not having been updated timely by the real estate community. This report is effective, with data available on 8/7/2023.

Hot Springs Village

Single Family properties sold in July 2023

• 52 closed in July – 317 for YTD 2023
• Available for sale = 74 (As of Aug. 1, 2023)
• Average selling price – $360,790
• Median selling price – $301,505
• Average selling price per square foot – $155.32
• Average days on market – 36
• Under Contract – 41
• Taking Backup Offers – 28

Three (3) of the homes closed in July 2023 were new builds, making the total new builds closed for 2023 at 41. The average selling price of these three homes was $363,970 or $191.59 per square foot.

Seven (7) new builds remain in the current inventory of homes available for sale. This represents 9.3% of the total inventory available.

Single Family properties sold in July 2022

• 65 closed – 380 for YTD 2022
• Average selling price – $364,690
• Median selling price – $325,000
• Average price per square foot – $159.65
• Average days on market 36

On a YTD 2023 basis, we have closed 317 single-family homes, compared to 380 sold in 2022. Of the 317, 156 were sold in Saline County at an average selling price of $424.045 or $173.87 psf. One hundred sixty-one (161) have been closed in Garland County at an average selling price of $270,152 or $138.94 psf.

State of our Market

1) On a YTD 2023 basis, we have closed 63 fewer single-family homes and 19 fewer townhomes, resulting in closings down 22.3% year-over-year.
2) YTD, 2023 reflects that the sales price is now 98.2% of the asking price, further reinforcing that prices are now stabilizing, whereas last year, the selling price was 101% of the asking price.

NOTE: Keep in mind that these numbers only include transactions that have gone through the MLS and as such, will not include those where lot owners have contracted directly with a builder, or someone has sold FSBO.

Condos/Townhome Sales

Six (6) townhomes were sold in July 2023 at an average selling price of $190,618 or $135.68 psf. Noted above, year-over-year, townhome sales are down 19 properties. Selling prices continue to be high.

Lot Sales

In July 2023, nine (9) lots were closed through the MLS.

The overall inventory of available MLS lots has now dropped to 508. This does not include the 5,495 lots that the POA owns. This number does reflect an increase of 10 from last month. There are also another 6,265 that are in the Delinquent/Unproductive category, which is down 34 from last month.

Information provided comes directly from the MLS (Cooperative Arkansas Realtors MLS – CARMLS) and contains only information from within the Village boundaries. Other sources may be providing their statistics on zip code, and most of them also contain lot and townhome information, which this report breaks out as their own categories. It is also worth noting that these numbers are provided several days after the month has closed, which may result in differences down the road due to data not being updated by the Realtor community.

Arkansas Real Estate Market

• Arkansas seems to resist national trends revealing fewer Americans can afford a home. The state remains generally affordable, bolstered by wage increases in major metropolitan areas.
• The Arkansas real estate market is among the country’s most affordable markets.
• It is worth noting that while relatively affordable, prices have increased
  significantly over the last decade. In response, more and more investors are starting to look into long-term strategies which are benefiting from secular tailwinds. Rental properties, in particular, look more viable than ever in Arkansas, and investors are starting to take notice.
• Arkansas Median Sales Price – $257,800 vs $310,000 in Hot Springs Village.

National Real Estate Market

• Housing market activity remains weak overall, led mostly by elevated interest rates, combined with high home prices and low inventories.
• Nationwide, U.S. home prices and mortgage rates are rising faster than incomes, creating an affordability crisis.
• Interest rates are bumping against the 7% mark, negatively impacting a section of the market.
• In general, the price of a new build vs. an existing home is only about a $5,000 difference in price, resulting in a healthier new build market.
• Foreclosures are up 13% year-over-year, and some concerns have been expressed this trend may continue, given the state of the economy.
• National Median Sales Price – $410,200.

Feel free to reach out to me at lloydhsv@gmail.com if I can answer any questions for you. For disclosure purposes, I am a Realtor®, and the numbers reported here come directly from the MLS.

Lloyd Sherman

Author & Real Estate Agent
Email: lloydhsv@gmail.com