Hot Springs Village and More Real Estate Update for Period Ending 9-30-23

This report covers the current activities against the same timeframe last year. In this case, September of 2022 against September 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 additional granular data based on the current month.

Hot Springs Village

Single Family properties closed in September 2023

  • 46 closed in September – 422 for YTD 2023
  • Available for sale = 71 (As of Oct. 1, 2023)
  • Average selling price – $354,926
  • Median selling price – $318,500
  • Average selling price per square foot – $157.76
  • Average days on the market – 31
  • Under Contract – 40
  • Taking Backup Offers – 28

Five (5) of the homes closed in September 2023 were new builds, making the total closed for 2023 at 57. The average selling price of these five homes was $451,780 or $187.36 per square foot.

Ten (10) new builds remain in the current MLS inventory of homes available for sale.

Single Family properties closed in September 2022

  • 56 closed – 494 for YTD 2022
  • Average selling price – $341,739
  • Median selling price – $299,012
  • Average price per square foot – $150.61
  • Average days on the market – 18

On a YTD 2023 basis, 422 single-family homes have closed, compared to 494 closed in 2022. Of the 422, 206 were closed in Saline County at an average selling price of $429,374 or $174.24 PSF. Two hundred sixteen (216) have been closed in Garland County at an average selling price of $270,672 or $139.93 PSF.

State of HSV Market

1) On a YTD 2023 basis, we have closed 72 fewer single-family homes and 15 fewer townhomes, which results in closings being down 17.8% year-over-year. Due to increased townhome sales in September, our position against last year improved slightly.

2) YTD, 2023 reflects that the sales price is now 97.6% of the asking price, further reinforcing that prices continue to stabilize more, whereas last year, the selling price was 100% of the asking price.

3) Rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continue to impact the housing market. However, only 52.2% of the closings for September were cash, which may indicate fewer homebuyers are being scared off by the current mortgage rates.

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

Twelve (12) townhomes were closed in September 2023 at an average selling price of $164,833 or $124.33 PSF. As noted above, year-over-year, townhome sales are down 15 properties, which is an improvement from last month’s results.

Lot Sales

In August 2023, there were 28 lots closed through the MLS.

The overall inventory of available MLS lots is now 454, whereas last year, at this time, it was 592. The good news is that we have closed 93 more lots than we did in YTD 2022. This
does not include the 5,488 lots that the POA owns. There are also another 6,288 that are in the Delinquent/Unproductive category.

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 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 timely by the real estate community. This report is effective with data available
9/3/2023.

Arkansas Real Estate Market*

  • Arkansas as a whole is reflecting a 97.8% selling price to listing price, which tracks with the HSV rate of 97.6%.
  • The median sales price in Arkansas is $252,100 compared to HSV’s median of $310,000.
  • 2023 is considered by many to be a balanced year for housing supply and demand. This is ideal for retail purchasers and rental property investors. No longer a “seller’s” market. Rising interest rates raise the monthly mortgage payment, which reduces homebuyers and lowers property values.

National Real Estate Market*

  • “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that higher interest rates have wreaked havoc on the mortgage market, causing monthly payments to skyrocket for new homebuyers while lenders denied more applicants from getting home loans due to insufficient income.” Click here to read the full article.
  • Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, says, “Unlike the turn of the millennium, house prices today are rising alongside mortgage rates, primarily due to low inventory. These headwinds are causing both buyers and sellers to hold out for better circumstances.”
  • If history is any guide, we will see a deceleration of the real estate market over October, November, and December. “Seasonally, the fourth quarter tends to be on the slow side of the housing market. With such a limited inventory of homes available for sale, which will further curtail the number of real estate transactions in the last three months of this year,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate’s Chief Financial Analyst.
  • National Median Sales Price – $407,100 in August of 2023 vs current HSV of $310,000.

*Data on an AR and National basis tend to lag by one month, whereas data regarding HSV is available through the end of the current month.

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.

By Lloyd Sherman, Associate Broker, Trademark HSV Real Estate


HSV Property Comparison Activities for July 2023


HSV Real Estate Update Period Ending September 2023 PDF


Lloyd Sherman

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


Click here to read Lloyd’s previous report.


Click here to join Hot Springs Village Property Owners’ Facebook Group.


Click here to visit the Official Hot Springs Village POA Page.