By Lloyd Sherman

This report covers the current activities against the same timeframe last year. In this case, November of 2021 vs. November of 2022. It also reflects the results over the last five years. I also break down sales on single-family properties by county and provide some additional granular data.

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 by the Realtor community. This report is effective with data available on 12/5/2022.

Single Family properties sold in October 2022

  • 37 closed in November – 577 for YTD 2022
  • Available for sale = 85 (As of December 1, 2022)
  • Average selling price – $357,445
  • Median selling price – $327,000
  • Average selling price per square foot – $153.76
  • Average days on market – 34
  • Under Contract – 27
  • Taking Backup Offers – 14

October, Saline County closed was 31 of the 48, with an average selling price of $350,712 or $153.82 per square foot (PSF). 17 were closed in Garland County at an average selling price of $273,586 or average PSF of $158.69.

A total of 577 homes have been closed for YTD 2022. The average selling price for the YTD 577 is $341,648. Of the YTD 577, 55 are new builds, of which 4 were closed in October 2022. The average PSF of new builds was 189.25, with the lowest being $157.82 PSF and the highest being $254.63. The total number of closed houses in Saline County in 2022 has been 291, with an average selling price of $407,671 or an average PSF of $164.98. Garland County had 286 closed of the total YTD at an average selling price of $273,285 or $137.42 per square foot.

Single Family properties sold in October 2021

  • 63 closed – 675 for YTD 2021
  • Average selling price – $298,388
  • Median selling price – $254,787
  • Average price per square foot – $135.66
  • Average days on market 23

Through November 2021, there were 675 single-family properties sold. The average selling price through the first 11 months was $303,274 or 129.89 per square foot. The average days on the market was 24.

During this same period in 2021, an additional 115 townhomes had been closed, making the overall total 790.

State of the 2022 Market

1) Inventory in November 2022 came in at 85 giving home buyers more choices. But we are in the slow season right now, and some of these properties may sit for a while before a buyer comes forward. Of particular interest is that 30% (26 of the 85) are new construction that is now just sitting there waiting for a buyer. Additionally, that 30% have been on the market for an average of 70 days.

2) It is safe to say the Seller’s market is over for now. The economy and elevated interest rates have curbed the real estate market nationwide and appear to have done so in HSV. I hoped that our gated community would remain attractive to those in high-population centers, but selling all over has been seriously diminished.

3) Between both single-family and townhome properties, we are currently running 119 closings behind vs. where we were at this same time in 2021.

4) We are currently running 17.7% behind where we were at this same period in 2021. Expectations for a year like we had in 2021 are behind us and will most likely stay so until the economy improves.

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

Townhome sales for YTD ’22 have been 94 closed. In YTD 2021, there were 115 townhome properties, representing a 20.5% decline.

Lot Sales

Through 10/31/2021, 254 lots had been closed at an average selling price of $19,712. In 2022 that number is 206 at an average selling price of $16,099. This category shows a reduction of 44 properties or 22.3%.

The overall inventory of available MLS lots is 619. This does not include the 5,504 lots that are owned by the POA. There are also another 5,976 that are in the Delinquent/Unproduction category. On a 2022 YTD bases, there have been 225 lots
that have closed. In 2021 there had been 289 lots closed.

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 by the Realtor community.

DISCLAIMER: Many continue to ask how long this market will continue. Given the current national climate, I don’t see much of a change in our current market for at least the remainder of 2022. These statements represent only the opinions of the writer and the questions I have about the current market conditions and how much further buyers will go before price becomes a limiting decision. The fact that many are fleeing high-density areas and relocating to places like the Village should be a favorable sign for us, but like most things these days, time will tell.

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.