Looking at year-to-date sales within the past week, we are currently down 38% in new listings, and closed sales are also down 29%.
What exactly does this mean? Inventory Issues!
According to a comparison of data from the calendar years 2022 and 2023, the number of listings has decreased from 374 to 234. While closed sales are down in 2023, it appears as though the inventory continues to challenge buyers in Northwest Arkansas. Meanwhile, pending listings for the same time period have increased, revealing that there are able, willing, and credit-worthy buyers in spite of interest rates nearly doubling from last year.
Although many areas of the country have experienced an increase in inventory, this is not the case in Northwest Arkansas as we are holding steady at three months of inventory.
One key factor between our area and other parts of the country is that Northwest Arkansas has a thousand people moving into our area every month. The people relocating from out of the area are purchasing the inventory, which continues to drive prices upward and keeps inventory low.
Another factor is that current homeowners are protecting their lower interest rates by staying where they are.
