2011 was another good year for seven-figure home sales in Pulaski County.
During the year, 22 homes sold for $1 million or more, which was the same number of sales in 2010 and compares very favorably with 2009, when only 14 homes sold for $1 million or more.
“We have seen the market picking up in the high-end homes as well as in all price ranges,” Janet Jones, owner of The Janet Jones Co. of Little Rock, told Arkansas Business last week. “And we continue to be optimistic from our reports [that] this is going to be a good year.”
For now, it remains a buyer’s market, Jon Underhill, who sells upscale homes through his agency, Jon Underhill Real Estate in Little Rock, said in an email to Arkansas Business.
“We are still in an environment that our supply outweighs the demand,” he wrote.
He said buyers will make an offer on their first choice, and if the seller is unwilling to negotiate, the buyers “move fairly quickly to their second choice.”
As of last week, 36 homes priced at more than $1 million were listed for sale in Pulaski County. But Underhill said he has his own list of about 35 more seven-figure homes that are available for sale but not listed.
Last year at this time, 49 homes were officially listed for sale. Some of those properties have been sold, sold for less than $1 million or have been removed from the market, he said.
These days, buyers of luxury homes are looking for contemporary houses, which weren’t popular a few years ago, Underhill said.
“Today’s buyers are still looking for upper-end finishes but are less interested in double-height ceilings, theater rooms and other superfluous rooms,” Underhill said.
Jones said people want luxury homes in “excellent condition, nice yards and open floor plans.”
And a pool can tip the sale either way, she said. “If someone is looking for a pool, then that will make your home with a pool sell quickly, but there are some people who don’t want a pool,” she said.
For those who have wondered who owns these exclusive homes in Pulaski County, Arkansas Business has attempted to provide a brief description of each of the top 12 home sales and of the owners, using interviews and public records. Click to see a slideshow of those homes, the sale price and buyer.
