Realtors: Arkansas Home Sales Down 6 Percent in December

(Note: A correction has been made to this story. See the end of the story for more.)

Home sales in Arkansas in December fell 6 percent from the same month last year, according to a report Thursday from the Arkansas Realtors Association.

Click here (PDF) to download the full report.

The report showed statewide home sales of 1,785 in December, down from 1,903 during the same month last year. But home sales increased to December from November, when the association reported 1,759 sales.

The association’s home sales numbers include both new and existing home sales.

The report also showed that existing-home prices rose for the fourth consecutive month, hitting an average price of $147,795 in December. That figure also marked a year-over-year increase, with average prices of homes in the 42-county area monitored by the association up 2 percent from $144,842 in December 2010.

For 2011, the number of homes sold in Arkansas compared to 2010 decreased less than 1 percent. In 2011, 24,352 homes sold; in 2010, 24,508 homes sold.

For 2011, Arkansas average prices decreased slightly more than 1 percent, the report said.

"We find these to be very encouraging numbers and early signs of a possible recovery in the housing market," Amy Glover Bryant, the association’s director of communications, said. 

Dana Powell, president of the Arkansas Realtors Association, called 2011 a "rebuilding year" for the state housing market.

"The market is showing signs of improvement, and more than ever, people aspire to become homeowners," she said. 

Arkansas dodged the worst of the housing crisis of the last five years, but it hasn’t escaped falling home prices. But recent monthly gains in average home prices in Arkansas have been encouraging to real estate agents.

Among Arkansas counties with the most home sales, Pulaski County reported the most, with 296 sales, up 2 percent from the same month last year. Benton County sold 267 homes, down 6 percent. Washington County sold 138, down 18 percent. Craighead County sold 104, up 3 percent. And Garland County sold 101, down 7 percent.

In other home sales news, the Commerce Deparment reported Thursday that 302,000 new homes were sold last year — 6.5 percent less than the 323,000 sold in 2010, making 2011 the worst year on records dating back to 1963.

(Correction, Jan. 26, 2011: The Arkansas Realtors Association said it miscalculated the December 2011 average home price. That figure, the percent increase from December 2010 and the PDF of the Realtors’ report have all been corrected.)