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Home sales fell almost 3 percent in 2006, report says Friday, Jan 26, 2007 By Jason Wiest LITTLE ROCK - Home sales in Arkansas fell 14.8 percent in December 2006 compared to the same month in 2005, capping off a year that saw home sales decline almost 2.9 percent, the Arkansas Realtors Association reported Thursday. The housing market had a record year in home sales in 2005, figures show. The average price of an Arkansas home increased 3.4 percent in December, rising to $155,240. Home prices averaged out at $149,976 for the year. Nationally, home sales were 7.9 percent lower than a 6.75 million-unit pace in December 2005. Monthly sales rose slightly more than 1 percent over December 2005 in Pulaski County, the state's top selling market last month at 438 homes sold. Benton, Washington, Sebastian and Saline Counties rounded out the top-five counties in terms of monthly sales, although all posted declines from year-earlier levels. Still, home sales remain historically high, according to David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. "Despite all of the doom-and-gloom stories and dire predictions over the last year, 2006 was the third strongest year on record for existing-home sales," Lereah said. Nationally, the median price for all types of existing homes stabilized at $222,000, unchanged from December 2005. For all of 2006, the median price was also $222,000, up 1.1 percent from 2005. Homes in Northwest Arkansas averaged the highest prices for the year, with Benton County reporting a $194,713 average, up 8.43 percent from 2005. The average prices remained nearly flat in Washington in Pulaski Counties, which reported prices of $188,516 and $170,275, respectively. Average prices increased the most in Garland and Saline Counties. Prices averaged out at $150,841 in Garland County for a 12.7 percent increase over prices in 2005, while the average price of a home was up 10.51 percent in Saline County, at $168,848. |
