Housing market in Fayetteville

[zman9810]

It's very, very good to be the Washington County Clerk these days:

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/oct/03/clerks-clean-foreclosures-20101003/

That is amazing- I had no idea that the system worked that way. $100,000 plus right into the clerk's pocket for something that their office should be doing as part of their job. That has got to be changed next legislative session if not sooner

[mzweig]

I thought you all might want to see some completed pics of a house we sold for $525,000 at 202 E. Lafayette. This house sold shortly after gutting. The one next door at 210 W. Lafayette is also wrapping up. It, too, sold after being gutted. You can still sell a house if you give buyers what they want where they want it!

Here's the link to the 202 pics....

http://zweig3.squarespace.com/202-w-lafayette-after/

[zman9810]

I thought you all might want to see some completed pics of a house we sold for $525,000 at 202 E. Lafayette. This house sold shortly after gutting. The one next door at 210 W. Lafayette is also wrapping up. It, too, sold after being gutted. You can still sell a house if you give buyers what they want where they want it!

Here's the link to the 202 pics....

http://zweig3.squarespace.com/202-w-lafayette-after/

Nice! so much attention to detail....

[mzweig]

Nice! so much attention to detail....

Thanks! The sale of 210 W. Lafayette closes today--and the total renovation of 220 W. Lafayette has started. I like working over in this part of town. The people are glad to see their area improving and the buyers like the convenience to everything.

Mark

[Mith242]

Nice! so much attention to detail....

Yeah a very nice house with a lot of great details.

[mzweig]

Yeah a very nice house with a lot of great details.

As an FYI, this house has approx 2639 sq feet of space and sold for $615K. It has three cars of off street parking plus it gets to lease one bay from the garage that is between the houses and actually owned by 202 W. Lafayette. 220 W. Lafayette (under construction) will be priced at $359K.

M

[mzweig]

Yeah a very nice house with a lot of great details.

Here's a link to the "after" pics of 210 W. Lafayette. Pics were taken yesterday.

http://zweig3.squarespace.com/210-w-lafayette-after/

M

[thewizard16]

Here's a link to the "after" pics of 210 W. Lafayette. Pics were taken yesterday.

http://zweig3.squarespace.com/210-w-lafayette-after/

M

This may be my favorite project of yours yet. I like the colors throughout the house a lot, the kitchen design is very open and bright, and the white columns and trim inside and out are very nice. Awesome work!

[mzweig]

This may be my favorite project of yours yet. I like the colors throughout the house a lot, the kitchen design is very open and bright, and the white columns and trim inside and out are very nice. Awesome work!

Hey, thanks, Wiz. We are doing a lot more these days with offwhite oil-base paintedwood work and butter colored walls. Always use flat wall paint on smooth drywall and flat white ceilings. Just makes the place light and pleasant--warm--not cold.

M

[mzweig]

FYI, All, I am scheduled to close today on 15 condos on Junction Street which comes off Razorback Road about a half mile from the University Ball Park. I am purchasing 15 of 16 units--one sold in late 2007--and the rest are either rented or will be. These are about four years old--very bare bones brick and vinyl exteriors--and have over 1500 sq feet of heated and cooled space plus small one car garages. Each is a three bed, 2.5 bath unit and less than four years old.

We have big plans for thse units and will upgrade this whole development. We are going to replace all vinyl siding with cedar shingles (l love 'em), add custom painted wooden shutters on all front and side windows, put awnings or trellises over the garage doors, install awnings over the rear doors, install gutter and downspouts all around, paint the doors and garage doors forest green, install new rail systems on decks. install new exterior lighting, install new signs on each unit, relandscape the whole thing (never had topsoil), build a new entrance, and rename the project "University Junction." Curent rental rates are $850 a month but will probably go up as the units are refreshed in and out. Some may also be available for sale at very affordable prices.

I'm excitied about this project. It is a different type of residential development for us in a totally different area and price range, but I think the market will respond to our cosmetic upgrades over there and predict this thing will be a success!

Mark

[Mith242]

FYI, All, I am scheduled to close today on 15 condos on Junction Street which comes off Razorback Road about a half mile from the University Ball Park. I am purchasing 15 of 16 units--one sold in late 2007--and the rest are either rented or will be. These are about four years old--very bare bones brick and vinyl exteriors--and have over 1500 sq feet of heated and cooled space plus small one car garages. Each is a three bed, 2.5 bath unit and less than four years old.

We have big plans for these units and will upgrade this whole development. We are going to replace all vinyl siding with cedar shingles (l love 'em), add custom painted wooden shutters on all front and side windows, put awnings or trellises over the garage doors, install awnings over the rear doors, install gutter and downspouts all around, paint the doors and garage doors forest green, install new rail systems on decks. install new exterior lighting, install new signs on each unit, re-landscape the whole thing (never had topsoil), build a new entrance, and rename the project "University Junction." Current rental rates are $850 a month but will probably go up as the units are refreshed in and out. Some may also be available for sale at very affordable prices.

I'm excited about this project. It is a different type of residential development for us in a totally different area and price range, but I think the market will respond to our cosmetic upgrades over there and predict this thing will be a success!

Mark

Sounds cool, good luck!

[zman9810]

There has been an uptick in the number of new subdivision projects coming before area city planing departments. This is not just in Fayetteville but all over NWA. These may be just revivals of plans that were put on hold after the economic downturn but it is certainly a positive change. It is actually surprising considering how many established subdivisions still have many vacant lots ready to be built on. I know the Skyline Report has been showing a reduction in the number of new houses sitting unsold so evidently developers are seeing demand rising for the future. I am sure any development is being done cautiously- I can't imagine anyone investing large amounts of money on speculation.

[bubba72704]

I've noticed this as well. It's great to see a surge in housing demand but it will be interesting to see if these new subdivisions do well. To your point, there are tons of vacant lots out there -- the problem is that they're just not close to anything. I think developers realize that they are only going to sell homes that are close to good schools and close to major traffic arteries. Most of the lots that meet these criteria have already been bought up, thus pushing them to develop new subdivisions as opposed to build in lots that are more remote. Vacant lots are cheap and plentiful in towns like Prairie Grove or Pea Ridge -- but good luck attracting buyers that want long commutes and lower performing schools.

[strmchsr77]

We have been much busier showing houses and getting listings sold especially the more affordable homes in west Fayetteville. Prices seem to have bottomed out and are starting to rise again. I just hope the trend continues and improves more.

[mzweig]

The market is really hot now. I sold a house on Oaks Manor 13 days after I bought it without listing it. I looked at a house in Candlewood yesterday (new listing) and there were three sets of people there. It's really interesting to see how strong it is and how much activity there is now. It's great!

[zman9810]

Good point about a lot of the vacant lots being in areas that may not be as desirable due to commutes and school quality. That is a point Mark has made many times- location is key. it would be interesting to see a breakdown of where exactly the lots are. I have noticed quite a few new homes being built scattered around the area- it isn't the dozens in a single subdvision like a few years ago but encouraging nonetheless.

[Snaple4]

I am in the process of purchasing a house in Bentonville. The house in in an nice, though unfinished, subdivision near the Crystal Bridges Museum. It wasn't even on the market a week and there had already been several showings. After about 2 weeks on the market we had put an offer out... I was very impressed with how much interest some of the properties had. Location is huge.

[bubba72704]

Benton county seem to be very busy lately. I've been told that the primary reason is that about a year ago Walmart decided to widen the selection in their stores, thus adding thousands of items to the shelves. This results in more vendor jobs in the area, as well as more jobs at Walmart. They also made the decision to move the apparel department from NYC back to Bentonville which added hundreds of white collar jobs at the home office -- and lots of apparel vendors re-establishing offices here. I work for a vendor in Bentonville.... My boss had his house on the market for about 18 months before it sold back in November. Since then he has been out-bid on homes at least 4 times and is still looking for a place in Bentonville. It's amazing how things have turned around up here.

[bubba72704]

Does anyone know why the Washington Co. website isn't updating real estate records?  They haven't made any updates since mid-October...  

[mzweig]

Just curious if you all noticed my houses coming up out of the ground at Summit Place. Look east behind Kum and Go--up the hill! We have three underway. Mark

[zman9810]

Mark, I'm still shocked that you went in on a full subdivision. I hadn't noticed but glad to hear things are moving forward.

[wmr]

Those houses are looking good Mark.

[mzweig]

Thanks, Guys! It is quite dramatic and will soon be even better when all the natural stonework starts going in two weeks from tomorrow! There will also be 45 boxes of cedar shingles going on soon! All colors will be earthtoned--including the wood windows. No vinyl! No metal soffits. No cheesiness. We're trying to get LEED Silver. M

[roadrunner8383]

The housing inventory seems pretty slim on the east side of Fayetteville right now. I'm surprised that more people aren't putting their homes up for sale. Especially since there are a lot buyers out there due to the low interest rates. I know the rates are supposed to increase this year unfortunately.

[mzweig]

We sold 2673 N. Elizabeth and it closed earlier this month.  Both 424 N. Highland and 534 N. Willow are under contract and will close in February--each is bringing over $200/ft.  We have three sets of buyers looking at a group of 15, 100% leased 3-bed, 2.5 bath townhouse condos we own on Junction St. off Razorback Road.  We are doing a house at 1703 E. Stewart that is about 60-75 days away from completion and we are fighting to keep potential buyers out of it because it looks so bad right now.  Our first house at Summit Place is about 75-90 days from completion. We have nothing else completed that is ready to sell. I would say that the market is pretty strong right now....  Mark