State Real Estate Market Outlook
Realty Market Outlook Arkansas State Profile - Spring 2006
Construction and development lending remains strong, but rising inventories in the northwest Arkansas market could trigger a slowdown.
Construction activity is expected to benefit in the near term from several large-scale commercial projects that are underway in downtown Little Rock. In addition, both commercial and residential projects abound throughout the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers area.
Rapid growth in residential construction is becoming a concern in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers market. In Benton and Washington Counties alone, an estimated 17,500 residential lots are currently in the pipeline.3 In the commercial segment, four projects are expected to bring an additional 2.87 million square feet of office or retail space to the area.4 Overall vacancy rates remain moderate across the area, but there are isolated pockets of high vacancies. In Bentonville, for instance, the office and retail vacancy rate is approximately 25 percent.3 While Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers continues to have one of the most vibrant economies in the nation, construction activity could cool as the market adjusts to the volume of space coming to market.
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