Residential building permits in NWA declined about 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, leaving the annual figures less than that of 2019.

• Only 1,514 permits were issued in 2020, down from 1,559 permits issued in 2019, according to permit data released by theNorthwest Arkansas Business Journal from Bentonville, Springdale, Fayetteville and Rogers.
• It's no surprise, residential building permits have been on the decline in recent years: 3.3 percent down since 2019, and 5.9 percent down from 2018 to 2019.
• However, bike friendly Bella Vista has shown almost a 50 percent increase in permits from 2020, issuing 416 permits valued at $108 million - compared to the 278 issued in 2019, for a total of $75 million. -Talk Business & Politics
• All four of the major cities in NWA issued more than 400 permits last year. Here's the data:

• Fayetteville - (2020) 443 permits, $129.8 million; (2019) 554 permits, $161.5 million

• Rogers - (2020) 410 permits, $109.7 million; (2019) 293 permits, $72.9 million.

• Bentonville - (2020) 402 permits, $121.1 million; (2019)428 permits, $130.1 million.

• Springdale - (2020) 259 permits, $65.7 million; (2019) 284 permits, $76.4 million.