2020 was unusual for most people and industries; however, real estate development and sales was one industry that remained unfazed and was even possibly accelerated by the pandemic. Northwest Arkansas showed positive signs of economic development and expansion in the final half of 2020. The resilience of the real estate market and the quick economic rebound makes you think NWA could be recession proof...

• For real estate in Washington and Benton County, homes sales increased 18.2 precent to 5,803 while the average home price in Benton County increased 10.7 percent from the previous year; and home prices in Washington County increased 11.8 precent from previous year.
• Somewhere around 14,000 multifamily units are either "under construction or announced throughout the region. This represents 30.8 percent of the current inventory of multifamily units in Northwest Arkansas." Skyline Report
• Finally, if you are concerned about future growth in the region, this could be insightful - $188.8MM in building permits were issued for Q3 and Q4 of 2020. The Q3 permit value was only $57.6MM, which was higher from Q2 2020; however, "there was a strong rebound in [Q4] of 2020 with $131.3MM in building permits issued, indicating NWA is not experiencing a pandemic slowdown in the commercial construction" sector. Skyline Report

You can read the full report and numbers HERE