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Northwest Arkansas real estate keeps surprising the skeptics, and we’re mapping the why behind it. We dig into fresh sales counts, median price bands, and the county split that explains so much of the region’s momentum. From Bella Vista’s rise and Bentonville’s gravity to the distinct feel of Rogers submarkets, we show how job growth, vendor proximity to Walmart, and buildability constraints shape where investors win and how long it takes to get paid. We break down a practical underwriting p...
Northwest Arkansas real estate keeps surprising the skeptics, and we’re mapping the why behind it. We dig into fresh sales counts, median price bands, and the county split that explains so much of the region’s momentum. From Bella Vista’s rise and Bentonville’s gravity to the distinct feel of Rogers submarkets, we show how job growth, vendor proximity to Walmart, and buildability constraints shape where investors win and how long it takes to get paid.
We break down a practical underwriting playbook for out-of-state buyers and locals alike: when “break even” near the Walmart campus makes long-term sense, how to time student housing in Fayetteville around pre-leasing windows, and why rent per square foot must be balanced with realistic chunk rents and vacancy. Rogers gets a closer look, from luxury-leaning Pinnacle to steady downtown and lake-adjacent pockets that behave like a separate ecosystem with more short-term rentals and lifestyle premiums. We also surface smaller cities—Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, Siloam Springs, Gentry—where thin supply, universities, and charming downtowns can create outsized opportunities if you know how to read the data.
If you’re trying to replace income today, we talk candidly about where cap rates live in Arkansas and why Little Rock or Fort Smith might better fit a cash-flow-first plan. If you’re playing the long game, we outline the case for staying close to the corporate hubs and how light value-add from the 1970s to early 2000s can bridge yield and appreciation. We even touch on a tactical 2025 short-term rental and bonus depreciation approach, with the reminder to consult a CPA and underwrite conservatively. By the end, you’ll know how to turn Northwest Arkansas data into clear buy boxes, credible rent assumptions, and five-to-ten-year paths you can actually commit to.
Enjoyed the conversation and want more? Follow the show, share it with a friend who invests, and leave a quick review so we can keep bringing you sharp, local intel that helps you make better real estate decisions.
Northwest Arkansas's go-to show for real estate agents, brokers, and investors looking to zoom in on the local market. Join us as we sit down with the leading voices in the area to hear how they're investing in NWA.
Hosted by (in order from left to right) Brian Wagers, Zach Stanley, and Brandon Still.
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Northwest
Arkansas Investing Podcast, your
go-to source for real estate
investing in Northwest Arkansas.
SPEAKER_03: Whether you're a
seasoned investor just starting
out, we bring you expert
insights, market trends, and
practical strategies to help you
build wealth through real
estate.
SPEAKER_00: From buying and
selling to property management
and long-term investment
planning, we cover it all so you
can make smart, informed
decisions in this fast growing
market.
Let's dive in.
SPEAKER_03: All right.
Welcome back to the NWA
Investing Podcast, joined by my
co-host, Zach Stanley, Brandon
Still.
We have Desiree Stock again here
with NWA Look.
Excited to dive deep dive into
the data.
So welcome back.
Thanks.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
Last episode we kind of talked
about the data as a whole.
And this episode, we're going to
dive into how Mr.
or Mrs.
Listener listening in, uh, how
do you take that data and
underwrite a deal from it?
And where where do you would you
get that deal?
And um we're kind of taking the
next the next jump there um for
how do you um uh how do you take
data and then this soup of data
and pick out the right right
points to help you uh get to
your first investment property
or your second or your 50th
investment property.
So um let's revisit some some
headline map metrics here.
Um says Fayetteville had 557
sales year to date, and Bella
Vista 473.
Um do you have do you have more
stats on that?
SPEAKER_01: I actually got
updated stats on that.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, perfect.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um year to date
being till September, the end of
September, Fayetteville was
thirteen hundred and thirty-five
uh closed transactions, Bella
Vista was 1,085.
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
SPEAKER_01: Uh Bentonville was
eleven fifty-seven and
Springdale was nine hundred and
seventy-eight transactions
closed.
SPEAKER_02: What was
Fayetteville again?
SPEAKER_01: It was one thousand
three hundred and thirty-five.
SPEAKER_02: That's interesting
to see that that kind of tight
spread there.
Uh especially being eleven
fifty-seven and Bella Vista
being a thousand eighty-five.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: I feel like that's a
really interesting stat.
SPEAKER_01: It's been
interesting over the last few
years to watch Bella Vista
really increase in closed sales.
SPEAKER_02: Is this a rumor?
Uh I don't know if any of you
guys know about this.
Is it a rumor that the Waltons
just bought the AOC the ACC up
there?
SPEAKER_01: They did buy it.
SPEAKER_02: They did buy it?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
I knew there were rumors that
like Alice was talking about
buying the city of Bella Vista,
but I don't know if they're now
in charge of the architectural
committee.
Praise God.
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01: You might get some
nicer homes.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, nicer homes.
For sure.
That's huge.
That's really huge.
Besides the point, though.
SPEAKER_01: But there aren't
already nice homes.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there are.
Um It's crazy.
I remember people talking about
like land banking in Bella
Vista, just you know, when I
first moved here 10 or 11 years
ago, and it I'm sure they have
done very well, like buying
these parcels, and people are
still doing it.
You know, have buying parcels
and uh waiting for it to
appreciate.
So I think uh Bella Vista is is
a great spot to be investing.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
I I mean, would you would you
agree with Bella Vista being uh
a spot to keep your eye on if
you're an investor?
SPEAKER_01: I definitely think
so.
When I first moved here, which
was about 10 years ago as well,
um you could buy a lot for about
500 to a thousand bucks.
That was a buildable lot.
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um and now we're
seeing 50,000, you know, for a
good build.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
What's the average home price
look like and or median price in
Bella Vista compared to
Bentonville, Fayeville?
SPEAKER_01: That's um a great
question.
Um, I believe offhand.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it'd be
ballpark.
SPEAKER_01: It's about 335.
Um, and then in Fayetteville,
it's about 350 to 370 in that
range.
And then Bentonville, you're
closer to 400.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
Um if you're if you're an
investor looking in on this
market, I and I'm not 100% sure
if you have this data in front
of you, but do you know the year
over year um yield on
appreciation um that from some
of these markets here?
Like, do we have that data?
SPEAKER_01: So as a whole, on
average, it's about five to
seven percent.
Okay.
Um, there's some areas that are
a little less, and then there's
some that are a little bit more.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: I would say probably
Bentonville and Bella Vista, you
would see a little bit higher.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
That that's what I'd be saying
too.
So like if I'm looking in this
market, I I mean, I I look at
real estate personally, I look
at real estate as like a
physical form of an index fund
of like a stock market.
And like, okay, I gotta take
$60,000, get a seven to whatever
percent return on the stock
market, or I can see this
physical asset on hand and get a
you know, five to seven percent
return, what we're seeing in
this area.
And it's it's really interesting
to talk about this area on a
micro scale as opposed to the
macro scale of the country when
a lot of areas were seeing this
down.
SPEAKER_01: They're two to three
percent, I think, is about the
average with some some of the
areas I I want to say.
It was um something I read about
115 metros that they looked at,
about 75 had a decrease.
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
So, like while the while the
rest of the country is seeing a
lot of decrease in a lot of
these metros, north of Arkansas
is staying healthy and and even
increasing on our price per
square foot.
Um what would we all kind of
know this answer, but like what
would you attribute that to um
for just for someone listening
in?
Why would why would you
attribute that we're still uh in
a healthy market despite Um job
growth is one of the biggest
factors in that.
SPEAKER_01: Um and then the
influx of people coming into the
area.
There's about 32 people a day
moving here.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So that's a huge
increase, you know, on a about a
I think a thousand people a day
or a month, excuse me.
Wow.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
What do you see the the people
moving to Benton County versus
Washington County?
SPEAKER_01: Um, do you have any
data on so as far as sales go,
65% of all sales occur in Benton
County versus Washington County?
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
SPEAKER_01: That's so I would
say majority of the population's
moving to Benton County.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, 65% at least.
And what about um are you guys
tracking household income,
median household income?
SPEAKER_01: So I I do look at
that on the Census Bureau, but
it's it lags every four years.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: And so we should be
coming up soon.
SPEAKER_02: But yeah.
Why do we think that uh this is
a general question for the
group, why do we think that it's
pushing to Bank County?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think uh
Walmart.
SPEAKER_01: Well, they also
require all of their vendors, I
believe it's to be within a
20-mile radius.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Bank County.
There's a lot more developable
land in Benton County as well
compared to Washington County.
I mean, unless you want to be
prairie, I mean Prairie Grove is
a little bit further out there
and stuff like that.
And Farmington, like we talked
about in the last episode, is
growing quite a bit.
Um, and there's been a huge
uptick in sales.
But outside of that, yeah, the
majority of Benton County is
newer for the most part.
My dad also always used to talk
about how Northwest Arkansas
used to be, just basically
Springdale and Fayetteville.
Um, so yeah, I mean, I think
that's also playing a huge role.
SPEAKER_01: I would say probably
too on the commercial side,
there's a lot more being built
commercially in Benton County
versus Washington County.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
That's probably why I I said it
on the last episode.
But I think there's a lot of
opportunity in Springdale, you
know, Fayetteville too, but you
know, there's not as much being
built there in Fayetteville in
Springdale.
SPEAKER_01: Fayetteville is a
little bit harder to build in.
SPEAKER_02: That was gonna be my
next point was like I've been
talking with a lot of my clients
who have built in Fayetteville,
and they're like, it is hard to
build in Fayetteville.
And it's and it's it's been very
hard to build in Bell Vista as
well.
And I'd be interested to see if
that gets eased up a little bit
with Waltons buying the ACC, and
I would think so.
And I think they were like, I
think the Waltons were trying to
build something, and the ACC was
like, oh no, that's not an earth
tone.
And they're like, you know what,
we're gonna buy you.
SPEAKER_04: Like I think that
was kind of in short how it
went.
SPEAKER_02: Um, but Fayetteville
is predominantly very hard to
build in it.
They have a lot of I think I
think they go to a lot of
building conventions across the
country and bring all these
ideas and like, oh, let's just
implement them back in
Fayetteville.
And uh, we're like, you know,
it's it's it's it makes it
really tough.
And so I mean, I know like
business owners on the
commercial side too.
Like, I know my dad, and along
with a lot of other business
owners, have been like, you
know, all these regulations in
Fayetteville, like I'm just
gonna go with a little or are
the cost doesn't make sense.
It doesn't make sense.
It's making my life way too
hard.
I can get the same amount of
growth um and better in Benton
County.
And Fayville, you're just I
mean, almost keep keeping
Fayetteville funky to a fault um
in in certain parts when we're
sacrificing ropes for sidewalks
where two bikers bike a day.
It's there's a lot.
I mean, that that that could be
a totally separate podcast about
the bank.
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, you
know, just to go off a little
more, affordable housing is
something that they preach, but
they don't allow you to build.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So how do you
achieve that?
SPEAKER_02: We talk who do we
talk about taking the red tape
off with not too long ago?
But to that point, they're
they're they're saying, yeah,
affordable housing, affordable
housing.
And they're like, but here's six
more layers of red tape you have
to jump through.
And it's like, why why would I
do affordable?
Yeah.
What are the incentives error?
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03: Bent Bentonville
used to be kind of like known to
be harder to develop, but I
think Fayo has gotten the the
reputation for being harder, and
and they'll seeing more
opportunity and more people and
then out, you know, expanding to
these other submarkets outside
of Bentonville.
SPEAKER_02: I will tell you, I'm
building my home right now in
Benton County, and it's very
nice.
Like if you once you get just
down to the county, the Benton
County uh building, like the
inspectors are really easy.
You call up there and it's like
one old lady, she's like, Hey,
Mr.
Stanley.
And you like go and see them in
person, like it feels like old
time.
You know, you just they come by,
the inspector has your number,
it's like very easy.
You're not just a number.
They're like, Oh, you and Miss
is gonna have kids here, blah,
blah, blah.
Where's that at?
Uh, just out past Prairie Creek,
like right before you hit the
bridge that goes over the um I'm
telling everybody on this
listening where I live.
But right before you hit the
bridge that hits over the uh the
lake there, we're up there.
Prairie Creek, yeah, Prairie
Creek area.
So it's that's just in the
county.
So and if you're building in the
county, it's super easy.
Super, super easy.
Um if you're so we've kind of
said all this stuff.
If we're if we're looking into
this market and I'm an investor
from California, would you say
you would look at probably Bent
County is what you would if you
had to.
I mean, there's I've I've sold a
lot of stuff in Fayetteville
this year for investors as a
whole.
Would you say Bent County?
SPEAKER_01: Overall, I would say
Benton County unless you're into
student housing, which is a
great opportunity too.
So I don't want to leave out the
Fayetteville student housing
opportunities.
SPEAKER_03: Uh-huh.
A hundred percent.
Yeah, student housing in
Fayetteville is on fire.
I mean the the Marshall just
sold for over$407,000 uh a unit.
So crazy, crazy pricing.
Uh and and they're they're
trying to develop.
I know some developments are
getting shut down, some are
getting approved, but yeah, I
mean, University of Arkansas,
it's a huge growth factor to
Fayetteville and continues to be
growing.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like crazy.
So I mean, there's there's a lot
of positives for investing in
Fayetteville and and and b and
uh Washington County, as I think
uh most of my investors are
investing in Fayetteville, where
when they invest in
Fayetteville, it's because of
the university.
Yeah.
And you you may notice that like
it, what is it, the eighth or
eighth or eighteenth quickest
growing university in the
nation?
Eighth?
It was.
Yeah.
It's like the eighth.
And so it's like we have a very
quick growing university with
now.
You can speak to this as well.
The timing of buying those homes
for pseudo housing, you don't
want to be eating uh months and
months.
I mean, I do have people buying
right now because that's just
when the deals are, but speak to
the timing of when you buy when
when's the time to buy these
properties in Fayeville.
SPEAKER_01: So I always say in
the summer before, or if they're
pre-leased, that's even better.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um, because a lot of
times they pre-lease in April,
May, June.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: And then so as long
as you're in before August.
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Because the
mid-August is usually when the
university starts.
And then another opportunity I
feel like is in December when
they have the turnover, and
there's some students who, you
know, they graduated or they
dropped out or that sort of
thing.
Yeah.
So maybe somebody else
transferred in and they need a
housing opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
That's a good that's a good
time.
So I mean, going back to what we
talked about on Bitton County
and the growth happening there.
Uh, I don't know if you have
these stats as well, but where
where are you seeing their most
rate growth uh in in kind of,
you know, so I did months of
inventory.
SPEAKER_01: Um but as far as
rent growth goes, I think that
in the city of Bentonville is is
kind of the biggest portion.
Um and really anywhere that's in
a 20 to 30 minute commute of the
Walmart campus.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Once you get outside
that, you kind of it's a hit or
miss where the rent growth is.
SPEAKER_03: What are you guys
seeing in Rogers right now?
Pinnacle area, Pinnacle Rogers
and downtown R I guess it's hard
to separate the data between,
you know, it's kind of two
different you know, they can
almost be two different cities.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So Pinnacle area, I
feel like there's not a ton of
rentals.
And if they are, they're the
higher end rental market.
SPEAKER_02: Luxury type stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And we there, I feel
like there is a need for that.
SPEAKER_02: There there
definitely is.
Um, I mean, I don't see hardly
any five, six, seven thousand
dollar and uh price per I mean
per month.
And I think if you had something
worth paying that, there'd be
executives all day that would
pay that because we're talking
if you're paying a mortgage on a
million dollars, that's five or
six thousand dollars a month.
So I mean they can be like, you
know, I I would pay that, or I
could just move then we could I
don't even know if we have maybe
have one or two of those in this
whole market.
So it's definitely a market for
something like that for sure.
SPEAKER_01: And when you go to
the other side of Rogers, I feel
like that market is stable.
It's not, you know, increasing
significantly, but it's not
decreasing either.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
Yeah, I think the Skyline report
had uh that Rogers built or
brought online the most units
out of every city uh over the
last half year or something like
that.
Wow.
Um you'll have to go back, we'll
have to pull back up the Skyline
report to look at that.
But um, but they all got
absorbed pretty quickly.
And so this, I think the latest
Skyline report said that um, you
know, most of that got absorbed,
and you know, now we're still at
the vacancy rates have dropped
pretty significantly back down
to similar.
SPEAKER_02: With all that
growth, the vacancy rates still
kind of stabilized.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they just
continue to be absorbed.
I don't know if you've seen the
same thing.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, then I mean I
feel it.
That's why I mean it feels
stable.
Yeah, you know, it's a good
still a good place to invest in
as well.
I think that long term, that
area because of the commute
times, is a great investment
opportunity too for both.
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
Yeah, I I live in the Pinnacle
area, but I have rentals closer
to downtown Rogers, and they're
like you said they define
growing steadily over there.
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of an
interesting uh area.
The closer you get to downtown
Rogers, it's it's very so I
think staple is a good word.
Uh you're there's not anything
crazy happening, there's not but
there's nothing negative
happening.
Yeah, there's nothing like super
positive, there's nothing they
it's kind of like just steady
eddy.
Uh, we've seen really normal
returns there.
Um, I will say it's harder for
me to find deals for investor.
Um just because I mean, if I can
find a good house, it's 350 to
380, and then you do a 20% down
in the normal interest rate on
that, and you're looking at over
$2,000 on your mortgage, and
then maybe you can get a little
over$2,000 on rent.
So, like we're looking at a
break even to to if we're
talking single family.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Um, have you seen it
being harder to find deals in
Rogers for your your clients?
SPEAKER_01: I do think it is a
little bit hard.
Yeah.
Um, because I feel like the
whole Rogers area is getting
this supreme name.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so it's
getting a little bit more
difficult.
But I do find if you can find a
house that's built between maybe
the 70s and early 2000s that
might need a little bit of
remodeling, you can still find a
deal.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
And again, just going back to
you know, infrastructure and
things like that, the reason
that people are moving here, job
growth.
Uh, I mean, we built our whole
beginning investing strategy on
being around the Walmart, new
Walmart campus.
Um, and we, you know, we've
continued to see that we can
pull premium rents, and every
time we put them up for lease,
they go within a week.
Um, so I think that's just
something interesting to
continue to watch.
It's just, you know, obviously
location is always going to be
number one, but uh being close
to some of those hub hub spots,
whether it be Walmart campus or
you know, maybe it's Pitnacle
and some of the suppliers there
or whatever.
SPEAKER_03: But it's yeah, NWA
is evolving so much.
I mean, we had Stephanie Orman
on, and she she and her her and
Tyler overstreet are talking
about, but yeah, you have the
Bentonville Square, but now you
have the home office is its own
like kind of submarket, and they
want to have they want to have
more city centers too.
They want they don't want just
those two, they want more.
So they're already talking about
Rogers, is already doing it with
downtown and Pinnacle area.
Yeah, you know, Springdale has
downtown, but you also have the
medical mile corridor that's
developing a lot, and then
Fayabill will see what happens
soon.
But it's interesting to see that
development.
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
I I I would say if I'm if I'm an
outside, and you can confirm
right on this.
Um, if I'm an outside investor
looking in, I'm probably looking
at how can I get something that
at least breaks even close to
the Walmart, uh, something by
the one.
And I hate the word break even
as an investment, um, but I'm
seeing if I can get something
that works as close to Walmart
headquarters as possible because
I think there's yes, we've seen
a huge jump in appreciation, but
I don't think it's the end of it
by any means.
Um, I'm probably looking at
Bella Vista.
I do like P Ridge.
It's harder to get uh my out of
state investors' minds wrapped
around Pea Ridge and Prairie
Grove.
Like when I say that, they're
like, there's nothing online
about these places.
I'm like, you gotta trust me,
bro.
Like it's it's a great spot.
I mean, would would you say the
same for for someone looking in,
looking at a place to invest, or
like is that where you're
pointing people?
SPEAKER_01: So I think right
now, you know, with interest
rates where they are, you're you
know, you might be at a
break-even towards the campus.
But it's a long-term game.
It's not the short term.
Yeah.
I think you're gonna see more
growth uh financially in those
areas versus you know outskirts,
and then say interest rates
drop, your amount of income the
following year once you
refinance is gonna be
significantly higher.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So it's just a
long-term game.
SPEAKER_03: You mentioned it
earlier.
It depends on what your goals
are, too.
Yeah, if you need to get cash
out right now, yeah.
Maybe not.
But if you're you know, banking
on appreciation, if you don't
necessarily need the cash flow,
then you you could be okay if
you have a long-term vision.
If you're trying to get in and
out, it's probably not a good
idea to bet on that.
Yeah, you know, maybe you do the
fixer up, maybe you find the
1970s to 2000s that a first-time
home buyer is not going to do,
or you know, an institutional
investor is gonna look the other
way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Finding those things that you
can force the appreciation is
gonna be better.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, if you're
looking at like some of the DCR,
DSCR loans, it's not gonna make
sense close to campus.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
I found um that I've been having
to get eerily um very, very
transparent with people coming
to this market and going, um,
hey, you're probably gonna be
break-even.
Um, and uh asking them and
assessing what their goals are.
Because and and I'll I'll tell
this to anybody if and I I feel
like from talking with you just
a little bit, you'll you would
say the same is that if you're
looking for cash flow and you're
looking to replace income, you
probably need to look at Little
Rock or Fort Smith or a market
like that.
Yeah.
If you're looking for this to
just sit it, maybe forget it,
you're gonna get good renters
here and pop back in in 10 years
and it appreciates a lot.
I think this is your market.
And I think a lot of people
think about getting into real
estate and it's a hot, fun idea.
But how do we look 10, 15 years
down the road and assess that?
I mean, I think markets like
we've talked about, like Benn
County and around the university
and things like that.
I mean, even I I'm I'm pretty
hot on Prairie Grove.
I think eventually I think it's
a further out, like 10 to 15
year thing.
Yeah.
Like it didn't even make thought
15 lists.
But like for my clients, we're
able to get$330,000 home, four
bed, two bath, three-car garage,
2,200 square feet for$330,000.
Yeah.
And I'm like, okay, in 10 years,
that's gonna be like$550.
Like it it's just kind of if we
just look at markets like Dallas
and Austin, like when they were
this size and they just it's
gotta go somewhere.
Um, I I would I would say, are
you feeling like you're having
to get very transparent with
your with your people too?
SPEAKER_01: I typically, you
know, any of my investors, I'm
always pretty upfront and
transparent.
Yeah.
And and try to if they're not
that we weren't being
transparent before.
SPEAKER_03: No, but now I'm
being transparent.
Is probably the word you're
looking for.
Just as transparent.
That's great.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
I mean I always ask people, you
know, do you have a five-year
goal, 10-year goal?
Because here's what it could
look like.
Obviously, I can't predict, but
these are what I see based on
what the market has done.
And, you know, so if your goal
is five years, it's probably not
going to be in the downtown
areas.
You need to go a little further
out, but not too far out.
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So if you go too far
out, then you're at the 10-year.
SPEAKER_02: You're the 10-year
mark.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: And it's just that's
just invaluable local knowledge
that like you can get from being
an outsider looking in.
Like it, yeah, be far out, but
not too far out.
And be in this little hot
pocket.
What about High Phil?
Like, what is what kind of
market?
And we can talk for another
episode on High Phil and Decatur
and like do that and grab it in
Gentry.
Like, what are those little I
mean, what is it?
It's I always get grabbed in
Gentry mixed up.
Which one has a cute downtown?
Gentry.
Gentry, I think.
Yeah.
Winston.
Winds June.
I mean, I think that's super
cute.
And I think there's potential
down there for something really
cool in the future, too.
Um, there's a bunch of
sub-markets around this main
corridor that I think could blow
up that um and that might not
even make the top 15 list that
like are doing really good.
What would what would you on
your on the top 15 list?
Is there some small cities on
there that we can assess real
quick?
Yeah.
I'd like to maybe go over some
of those for an outsider looking
in.
Some of these small cities that
you're not hearing about.
Um and it may not be positive
data anyways, but um I think
Siloem is one of them.
SPEAKER_01: They, you know, they
have the university down there,
um John Brown's university.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So that brings in
some student housing as well as,
you know, some rentals down
there.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: I know at one point
the rentals per square foot out
there were actually higher than
Fayetteville and Rogers.
Wow.
Um that was about a year ago
when I looked at that and was
was shocked by that.
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
Does that does that same data
point ring true for Prairie
Grove versus Farmington still?
SPEAKER_01: Um I'll I'd have to
get it.
SPEAKER_02: I knew I know in a
certain point in the past, it's
been like Prairie Grove has
gotten higher rents prices per
foot than Farmington, which was
really weird.
Yeah.
And that that that just brought
it to my mind real quick.
But yeah, Siloam has a cute
downtown too.
And a little bit of a lot of
things.
SPEAKER_01: I think the houses
in Prairie Grove.
This is just from me showing out
there a little more desirable.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um aesthetically
than Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
Siloam also has Simon's Foods,
uh, so big corporate out there.
And then they've got uh, you
know, the vacancy rates in
Siloam.
I don't know if y'all have
looked at them recently, but
they're well under 2% as well.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so not a lot of
rental units out there, and and
uh they get they get absorbed.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Interesting you're
looking at.
Have we on the vacate uh because
from from representing a lot of
investors, I'm seeing it's
taking longer to get some stuff
filled, even though the rates
show the vacancy rates are
showing stills holding to a
little under.
I'm feeling the real feel the
market is feeling like it's
taking a little longer to get uh
investor, uh sorry, uh renters.
SPEAKER_01: Is that so whenever
I pulled that, it's about the
over the entire year, it's about
six months.
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Um and so your two
months though that are gonna be
the slowest are usually January,
February, somewhat into March.
SPEAKER_02: Yep, somewhere
around there.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I
think the other interesting
piece of that too, if you look
at like, you know, average rent
price in Northwest Arkansas is
probably I think you're around
like a thousand thirty, maybe
something like that, less
skyline report.
You know, if you're at double
that, obviously I think there's
just gonna be a it's gonna be
very different, right?
I mean, vacancy rates if we're
at the an average of a thousand
thirty or whatever and you're
above two thousand, there's a
different thing.
Calculate some more vacancy than
there.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's a
difference.
That's a great point.
That's that's a really good
point.
So if you're at that you're
trying to market everything
2,000 to 2400, I mean you might
need to bake in like six to
eight percent vacancy, something
like that.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, typically what
I see is about a dollar ten a
square foot.
In some of some other areas
though, like closer to the lake,
you're seeing a 0.9 square foot.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
Yeah, that's that's in that's an
interesting market out there
towards that's another submarket
out there.
SPEAKER_03: Isn't it seeing is
there any like numbers you can
share on by the lake that uh
that you've seen like uh growth
compared to the rest of the
area?
SPEAKER_01: So as far I would
say as you get further north on
the lake and being specifically
on the lake, you're gonna see an
increase in value.
Um and that's because the lake
is supposed to be cleaner up
there.
Yeah.
Um also think you get a lot more
vacation homes up there.
Yeah.
Secondary homes.
SPEAKER_02: You're it it's a
it's an interesting the Prairie
Creek is an interesting feel.
If you know, you hit you, we
have we're basically in Pinnacle
right now, Pinnacle area.
And you have you have like three
parts of Rogers.
You have Pinnacle, you have
downtown Rogers, and you have
like Prairie Creek, and then
like Lake People.
It almost feels like you go from
like bougie to like I I use the
word gritty in downtown Rogers,
like, and then you have like
that's almost like you drive and
hit Prairie Creek and like
stress starts melting off, and
you feel like you're on a
vacation.
So Rogers is very um diverse in
its feel of things, and you can
get a lot, and it's really wide.
I mean, it spans uh kind of like
Bella Vista is a lot bigger than
we think.
It's a lot wider of a of a
geographical area.
Um, I think Rogers is very wide
geographically, and there'll be
some there'll be homes pop up,
and I'm like, this I thought
this was Junior, and it's
actually like technically Rogers
still.
Um so that's a I I think it'd be
hard to your point, almost like
really hard to pull up like lake
area exact stats because Rogers
is so big.
SPEAKER_01: I think that you
also in that area you're seeing
a lot more short-term rentals,
Airbnbs.
And so calculating those on the
MLS is near impossible.
You have to go on to Air DNA,
yeah, that sort of thing, which
I've done in the past.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Is Air DNA your
go-to for um finding comps for
short-term rental stuff?
SPEAKER_01: Typically, it is.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
And we haven't seen any
restrictions as a whole for
Rogers on short-term rentals.
Um, but there are like
communities and covenants that
have restrictions against us.
So we're having to call now on
short-term rentals.
And there is, yeah.
I mean, we can talk a little bit
here at the end of this, like
there is with the big beautiful
bill.
There is, I'm working with a lot
of investors right now on buying
short-term rentals um for the
end of 2025.
Yep.
Uh I am not a CPA, um, but you
can basically buy a short-term
rental.
And some of my California
clients were explaining to me,
they're like, essentially, we
can write off like 30% of the
house's value and for my 2025
taxes.
So I have a few that are looking
at like million-dollar homes,
and okay, we can write$300,000
off for 2025 with this bonus
depreciation coming back a
little bit.
So um there's if you're
listening in, that is a
potential strategy to talk to
one of us on um for getting I'm
working with a lot of people
that basically I'm I'm
underwriting deals as short
short-term rental, but I'm also
making sure they work for long
term.
So you call them a short-term
rental for 2025 and then turn
them to a long-term and 2024, or
sorry, 2026.
Um, so that is a tax strategy,
which we could go into another
episode on tax strategy.
Um well, as we're wrapping up
here, like are there any
specific data points that we
might have missed that you you
wish we would have gone over for
and points that m maybe an
outsider looking in might really
uh benefit from just so we don't
miss and go over anything.
SPEAKER_03: I think we talked
about price per square foot.
Rent rent growth we didn't do a
lot on, but I think that kind of
mirrors the uh um some of those
price per square foot.
You know, I think you could look
at rental, rental uh price per
square foot, you know, where in
Benton Valley where you're over
three dollars, you know, pushing
four dollars a square foot, you
know, where you know parts of
Springdale it's you know under
two dollars a square foot.
You know, Fort Smith it's like
closer to a dollar a square
foot.
So I think that as an investor,
you should be evaluating price
per square foot rental, but also
taking into account chunk rents.
And just like we're talking
about the home new home price
per square foot, people are
building smaller too, you know,
and just because uh the home
average home price is is
changing uh from what I'm
seeing, people are in in
multifamily, the unit sizes are
being built smaller too.
So I think that's being seen the
same and and New boats to yeah.
100%.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
SPEAKER_03: Did you have
something there?
SPEAKER_02: It's okay if you did
it.
SPEAKER_01: No.
I was just gonna say, you know,
for using the data, it's not
just about, you know, when to
buy, it's also about when to
sell.
Um, and so just taking all the
factors in and and seeing what
your risk is and what your
long-term goals is the biggest
key factor and yeah, what
decision we can help you make.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
I was just talking with somebody
about, you know, if you have
$200,000 of equity in something,
what could it be doing more for
you if it was deployed into the
market versus just yeah, it does
feel good to have that, but it's
not doing anything for you at
that point.
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
Desire, how can uh people reach
out and find you or or sh find
your social media pages, time
for you to plug, kind of uh any
any of that?
SPEAKER_01: So we have nwa
look.com.
We also have Instagram, which is
NWA Look, and then we also have
Facebook at N at NWA Look.
SPEAKER_00: Very easy to find.
Yeah.
Awesome.
And then you have a newsletter
as well, right?
SPEAKER_01: So you can go on and
subscribe on the website.
Um we offer one free monthly
newsletter.
It's basically a recap of
Washington and Benton County
monthly.
And then the other three are
kind of deep dives into maybe a
specific city like Fayetteville,
Bentonville, Pea Ridge, and
going into the data further in
those specific areas.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
Awesome.
Great.
Well, appreciate your time
today.
And it has been great the past
couple episodes.
I think there's a lot of value
for listeners here.
So yeah, thanks again.
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much,
Desre.
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01: Appreciate you.
SPEAKER_02: Of course.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
SPEAKER_02: See you guys.
Again, thank you guys for tuning
in.
I'm gonna go ahead and uh list
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SPEAKER_00: Have a question you
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