Homebuilding permits set for slight rise in Northwest Arkansas this year
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Northwest Arkansas is on track to permit more new housing units than last year, but only by about 2%, according to Census Bureau data.
Why it matters: That's a problem for people facing steep housing prices. Experts estimate America is short more than 3 million units of housing, either to rent or buy.
The big picture: U.S. metros overall are on track to permit fewer new housing units than last year. Higher interest rates for loans are slowing new-home and apartment construction, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
- Labor and lot shortages are also weighing on builders, per the group's latest survey.
Zoom in: Just under 7,000 units are projected to be built this year in Benton and Washington counties.
- Last year, single-family homes made up 77% of the total permits, and projects with five units or more about 15%. Duplexes and quadplexes made up the balance.
- Meanwhile, prices are near all-time highs, squeezing lower-wage earners.
Yes, but: Homebuilding has proved resilient, partly because of a low inventory of existing houses for sale, Axios' Neil Irwin reports.
- 1.3 million total units were permitted in 2023 — single-family homes accounted for 60% of them, the data shows.
Between the lines: Some areas — particularly fast-growing Southern metros — are seeing more homebuilding than others.
What we're watching: A cascade of new apartments, financed when interest rates were lower, helped recently to slow rent growth.
With the peak of the construction wave behind us, per an analysis from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, landlords could raise rents.