Higher prices and mortgage rates didn't stop more than 5,100 homes from selling in Northwest Arkansas during the second half of 2025, according to the Arvest Skyline Report released Tuesday.

Why it matters: Real estate demand — commercial and residential — is an indicator of an area's economy, but expensive housing and rents shape who can afford to live in NWA.

The big picture: Nationally, home sales hovered near a 30-year low in 2025 as high mortgage rates cooled demand, a trend Northwest Arkansas largely bucked.

What they're saying: "In spite of the high mortgage rates, more than 10,000 homes were sold in both 2024 and 2025," Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, said in a news release.

• "What we are seeing is that the interest rate lock-in is beginning to fade and those who have delayed selling their homes and buying larger or nicer homes since rates began to rise, are beginning to feel okay about upgrading."

By the numbers: In the second half of 2025, sales were up 2.1% from the first half of the year but down 3.5% from the same period in 2024.

• The average selling price for a home in Benton County for the period was $471,427, virtually unchanged from the first six months of 2025, but 4.8% higher than a year earlier.
• Single-family homes in Washington County fetched an average of $429,616, up from $417,489 for the first half of 2025 and 6.8% higher year over year.
• New construction accounted for 1,809 of the homes sold, or 35% of the total, the lowest share reported in the last five Skyline reports.

The vacancy rate for multifamily properties was 5.8%, up from 3.7% earlier in the year after 1,494 new apartment units opened.

• Average rents climbed to $1,127 per month, up from $1,094 in the first half of 2025.

What we're watching: Skyline researchers identified 20,230 single-family lots in 341 active subdivisions across the region.

• Residential building permits, an indicator of how much housing will be available this year, fell to 2,720 in the second half of 2025, down from 2,929 in the first half.
• The report says that's still among the highest levels recorded by the Skyline report.

The bottom line: NWA's population grows by an estimated 38 people per day, according to the Northwest Arkansas Council, and is on track to reach 1 million by 2050, fueling the need for new homes and more multifamily properties.

Share

A federal judge on Monday permanently blocked enforcement of an Arkansas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms if they are donated.

State of play: The ruling by Chief Judge Timothy Brooks prohibits six school districts — Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, Siloam Springs, Conway and Lakeside — from displaying the commandments.

• Families of students in those school districts of diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds sued, saying the law violated First Amendment rights.

How it works: "While the injunction is technically limited to the districts involved in the case, the constitutional analysis underlying the decision applies statewide," Megan Bailey, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas, told Axios in an email.

Zoom in: "It appears that with the passage of Act 573, the state may have lost sight of the fact that 'a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and to degrade religion,'" Brooks wrote.

What they're saying: The ruling is "a resounding affirmation that public schools are not Sunday schools. The Constitution protects every student's right to learn free from government-imposed religious doctrine," John C. Williams, legal director for the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a statement.

What's next: "In Arkansas, we believe murder is wrong and stealing is bad — and there's nothing wrong with our students learning that too," Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on X. "We will appeal this ruling and defend our state's values."

Share

🧢 Lowell's first Walmart Neighborhood Market is coming to the corner of West Monroe Avenue and Spring Creek Road. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

The University of Arkansas' Turning Point USA chapter plans to disaffiliate from the national group and rebrand as another conservative group to be called Young American Revival. (5News)

• "We are generally put off by how Charlie Kirk has been used by TPUSA since his assassination," chapter president Dino Fantegrossi said in a statement. "Statements like 'Charlie would have said' and 'Charlie would have wanted' have felt in many instances disingenuous and manipulative."

🌮 Casa Alejo, a Mexican restaurant with locations in Springdale and Rogers, is adding a Fayetteville location on North Block Avenue. (Fayetteville Flyer)

🚨 Arkansas State Police special agents arrested Eureka Springs City Council member Harold Frederick Meyer after a resident accused him of driving a truck toward her during a property dispute. He has been charged with first-degree criminal mischief and aggravated assault. (KNWA)

🛒 Harps Food Stores of Springdale said it entered into a deal to acquire 18 Dyer Foods grocery stores in Tennessee and Kentucky. (Arkansas Business)

U.S. Ambassador to Israel and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee took to X to refute online rumors that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dead.

• Netanyahu himself posted proof-of-life videos, one on Sunday in which he flashed his fingers to show there were only five on each hand, a nod to the common mistakes made by AI image generators.

More from Axios

• Follow the latest news about Iran
• See an Axios conversation with Palmer Luckey, founder of defense tech company Anduril