About Pulaski County, AR

On Thursday, October 16, 2008, CENTURY 21 Daniel & Associates Realty, Inc., will kick off the official opening of it's new office at 10303 Colonel Glenn Rd. in Little Rock, Arkansas with an 11:00 a.m. ribbon cutting by the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. The new office is conveniently located in the Colonel Glenn Business Center near the intersection of Colonel Glenn and Shackleford Rd. At 5:00 p.m. that evening, the general public and all local affiliates in the real estate industry are cordially invited for food and prizes. This Meet and Greet will be a great opportunity to get to know the CENTURY 21 Daniel & Associates Sales Staff as well as talk to representatives from various banks, mortgage companies, title companies, etc., who will be glad to answer any questions concerning the current real estate market.

"CENTURY 21 Daniel & Associates Realty, Inc. is excited to strengthen it's presence in the Little Rock area," said Kevin Riley, Broker of the new office. "We are here to provide quality service with the utmost integrity and professionalism. We plan to shine through the dark shadow that has been cast on the housing market and give the public a ray of hope."

With it's beginnings in Benton and then expanding into Bryant, CENTURY 21 Daniel & Associates Realty, Inc. has been a successful real estate company in Central Arkansas since 1989. Known for exceptional service and integrity, the offices have received numerous Quality Service Awards in addition to the individual awards received by the REALTORS® within the company. Now, this award winning service gets even brighter with the opening of the Little Rock office.

"Serving others is what I was born to do. What better way to help others than providing professional assistance in one of the most important investments they will ever make," said Riley. "By building a strong team of sales associates and establishing great relationships with our local affiliates, we plan to raise the confidence of the public in regards to the housing market."

The Housing Market should see some positive results from the signing of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 by President Bush. The benefits are for first time home buyers in the form of a home-buyer tax credit. First-time buyers are vital to the housing market because they start the domino effect. They also keep the market stable because of the demand vs. supply.

Buyers who haven't owned a property in the last three years can qualify for a tax credit up to $7,500 or 10 % of there home purchase price. To qualify homes can be purchased from April 9, 2008 till July 1, 2009. There are income limits and recapture taxes, so please check with your financial advisor.

The housing bill includes higher loan limits allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase loan limits based around median pricing, which means we will see the jumbo loan limits raised. The effect on the local market will be lower interest rates on loans higher than $417,000. WE should see some positive results in the higher end areas of Central Arkansas.

Using history as a guide, Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors believes the Housing Act could represent a boost of 10% in the number of homes sold.

In Central Arkansas we have seen a slight slow down in homes sold. With the new incentives for first time home buyers we expect to see increase sales.

See below for the trends in Pulaski County:(the numbers below are from CARMLS and are based on Jan. through July 31 numbers)

Year: TTL Listed # sold Avg. List $sold Avg DOM % Expired

2006 5403 3494 $171,558 58 .02%

2007 6385 3461 $177,974 76 15.72%

2008 5541 2798 $176,168 79 22.83%

Our local market is only slightly down from 06 and 07 numbers, but the inventory is adjusting and surprisingly prices have only seen a 1.1 % decrease. We still have approximately a 13 month supply of homes, however we are seeing much stronger markets in specific neighborhoods with only 5 months of supply.