One of the exciting things about Northwest Arkansas is that it has grown quite fast in the last couple of years. For a long time, the region was under the median home prices around America, making our homes very affordable. In the previous two years, house prices have grown exponentially, and we’ve finally caught up to average house prices; however, this could also cause the problem of having a housing shortage.
The housing shortage in Northwest Arkansas isn’t a problem yet. However, the Northwest Arkansas Council plans to ensure developers and investors will build more homes in the region. Cities are also doing their utmost to cut red tape, and others are looking into new ways of building homes.
The problem that NWA is running into is that we’re not building homes fast enough to keep up with the demand of people moving here. This article will explore the housing shortage in Northwest Arkansas and how the Northwest Arkansas Council, the cities, and everyone involved will handle the housing problem. So let’s talk about that.
Video:
Running Out of Houses
Slow growth in building homes is typical in some places across America. Other sites don’t have this because people are leaving those places. That is not Northwest Arkansas.
The data just came out about a month ago, and NWA has slowed down 0.1% even with all the interest rates hiking. So, basically, Northwest Arkansas has not slowed down at all. There will be no bubble happening, and the region will only increase with people moving here.
Find out more about How Northwest Arkansas Real Estate is Different in our other blog!
Cutting Red Tape
The first thing that’s on the docket for being able to fix the housing problem is the fact that all the cities are involved in ensuring this happens smoothly. And they are doing it in different ways.
Cities, including Springdale, Bentonville, Rogers, and Fayetteville, are cutting red tape to ensure these homes can be built faster, more efficiently, and safely and don’t need to be as involved as they used to be. This will look different from city to city.
For instance, Bentonville is fully aware of it – they’re taking care of it their way. But one way Springdale is doing it is they’re changing a lot of the actual city planning and making it more residential versus maybe industrial or different places that were done before.
These places haven’t been built up yet in Springdale, but to ensure enough room for people in Springdale itself, they are changing the city plans to put more residential areas where there was planning on doing some other different areas before. They’re allowing more homes in the town center versus what they might have in the past.
Fayetteville is also doing its thing, but all the cities are fully aware of this looming problem that might be happening in the future and are taking care of it. It’s cool to see all the cities and their respective councils stepping up and ensuring this problem is solved before it gets too far down the road.
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Homes in NWA can be a little odd! Want to know more? Find here
Experimenting With New Housing
Another exciting way they handle the area’s housing shortage is by experimenting with new housing. Of course, this isn’t a problem yet, but it will be in the future if homes aren’t built faster.
Crystal Bridges is a fantastic art museum founded by Alice Walton in Bentonville (definitely check it out). But they brought many architects and designers to showcase experimental housing for the future to see how to restructure homes versus the standard four walls-roof.
And I’m sure there will be a lot of takeaways to put back into the housing around the area. The main takeaway from this is that they’re actively trying to pursue different ways of making housing more affordable, building at a more economical pace, and cutting red tape.
So they’re willing to think outside the box, which is what Northwest Arkansas is about – how to redo things versus keeping the standard way forever. I appreciate that an actual art museum and Alice Walton are trying to experiment with different ways of building housing and setting up houses versus the standard way of doing stuff.
Building 3D Homes
The third thing is very experimental, but I believe it will be a future thing faster than we think. There’s a company based in southern Missouri that is building 3D homes.
They are experimenting with 3D homes in Washington and other areas of the world. But the cool thing is that they’re building 3D-printed homes. It’s cool to see that this is a potential company so close to the region that’s like our next-door neighbor. I imagine that the powers (that be) would love to bring this company down to Bentonville and start experimenting in this area.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we started seeing a little more 3D-printed homes to see their efficiency, their cooling factor, and all the different things they’re working on. I’m curious to see how well they work down here, what that will look like, and if that company will eventually cross the border, come down to Bentonville, Bella Vista, and Springdale area to see what kind of homes they can produce in the region.
Homes in NWA are unique! But they can also be weird sometimes Check out these homes in our new blog: Homes in Northwest Arkansas – Part 2 (WEIRD Things)
Building Up
The fourth one is that many of the downtown sections are being built up versus out. There are no skyscrapers in Northwest Arkansas. I don’t think there will be true skyscrapers because one of the main points of the Northwest Arkansas Council is for it to maintain this unfeathered beauty and unique style.
I don’t think a skyscraper will ever pass because it would be an eyesore. I could be wrong, but I know the Council and other key players would not want that to be a thing. But they are building up when it comes to apartments versus out.
Suppose you own a property in downtown Bentonville, Fayetteville, or other downtown sections. In that case, we will encourage you to take different pieces of property and build an apartment rather than make a large-scale home in the area to allow other people to come here at a more affordable rate.
Another cool thing with the whole downtown section areas is that they’re trying to keep it as close-knit as possible because they want to ensure that the trail system gets accessed by even people far from the area, so they don’t have to feel like they have to drive into town.
They’re trying to keep as many cars off the road because it cuts down on transportation and infrastructure. So it’s an exciting way of doing things, and they are ahead of the curve.
Northwest Arkansas Council
Last but certainly not least is the Northwest Arkansas Council. The council is a group of individuals that sits aside all the city councils and oversees the region.
They have a slush fund of money, leadership, and businesses. They come together and ensure they point Northwest Arkansas in the proper direction.
One of the critical points in their five-year plan is that they’re addressing affordable housing by allowing a large sum of money from developers and investors to build up subdivisions and different styles of housing.
There will be a long list of criteria for these different projects. But I assume that the idea here is that they will be able to pull money faster and more efficiently versus a bank and move quicker with less red tape.
I’m also sure there will be heavy specifications on what can be done with the money. For instance, if you build a subdivision using the council’s money, they would want actual homeowners and not want people to be able to rent there for the first two years.
Conclusion
Northwest Arkansas has not slowed down, but the number of people moving into the region is increasing while the pace of building homes could not keep up with the influx of people. So key stakeholders must do something to alleviate, if not prevent, the problem before it gets worse.
If you are interested in buying a home in Northwest Arkansas, you can read my article about homes that are easiest to buy in the area.
Sources
Northwest Arkansas Council: Northwest Arkansas Council Unveils Five-Year Strategic Plan