“It’s been great,” said Cathi Nisenbaum of Cryke-Leike Realtors — Jonesboro branch office. “Better than last year.”

“It’s the best year I’ve ever had in this business,” added Wanda Vaughn, owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Centre.

Demand has been strong across the board, Jonesboro Realtors and brokers said, for residential, commercial and farm property.

Lowest interest rates in decades have fueled the residential demand and helped boost commercial development in many areas.

While stocks have bounced back a bit in recent weeks, the volatile market and hundred-point losses in the Dow industrials has apparently caused a number of investors to take another look at real estate for investment purposes, several brokers said.

All of the brokers surveyed by The Sun indicated they have seen double digit growth in sales during the past year.

“It’s been unreal,” is how Gary Black of New Home Realty described the real estate business for the past year.

Margaret Newkirk, senior operations manager for Fred Dacus Associates, said demand has never been higher. She also cited the low interest rates as a major reason for record sales by the real estate agency.

“The market is more than holding its own,” added Kent Arnold, owner of the Arnold Group, a real estate agency, and Kent Arnold Homes, developer and contractor.

Ray Pierson Jr., one of the owners of Village Communities Inc. Real Estate, said demand for residential and commercial property has been high.

“It’s really interesting,” Newkirk said. “The demand and activity has been the highest we have ever seen.

“The new Nestle USA plant, the continued expansion of the medical field and Jonesboro’s continued growth have all contributed to the real estate market,” she added.

“It has been our biggest year without question,” she said. “The low interest rates and our diverse economy have contributed to the success.”

Dacus is in the process of launching a new computer software program to make the real estate agency more efficient, Newkirk said, and provide additional services to its customers.

Vaughn said more houses than ever before have been put on the market, noting the Multiple Listing Service indicated a $15 million increase in sales during the first seven months of the year over the same period last year.

“The average home price has held stable,” she added, “while the demand for the upper priced homes — $250,000 or more — has softened because of the stock market.”

Local mortgage companies have been very competitive and more than one-half of the real estate loans involve owners who have taken advantage of the lower interest rates, Vaughn said.

She said Realtors were told during a recent marketing seminar that roughly 40 percent of the homes sold in Jonesboro were sold by the owners, not a professional agent.

“The top Realtors are doing well, very well. The demand is high, but marketing is still the key,” Vaughn added.

Sales volume at the local Crye-Leike office is up 20.8 percent for the second quarter, Nisenbaum said, and 19.4 percent for the first six months of the year.

The real estate business normally slows in the fall months, she said, but the market in Jonesboro continues to hold steady.

John White of John White Real Estate said the local residential market “is real good... It’s been stable for the last two or three years, but it is up now.

“There are so many new things on the board, the housing market can’t be anything but on the upswing,” White added.

He said residential developers in Jonesboro were overbuilt, but the current demand has been eating away at the backlog.

The farm market has also held up “very well considering the low commodity prices,” White said.

Inquiries about commercial property began increasing about six months ago, he added, noting that vacancies “don’t last long.”

“I won’t say it is brisk, but it is very good compared to what (commercial demand) has been in the past,” White said.

Low interest rates have also played a role in commercial and farmland demand, he said.

White, the exclusive agent for Southern Hills Mall, said the proposed mall has occupied about 60 percent of his time in recent months, a reflection of the strong demand for retail space in Jonesboro.

“The low interest rates have definitely been a factor,” Arnold said.

“Despite a soft economy, there is a strong demand in Jonesboro for property similar to what we saw in 1991.

“There are buyers in many areas. One recent study showed that single family residences are the best investment you can make.”

Commercial demand remains strong, Arnold said, with 16 major projects on the drawing boards, in addition to the new mall.

“As we speak, it is considered a buyer’s market, but it won’t be that way for long,” Arnold added.

Black said New Home has expanded its workforce from 36 to 60 employees, including sub-contractors.

In addition to sales, the firm has added two subdivisions and is scheduled to open soon.

Pierson said most brokers in town have seen their business increase 11 percent or more.

He said demand for commercial property “is holding up better than I have ever seen it” and is the strongest growing market for his agency.

He projected demand for commercial property “will get better every year. ... We get calls every day.”

He said Village Communities set the record in Jonesboro in 2001 for residential lot sales.

The national economy has had less impact on the commercial real estate market in Jonesboro than in other regions, said Dennis Zolper, vice president and general counsel for the Belz-Burrow Development Group.

“There is a lot of interest generated in connection with the proposed new mall,” Zolper added.

Retail has “held up well” as evidenced by the number of national retail companies “looking at Jonesboro that are not here now,” Zolper said. “Some here now are interested in a bigger (facility).”

Low interest rates have made commercial proposals “more attractive and workable.”

He said the Belz-Burrow group is continuing to investigate an “open air concept” strip mall “with a pedestrian friendly atmosphere.”

The company has six developments here totaling some 400,000 square feet. Two commercial developers who asked not to be identified said their occupancy rate for retail property ranges from 89 to 92 percent, citing an industry norm of 85 percent.

- Portion of original article cut -

Arnold Group
The Arnold Group, 312 South Main Street, moved to the new downtown location earlier this year making them able to expand their operations.

Kent Arnold Homes has established a design center at the South Main office to display building materials including carpet, tile and brick.

Arnold is developing three new subdivisions and building 21 homes.

By Larry Fugate
Sun Managing Editor