🏡 Benton County Housing: January Sales Accelerate While Prices Hold

Northwest Arkansas Real Estate Data Analysis - Allegiance Intelligence

Author

Patrick Curry
February 20, 2026

The Big Story - The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s use of emergency tariffs. Markets responded positively. Roughly $175 billion in collected tariffs may be returned, although the legal process will take time. The key takeaway is increased policy clarity.

🔑 January 2026 Key Highlights: (Residential | $175K–$2.0M)

  • 📈 Home Sales: +9.0% YoY (375 vs 344)

  • 💰 Median Home Price: +1.0% YoY ($370,125 vs $366,402)

  • 🏠 Deed Filings: -12.5% YoY (736 vs 841)

  • 🏦 Mortgage Filings: -0.9% YoY (1,011 vs 1,020)

    📝 See all the data behind the numbers here

🧠 Allegiance Market Analysis

  • January was stronger than the headline deed filings suggest.

    Inside our core $175K–$2.0M residential band, sales increased 9% YoY. That is meaningful growth and a strong start to 2026.

    Despite robust growth, median price growth slowed to just +1% YoY. Activity remains strong without overheating, a healthier dynamic than the bidding-war environment of the pandemic years.

    Bottom Line - Overall deed activity fell, driven by a drop in non-arm’s-length transfers and lot sales. Actual home purchase transactions accelerated. Benton County is showing strong transaction growth and the good news is that the strong demand is not driving price increases.

📝 This Week’s Market Stories

  • 📉 GDP Miss - GDP increased 1.4%, well below expectations of 2.5% growth. The Q4 government shutdown may have contributed to the miss, but another quarter of data will clarify whether this was temporary noise or the start of a broader trend.

  • ☕🏆 Onyx Recognition - We had to share this news as we love caffeine as much as we love real estate. Our very own Onyx Coffee was voted the #1 coffee shop in the world!

  • 📈 Allegiance Market View: We are maintaining our 2026 expectations.

    • Units sold: +1% to +2%

    • Median price growth: +3% to +4%

    • January volume outperformed our forecast on both fronts. One month does not establish a trend, but early signals are pointing to a robust year.

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