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"Having a hot market is nice," he conceded, but "it'd be advantageous for every- body if there was more avail- able." Potential homebuyers sometimes want to sleep on a decision before they buy a house, but he warns them someone else has already slept on it. "The next day, the house is gone," he said. Essentially what was a glut of residential lots during the Great Recession has been used up, said Philip Taldo, re- al estate broker and co-own- er of Weichert Realtors-The Griffin Co. The shortage of lots has uneven effects around the region, according to the twice-yearly Skyline Report. Building permits for new housing construction are still concentrated in the biggest cities, but they dropped sig - nificantly from the second half of 2016 to the second half in 2017 in Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville. Those three cities have some of the area's highest average cost per square foot at $120, according to Realtor. com early this month. Cities such as Springdale and Farm - ington issued more permits and had prices near $100 a square foot, which can mean an overall price tens of thou - sands of dollars lower. Smaller cities can offer lower prices, though they're farther from many jobs and attractions. And some of them are running out of lots that have the infrastruc - ture and city approval for construction. Prairie Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson said he expects those lots to run out by the end of the year. Devel - opers as a result are buying pastureland and venturing beyond city limits. "We have plenty of space, we are just running out of these lots that are already there," Hudson said. Home- buyers are coming from else- where in Northwest Arkan- sas or as far as New York, he added, pointing to the city's historic district, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park and oth- er amenities. "We just love where we live," he said. Growing outward means more infrastructure costs for cities and higher transporta- tion costs for residents, said Mervin Jebaraj, director of the economic research center. The average costs of trans- portation, such as owning ve- hicles and fuel, take up more of the average paycheck in Northwest Arkansas than in some of the country's major cities, according to the Chi- cago-based urban research group Center for Neighbor- hood Technology. Younger homebuyers and downsizing retirees also tend to want smaller homes closer to urban cores and their ser- vices and amenities, Jebaraj and Steenken agreed. "They don't want the 3,000-square-foot homes that our parents or the baby boomer generation created," Steenken said. Jebaraj's alternative sug- gestion is to rezone and re- purpose urban land that's Homes v Continued from Page 1V City leaders often say what's good for one city is good for the entire region. That may be true, but they still like it when shoppers spend money in their city in the competition for sales tax dollars. All four of the largest cities and Benton and Washington counties showed continuing increases in sales tax revenue. Each of the cities collect a 2 percent sales tax with half going into the general fund. One-cent taxes collected by the counties also go to the general fund. Additional funds pay off bonds. City leaders point to a strong economy, growing population and new retail operations as reasons for the growth. Another explanation can be attributed to Amazon. The online retailer started collecting sales tax in Arkan - sas in March 2017 on items not from a third-party seller. Washington County Trea- surer Bobby Hill said he budgets conservatively and is wary of overestimating revenue. Hill said in 2017 the county projected receiving $6.9 million and got $7.3 mil - lion from its 1 percent sales tax. Hill said he is projecting $7.5 million this year for the general fund. The county also collects a 0.25 percent sales tax that is dedicated to jail operations. "I try to be mindful of the trends," Hill said. "I hope it's well over and above the $7.5 million." Benton County Comptrol- ler Brenda Guenther said the county received $8.8 million in 2017 from its one-cent tax and projects $8.9 million this year. Benton County Judge Bar- ry Moehring said the county is concerned about unusual- ly large receipts for the first two months of this year. State laws allow businesses to ask for rebates of sales taxes paid under certain circumstances, generally tied to new con- struction or expansion and job creation. Moehring and Guenther said they are set- ting aside money, including $689,000 so far, to cover re- quests. The state does not identify individual business- es in its sales tax reports, so the county can't say where a rebate request might come from. Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said his city has the same concerns about re- cent sales tax receipts and put about $5 million aside. McCaslin said the city has budgeted for revenue to grow from $10.5 million last year to about $11.1 million this year. Paul Becker, Fayetteville's finance director, said the city budgeted just under $21 mil- lion in revenue from the city's one-cent sales tax in 2017 and received just over $21 million. For 2018, he said, the city has budgeted almost $22 million. Wyman Morgan, Spring- dale's director of administra- tion and finance, said revenue increased from $10.2 million in 2012 to $13.2 million last year. "Our economy, our sales tax revenue, continues to show steady growth," Spring- dale Mayor Doug Sprouse said. "Our unemployment is as low or lower than anybody in the state. Our Chamber of Commerce and the Down- town Springdale Alliance say they are fielding more calls than ever before about busi- nesses interested in locating here. Right now, things are very good." S a m 's C l u b r e t u r n e d to Springdale in May. The warehouse club operated in Springdale until 2007 when it moved to Fayetteville. City leaders repeatedly pointed to the store closing as a loss of about $1 million in sales tax revenue annually. Casey Wilhelm, finance director for Rogers, said the city received about $18.4 million from the tax in 2017, which was almost $2 million more than budgeted. She said the city is again estimating receipts at $16.5 million Wil- helm said the city tracks rev- enue throughout the year, and if receipts exceed projections and there is a need, the City Council can approve budget adjustments. "Overall, the trend seems Region's economic growth seen in local sales tax revenue TOM SISSOM NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF Shoppers walk at Pinnacle Hills Promenade mall in Rogers. COMPETING FOR COLLECTION SALES TAXES NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER A shortage of lots and construction costs pushed the average price for newly constructed homes up across Northwest Arkan- sas, reaching $219,876 in Washington County. Home price The average sales price of purchasing a home in the last six months each year. Year Benton County Washington County 2014 $203,419 $178,774 2015 $206,575 $189,093 2016 $221,944 $201,804 2017 $228,310 $219,876 Source: Skyline Report See HOUSING, Page 7V See TAXES, Page 7V 4V v SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 ∂ ∂ LET US HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW! greaterbentonville.com • 479-273-2841 • "Join a team where you can laugh, learn and love." APPLY TODAY 479.936.9885 | HomeInstead.com/375 100 N. Dixieland Rd., Suite A5 | Rogers, AR 72756 Your unique talents and experiences will allow seniors to stay independent at home. We offer: • Flexible schedule and hours • Ongoing world-class training • Rewarding and meaningful career • Supportive and responsive offi ce staff Having Problems Wearing Your CPAP? 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