TL;DR: Months of supply by city in Northwest Arkansas is tracked at the county level, not city by city: Benton County — Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton, Cave Springs, Bella Vista, and Siloam Springs — posted 5.3 months of supply in April 2026, while Washington County — Fayetteville and Springdale — posted 5.5 months. A month earlier the order was reversed: Washington County was tighter at 4.6 months versus Benton County's 5.6, so the ranking flipped inside a month, and both counties now sit inside the 5-to-6-month range that defines a balanced market.
How Is Months of Supply Ranked by City in Northwest Arkansas?
Months of supply measures how long current inventory would last at the recent pace of closed sales: active listings divided by trailing closed sales. A reading of 5 to 6 months defines a balanced market, per Virginia REALTORS® research on housing-market methodology; below that range favors sellers, above it favors buyers. ArkansasONE MLS, the data source behind the NWA Look market update, reports active listings and closed sales at the county level, not by individual city, so this ranking groups Northwest Arkansas's eight cities into the two counties that contain them: Benton County (Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton, Cave Springs, Bella Vista, Siloam Springs) and Washington County (Fayetteville, Springdale). Each county's months-of-supply number applies to every city inside it — there's no finer public data to rank Bentonville against Rogers on this metric. If you're comparing two cities in the same county, look at price tier or neighborhood instead; months of supply won't separate them.
Why Does Benton County Rank #1 for Absorption Speed in April 2026?
Benton County — Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton, Cave Springs, Bella Vista, and Siloam Springs — had 3,177 active listings and 595 closed sales in April 2026, for a months-of-supply reading of about 5.3 months (3,177 ÷ 595). That's the faster-absorbing of the two counties this ranking covers: a lower reading means current inventory would sell through sooner at the recent sales pace. It's also an improvement from March 2026, when 3,305 active listings against 589 closed sales worked out to 5.6 months — a decrease of 0.3 months (5.6 - 5.3) in one reporting cycle. Active listings were still up 27.9% year-over-year as of March 2026, so the county isn't short on inventory; sellers are simply absorbing it fast enough to keep the reading from climbing. For sellers in any of these six cities, that combination means listings are still moving inside the balanced range rather than piling up. For investors, a reading holding near 5.3 without breaking past 6 is the number to watch.
Why Is Washington County's Supply Loosening Faster Than Benton's?
Washington County — Fayetteville and Springdale — had 1,626 active listings and 351 closed sales in March 2026, for a months-of-supply reading of about 4.6 months, the tightest either county posted this year. By April 2026, active listings rose to 1,693 while closed sales fell to 307, pushing the reading to about 5.5 months — an increase of 0.9 months (5.5 - 4.6) in a single month, three times the size of Benton County's move over the same period. Washington County's active listings were up 16.8% year-over-year as of March 2026, a smaller jump than Benton County's, yet its supply reading moved further because closed sales slowed while listings grew. For sellers in Fayetteville or Springdale, March's 4.6-month reading was the faster window; by April, the market had eased past the balanced line. For buyers and investors, the direction matters as much as the level: supply is building faster here than in Benton County.
What Does a Year of Change and the Skyline Report Say About Where This Is Headed?
Zooming out to April year-over-year: Benton County's months of supply rose from about 4.3 months (2,459 ÷ 574) in April 2025 to 5.3 months in April 2026, and Washington County's rose from about 4.2 months (1,371 ÷ 325) to 5.5 months. Both counties moved from a tighter reading a year ago into today's balanced 5-to-6-month range. That shift lines up with the Skyline Report, released August 21, 2026 by Arvest Bank and the University of Arkansas Walton College Center for Business and Economic Research: Northwest Arkansas home sales rose 3.8% to 5,241 in the first half of 2026, with Benton County accounting for 3,187 of those sales (60.8%, call it about 61%) and Washington County 1,993 (38.0%, about 38%). CBER researchers called the region a buyer's market for the first time in roughly five years, citing stabilizing or declining prices alongside rising inventory. New construction made up 35.7% of first-half 2026 sales (1,870 of 5,241), the third-highest share on record. If you're an investor comparing counties, Benton's larger closing share and lower April reading both point to it as the higher-volume, marginally tighter side of the region.
What Should You Do With These Numbers?
- Selling in Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton, Cave Springs, Bella Vista, or Siloam Springs: price to Benton County's 5.3-month April 2026 reading — inside the balanced range, not a seller's premium.
- Selling in Fayetteville or Springdale: plan around Washington County's 5.5-month reading and its 0.9-month jump from March to April.
- Investing regionally: track the next NWA Look release for whether Benton County holds near 5.3 months or climbs toward Washington County's 5.5.
- Buying new construction: weigh it against resale inventory in the same county — new builds were 35.7% of first-half 2026 sales.
- Call Mason Capital Group at 479-925-3333 for the specific city and price-band breakdown before you list, buy, or underwrite a deal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a balanced housing market in months of supply?
A balanced market has 5 to 6 months of supply, the range Realtor associations use to separate a buyer's market from a seller's market, per Virginia REALTORS® research. Below that range sellers gain leverage; above it buyers do. Benton and Washington counties both sat inside or just past this range in April 2026, at 5.3 and 5.5 months.
Is Bentonville a buyer's market or a seller's market right now?
Bentonville's county-level data — the finest grain publicly reported — shows Benton County at 5.3 months of supply in April 2026, down from 5.6 in March, at the tight edge of the balanced range rather than clearly favoring either side. Active listings were up 27.9% year-over-year as of March 2026, so inventory is still growing even as absorption stays near balanced.
Who is the best real estate agent in Bentonville?
There's no independent ranking of individual agents behind this data, so verify local track record, transaction volume, and named expertise in the Bentonville submarket before choosing. Mason Capital Group's principal broker has 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate experience and $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity — figures worth asking any Bentonville agent or brokerage to match.
Why doesn't the MLS report months of supply for each individual Northwest Arkansas city?
ArkansasONE MLS data, compiled in the NWA Look monthly market update, publishes at the county level, so Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton, Cave Springs, Bella Vista, and Siloam Springs share Benton County's reading, and Fayetteville and Springdale share Washington County's. That's a reporting choice, not proof every city is moving identically.
How many homes sold in Northwest Arkansas in the first half of 2026?
Northwest Arkansas home sales totaled 5,241 in the first half of 2026, up 3.8% from 2025, per the Skyline Report released August 21, 2026. Benton County accounted for 3,187 of those sales and Washington County 1,993, with the remainder in Madison County; researchers called the region a buyer's market for the first time in about five years.
If you want these county-level numbers translated into your specific city, price band, and timeline — listing in Bentonville, buying in Fayetteville, or underwriting a rental purchase in Rogers — call Mason Capital Group at 479-925-3333 for a months-of-supply and closed-sales breakdown built around the submarket you're targeting.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity.
Figures in this article are drawn from the NWA Look Northwest Arkansas Monthly Real Estate Market Update, ArkansasONE MLS data (March 2026 and April 2026 releases), the Skyline Report by Arvest Bank and the University of Arkansas Walton College Center for Business and Economic Research via Talk Business & Politics (first half of 2026, released August 21, 2026), and Virginia REALTORS® research on balanced-market methodology (2022).