TL;DR: In August 2025, Northwest Arkansas housing inventory by city was led by Bentonville with 734 active listings, while Rogers was the tightest of the towns tracked at about 4 months of supply and Centerton the most oversupplied at about 11, out of 4,679 active listings across Benton and Washington counties, up 30.3% from August 2024, according to NWALook's September 2025 analysis of ArkansasONE MLS data. This is a look-back, not a read on today's market; the 2026 NWALook inventory reports we reviewed are county-level, showing 3,329 active single-family homes in Benton County and 1,723 active listings in Washington County in July 2026.
What Did Northwest Arkansas Housing Inventory by City Look Like in August 2025?
NWALook's report "NWA's Housing Inventory Surges in 2025," published September 11, 2025 and based on ArkansasONE MLS data for Benton and Washington counties, counted 4,679 active listings in August 2025, up 1,089 listings, or 30.3%, from 3,590 in August 2024. Months of supply, the number of months current inventory would last at the recent pace of sales, rose from about 3.5 in August 2024 to 5.0 in August 2025, an increase NWALook put at roughly 45%. The same report shows what drove the change: new listings rose 8.6% to 1,330 in August 2025, while closed sales fell 10.3% to 929.
By town, NWALook's August 2025 figures were: Bentonville, 734 active listings and about 5 months of supply; Fayetteville, 652 and about 5 months; Bella Vista, 505 and about 5 months; Rogers, 488 and about 4 months; Springdale, 461 and about 5 months; Centerton, 307 and about 11 months; Pea Ridge, 270 and about 7 months; Siloam Springs, 236 and about 5 months; and Lowell, 184 and about 9 months.
Which City Was Tightest, and Which Was Most Oversupplied, in August 2025?
Among the towns in NWALook's August 2025 data, Rogers had the lowest months of supply at about 4, below the 5.0-month regional figure. Centerton had the highest at about 11 months, followed by Lowell at about 9 and Pea Ridge at about 7. A higher figure generally gives buyers more room to negotiate.
Those rankings describe conditions 13 months ago and should not be used to set a 2026 list price or offer.
What Has 2026 Inventory Data Shown Since Then?
The most recent inventory counts we could verify are county-level. NWALook's Benton County report, published August 27, 2026, counted 3,329 active single-family homes in July 2026, up more than 64% from 2,028 in July 2022. NWALook's Washington County report, published September 3, 2026, counted 1,723 active listings in July 2026, up 54.8% from 1,113 in July 2022. Because the Benton County figure covers houses only, the two counts should not be added together or compared with the August 2025 regional total.
Days on market moved in opposite directions. NWALook's August 2026 market update, published September 10, 2026, reported that days on market in Benton County rose from 19 in August 2025 to 29 in August 2026, while Washington County fell from 22 to 18 over the same period. For county-level months of supply as of April 2026, see our months of supply rankings for Benton and Washington counties.
How Do the Largest Cities Compare on 2026 Listings and Sales?
The most recent city-level comparison we could verify is NWALook's "Northwest Arkansas Top 15 Cities by Sales Activity 2026 YTD," published June 25, 2026 from ArkansasONE MLS data. It does not state the end date of its year-to-date period, and it measures closed sales and new listings, not active inventory. For the six largest markets:
- Fayetteville: 630 sales and 1,140 new listings, a listing-to-sale ratio of 1.81.
- Bentonville: 600 sales and 1,077 new listings, a ratio of 1.79.
- Bella Vista: 587 sales and 893 new listings, a ratio of 1.52.
- Springdale: 437 sales and 733 new listings, a ratio of 1.68.
- Rogers: 435 sales and 753 new listings, a ratio of 1.73.
- Centerton: 256 sales and 372 new listings, a ratio of 1.45.
A ratio above 1 means more homes came to market than closed. Centerton had the lowest ratio of the six, but this is a different measure from months of supply, so it does not show whether Centerton's August 2025 oversupply has cleared. NWALook reported that Fayetteville, Bentonville, Bella Vista, Rogers, and Springdale together accounted for about 77% of sales among its Top 15 cities.
What Do Regional Sales and Permit Figures Add?
The Walton College CBER Skyline Report, as reported by Talk Business and Politics on August 21, 2026, counted 5,241 home sales across Northwest Arkansas in the first half of 2026, up 3.8% from a year earlier, and an average Benton County sale price of $465,888, down 1.2%. CBER director Mervin Jebaraj described the region as "more of a buyer's market than a seller's market," pointing to new construction, price stabilization, and builder incentives. That reading is regional, not city-specific.
A separate Skyline Report, covered by Talk Business and Politics on March 17, 2026, counted 2,720 home building permits in the second half of 2025, down 9.5% from 3,007 in the second half of 2024. Permits authorize construction; they are not homes listed for sale, so they point to the future building pipeline rather than to current inventory.
How Should Buyers and Sellers Use a Look-Back Like This?
- Use the August 2025 city counts as a baseline for comparison, not as a pricing guide. Before listing or writing an offer, get current active listings and months of supply for your city and zip code.
- Compare like with like: a city's current figures against the same month a year earlier, from the same source.
- Watch days on market at the county level. Benton County's rise from 19 to 29 days between August 2025 and August 2026, per NWALook, is a county figure; your city may differ.
- If you were tracking Centerton, Lowell, or Pea Ridge, the towns with the highest months of supply in August 2025, ask whether that gap has narrowed using current MLS data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Northwest Arkansas city had the most active listings in August 2025?
Bentonville, with 734 active listings in August 2025, according to NWALook's September 2025 report. Fayetteville followed with 652.
Is there 2026 active-listing data for individual Northwest Arkansas cities?
The 2026 NWALook inventory reports we reviewed report active listings by county: 3,329 active single-family homes in Benton County and 1,723 active listings in Washington County, both as of July 2026. For a specific city or zip code, current counts can be pulled directly from the MLS.
How much did Northwest Arkansas inventory grow from August 2024 to August 2025?
Active listings in Benton and Washington counties rose 30.3%, from 3,590 in August 2024 to 4,679 in August 2025, according to NWALook's analysis of ArkansasONE MLS data.
Is Northwest Arkansas a buyer's market in 2026?
In the Skyline Report covering the first half of 2026, reported August 21, 2026 by Talk Business and Politics, CBER director Mervin Jebaraj characterized the region as more of a buyer's market than a seller's market. That is a regional characterization; conditions vary by city and price range.
Do building permits add homes to inventory?
Not directly. The Skyline Report counted 2,720 home building permits in the second half of 2025, reported March 17, 2026, down 9.5% from the second half of 2024. A permit authorizes construction; a home joins active inventory only when it is listed for sale.
If you want the current active-listing count, months of supply, and days on market for your specific Northwest Arkansas city or zip code, rather than the August 2025 snapshot in this article, call Mason Capital Group at 479-925-3333 and we will pull a same-week comparison against this time last year for the neighborhoods you are actually considering.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity.
Sources: NWALook, "NWA's Housing Inventory Surges in 2025" (published September 11, 2025; ArkansasONE MLS; August 2025 versus August 2024); NWALook, "Northwest Arkansas Top 15 Cities by Sales Activity 2026 YTD" (published June 25, 2026); NWALook, "Benton County Housing Inventory Has Climbed 64% Since 2022" and "Washington County Housing Inventory Has Increased Nearly 55% Since 2022" (published August 27 and September 3, 2026; July 2026 data); NWALook, "Northwest Arkansas Housing Market Update August 2026" (published September 10, 2026); and the Walton College CBER Skyline Report via Talk Business and Politics (first half of 2026, reported August 21, 2026; second half of 2025, reported March 17, 2026).