The New York Post recently spotlighted Bentonville, Arkansas, as a “rapidly emerging residential hot spot,” with the city’s population and real estate market experiencing impressive growth. As one of The Agency’s newest office locations, we spoke with Calah Andelman and Kaala House, Managing Partners of The Agency Bentonville to uncover what makes this city one of the most desirable destinations in the U.S.—drawing new residents, thriving businesses, and the attention of high-profile executives.
Bentonville is emerging as a top real estate market in the region—what key trends are driving this growth, and how do you see it evolving over the next few years?
From our perspective, our area’s growth stems from a few different factors. One, Walmart HQ is here and they’ve put in a lot of effort to make this a community people are happy to move to and raise families in. If they were based somewhere else, they might have a harder time. But here? We have top-rated public schools, the University of Arkansas campus is just down the road in Fayetteville, Crystal Bridges Museum is world-class, and the landscape is naturally stunning. And Walmart is just one of the big corporations who are based locally.
Really, to us, it boils down to Northwest Arkansas being one of the country’s best-kept secrets. Home prices are affordable. You get a lot of bang for your buck. There are tons of things to do for fun, lots of places to eat, plenty of places to shop, and that’s not even touching on the Razorback Greenway and all our mountain biking trails. Now that the word is getting out, more people naturally want to live here, because it’s a truly great place to call home. We don’t see that trend stopping any time soon.
What are a few words you would use to describe what life is like in Bentonville?
Picturesque, community-driven, peaceful, and family-friendly.
What kinds of recreation or cultural activities are available in Bentonville? (We hear it’s the mountain biking capital of the world.)
Year-round, we have 26 different bike trails within the city, a number that goes dramatically up when you include the other close-by cities and towns. We have Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art which houses over 500 years of American art and some of the most stunning architecture in the country. The Scott Family Amazeum is next door to Crystal Bridges—it’s a perfect place to take the kids for a fun and educational day out. We have a historic town square home to festivals and farmer’s markets and art walks. Every summer, Bentonville is home to Geena Davis’s Bentonville Film Festival, which draws in celebrities and filmmakers from all over the country. The Walmart AMP is local to us, too, and they host live performances from some of the biggest and most loved musicians and comedians in the world.
What neighborhoods are attracting the most interest from homebuyers and investors in Bentonville right now?
Scissortail is the place to buy right now, but we’ve also seen a lot of activity in Edgewood Estates, Featherston Village, Glen Arbor, and Highpointe.
The job market in Bentonville is booming, especially with major companies like Walmart headquartered there. How has this economic growth impacted local real estate demand?
Homes definitely do not stay available on the market for long. Once they hit, there is usually someone waiting in the wings to snap them up. Walmart is absolutely a big driver of that demand, but so is Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Trucking, Arvest and United Banks, and Sam’s Club.
As Bentonville becomes more attractive to both out-of-state buyers and investors, how is the local market balancing affordability with increased demand?
There have been some growing pains. Just like any area that sees a relatively fast incline in buyers, there aren’t going to be enough homes for sale to avoid shortages. Luckily, we’ve got some very motivated and productive investors and builders who are working hard to keep up with the demand. There are still plenty of affordable options, and thanks to how interconnected our local towns are, you don’t have to live within Bentonville city limits to have access to all the Bentonville perks.
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