All Things NWA - Phillip Shepard - Real Estate

All Things NWA - Phillip Shepard - Real Estate NWA Realtor - Over 12 Years of Real Estate Experience - Moved to Northwest Arkansas in mid 2020.

09/05/2026

Northwest Arkansas is officially in a buyer's market. 📉

That is not my opinion. That is the Skyline Report, the quarterly housing data that comes out for this region, and it is the first time in five or six years it has said that out loud.

Here is what the numbers actually did. Benton County down about 1.2 percent. Madison County down 2.2 percent. And then Washington County went the other direction and rose 1.5 percent. 🤔

Also worth knowing the difference between average and median. The average price in Benton County is around 466,000, but the median is 382,000. A handful of expensive sales can pull that average way up, so the median is usually the honest number.

And the part people from out of state always miss is that this area is still incredibly affordable. If you are coming from California, Nevada, Arizona or Colorado, our numbers are going to look like a typo. 🏡

Even Bentonville has homes in the 325 to 350 range that nobody talks about.

What price range are you shopping in right now?

09/04/2026

First Friday is this Friday in downtown Bentonville. 🎪

If you have never been, I do not know what to tell you. Go.

Bands, music, vendors, food trucks, face painting, games, magic tricks, science experiments. It is all happening. 🎶

Leashed dogs are welcome. Rain or shine.

And this is the thing I love about it, and honestly about a lot of events around here. They actually build it for friends and family. You can invite anybody, any age, and there is something for them to do. 🐶

Downtown Bentonville is a genuinely hopping place on a First Friday night.

So grab your people and go check it out.

Are you going this Friday?

09/04/2026

Silver Dollar City is not slowing down. 🎢

They are building a $150 million roller coaster called Miner's Mountain Express, opening in 2027. Three minutes and eighteen seconds long with fifteen airtime moments.

That is a serious ride. 😮

I have jokingly called Branson the affordable Disney and I stand by it. Hour and a half drive. Reasonable hotels. Reasonable park tickets. Reasonable food. You are not remortgaging anything to take the kids.

And Branson itself has grown up a bit. The wax museum stuff is still around, sure, but the lakes, the cliffs, the restaurants out there are genuinely beautiful now. 🌲

A big part of that growth is us. Northwest Arkansas families drive up there constantly.

So if you want the theme park trip without the flights to Florida or California, this is the one sitting right in your backyard.

Have you made the Branson drive yet this year?

09/03/2026

Cave Springs is getting a neighborhood Walmart. 🛒

I know. Another Walmart in Northwest Arkansas. Shocking. 😂

But stay with me, because this one actually means something. Walmart could have shrugged and said Cave Springs can drive down the road to the next store. They did not. They are spending real money to be there.

That only happens when the numbers say a town is growing.

And honestly, Cave Springs surprised me. I did not see it taking off the way it has. 📈

Look at where it sits though. Right off I-49. Minutes from XNA. And the main road through town runs almost straight into Walmart's downtown Bentonville campus.

That is a lot of convenience packed into one small city.

Anybody out here already living in Cave Springs? Curious how it feels on the ground.

09/02/2026

The Alice Walton School of Medicine just doubled its class. 🩺

48 students to 96. That is not a small jump for a brand new medical school.

And they had over 5,000 people apply. For a school that has barely started. 😳

Here is what I keep coming back to. The building is up, the staff is hired, the credentials are done, and classes are actually running. First graduating class is looking like 2028 or 2029.

The stated reason is Arkansas health outcomes, and that is real. But the bigger picture is national. If the wealthiest family in the world decides to rebuild how healthcare gets taught in America, they have the money and the influence to actually try it.

Whether it works is a different conversation. But it is happening here, and that is wild to watch up close. 🏥

Do you think a school like this actually moves the needle?

09/01/2026

Lowell is on the ball, and most people missed it. 🧐

In July they joined the urban partnership run by the Northwest Arkansas Council.

Here's what that actually means. The council steps in and helps a city make the plans, set the procedures, hire the right people, and build out a real downtown.

Bentonville went through it. Springdale went through it, and look at the growth there. Rogers too. Centerton is building out their downtown right now. 🏙️

Lowell getting in line for that is a huge indicator. They know growth is coming whether they like it or not, and they're choosing to shape it instead of react to it. 📊

That's how you grow the right way.

Would you move to Lowell? 👇

08/30/2026

Remember the Costco land in Lowell? The one we could have had? 👀

That deal died. The land sold, and now a Dick's Sporting Goods is going in there instead, along with a bunch of adjacent businesses. Over 37 acres total.

Right next to it is Concord Commons. More than 250 apartment doors and 300,000 square feet of commercial space. 🏗️

That's a serious hub forming, and it's driving real revenue for Lowell.

Here's the part I keep thinking about. Dick's doesn't just pop up anywhere like a McDonald's. They're picky about where they build.

They picked Lowell. 📍

Between that and all the new apartments going up, Lowell is turning into one of the real hotspots for development in Northwest Arkansas. Easy access to I-49 doesn't hurt either.

Are you watching Lowell? 🤔

08/29/2026

Lowell just made a quiet move that says a lot. 👀

This July they joined the urban partnership run by the Northwest Arkansas Council.

Long name, simple idea. The council helps cities build the plan, set the procedures, hire the right people, and actually build out a downtown.

Bentonville did it. Springdale did it. Rogers did it. Fayetteville did it. Centerton is doing it right now. 🏗️

And every one of those places grew.

So Lowell getting ahead of it tells me they already know what's coming down the pipeline. Growth is happening whether a city plans for it or not. Better to be ready. 📈

Looking at you, West Fork. 😅

Also, if you're house hunting here, Zillow and Realtor are way too slow. We built the NWA Homes For Sale app just for this area. Search it in the App Store or Google Play. 📲

Think Lowell is next? 👇

08/28/2026

If you want an affordable house between Fayetteville and Bentonville, Lowell is your spot. 🏡

Picture the map for a second. Fayetteville, Springdale, Lowell, Rogers, then Bentonville and Bella Vista. It all kind of blends together up the corridor.

And right in the middle of it is Lowell, sitting at about $284,000 on average.

Compare that to Rogers at around $309,000. 📊

Now to be fair, Rogers is a huge range. You've got homes near Beaver Lake on one end and $1.5 million places over in Pinnacle on the other.

Are there cheaper pockets in the area? Sure. Prairie Grove, Lincoln, way up north.

But if you want new construction and quick access to I-49, Lowell is hard to beat right now. 🚗

Would you buy in Lowell? 👇

08/27/2026

The Waltons are putting $10 million into the Walton College of Business. 🎓

Here's the stat that got me. The University of Arkansas has around 35,000 students. Over 10,000 of them are in the business school.

That's a third of the whole university in one college. I had no idea. 😮

And it keeps climbing every single year. The gift is about seats, buildings, and room to grow from 10,000 toward 15,000 or 20,000.

Is it a little self-interested? Sure. They want talent flowing into Walmart and the companies around it. 🏢

But that's kind of the deal here. With the STEM school also coming down the pipeline, I'd bet Walton lands in the top 10 business schools in America within the next decade.

Would you send your kid there? 👇

Address

2558 E Mission Boulevard Suite 102
Fayetteville, AR
72703

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