It's a great place to call home

Houses in Pea Ridge have been selling quickly as the city sees its share of Northwest Arkansas' growth.

Ronald Clements, the Ronald in Ronald Ragan Realty, said that his firm moved into the city to build and sell homes after taking a look and finding that it was, in fact, a nice place to call home, complete with good schools and services.

The firm is working in phases, he said, and intends to have around 200 lots when it's finished building subdivisions, which it's doing in four 50-lot phases. Right now, he said, they're working on the second phase, just off Slack Street.

At this point, he said, the firm is primarily building homes that have already been sold, and they're at a point where they have a dozen sold homes they haven't even started building just yet. The firm builds quickly, he said, but that doesn't mean they can wholly avoid being backed up a bit.

On average, he said, they're selling a house every week.

"We haven't had that kind of activity in a new subdivision ... in gosh, I would say 10 or 12 years," Clements said. "That's probably twice as fast as we were hoping for."

Based on the current demand, he said, the firm is going to be out of lots by April -- though they will be opening another subdivision in July.

But while the market is treating him well, he said, it is ultimately a result of a city doing well.

"We're a by-product of what they've put together and have done a great job with," Clements said. "We're only benefiting because of the great schools and how well the city's ran."

The city is attracting no small number of residents, like Nathan Vernon, who bought a home and moved into Pea Ridge a few months ago with his wife, Staci Vernon, and their three children after purchasing a home last September.

"We moved up to the northwest part of the state in 2013," Vernon said, "over in Garfield, and did a lot of our shopping in Pea Ridge and just fell in love with the city."

He's happy to send his kids to the city's schools, he said, and living in Northwest Arkansas has allowed him to get a home closer to his employer, Tyson Foods, which means he's been able to work locally instead of spending time on the road.

And of course, the city itself has proven a pleasant place for his family to stay.

"You know it's got like, a country atmosphere," he said, "but right by the city so you kind of get the best of both. It's a little bit of a change. Everyone's so nice, people wave when you're driving down the street."