NWA Council: Issue 3 could help with local home prices
NWA Council: Issue 3 could help with local home prices
Edward McKinnon Sat, October 24, 2026 at 3:02 AM UTC
0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Proponents of an Arkansas ballot issue argue it could help combat rising housing costs.
Issue 3 on the Nov. 3 ballot would amend the state constitution to allow cities and counties to form economic development districts that use public money to promote statewide economic growth if it passes.
A district could issue bonds and levy its own taxes or charges, but property inside these districts would be exempt from property taxes.
A new report from the NWA Council entitled "State of the Northwest Arkansas Region" states that average home prices in Northwest Arkansas have jumped 65.8% since 2020. Supporters of Issue 3 say it could be the key to alleviating woes brought on by this trend.
"Every city can use it in different ways," said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the NWA Council, about the economic development districts enabled by Issue 3. "In the delta, they would use it to try to get a grocery store or something like that. Here, what I believe is that cities would use that to help with the infrastructure, help with the affordable housing."
Benton, Washington county early voting turnout continues to outpace 2022 midterms
Northwest Arkansas' 65.8% housing cost increase since 2026 exceeds price increases in peer markets such as Austin, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa, Madison, Wis., Durham, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C., according to the report.
Advertisement
Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas - Fayetteville, compiled the report.
Jebaraj said he thinks "middle housing" concepts are a potential answer to Northwest Arkansas' housing price woes.
"It's something we've not seen a whole lot of, the duplexes and triplexes. So people can live in what looks like residential neighborhoods, close to their downtowns, close to their amenities, schools, jobs," he said.
If Issue 3 passes, lawmakers would set who leads a district and what incentives businesses get. Jeberaj said it is best for the constitutional amendment to provide broad guidelines and allow the state legislature to make more specific decisions.
"We're amending the state constitution. You don't want to write a set of rules into it where you might find that they didn't work and you need to change it, then you have to do this whole process where you have to change the state constitution again," Jeberaj said. "It's better to provide the broad guidelines of what we want, and then the legislature will meet in January."
State Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest), on the other hand, said he believes these development districts could affect existing businesses if Issue 3 passes.
"They're all of a sudden going to have to compete with an entity that's got a much more favorable incentive," he said. "Competition for them will be unfair, and you're really picking winners and losers."
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
Source: “AOL Money”
