Arkansas · 204th largest metro area

Buying a home in Fort Smith, Arkansas

In Fort Smith, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $178,100, Sebastian County's effective property tax rate is 0.62%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $4,883 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $884 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Fort Smith home costs, fact by fact

About Fort Smith

Fort Smith is the first-named place in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area. Sebastian County's effective property tax rate (median tax as a share of home value) is 0.62%, and HUD's two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $979.

Reading the Fort Smith figures

Fort Smith sits at the low end of the Arkansas comparison: owners estimate their homes at $178,100, under the statewide median of $228,400. Little Rock reads $236,400 and Springdale $261,800, while Fayetteville stands at $349,600. Annual property tax in Sebastian County is just $1,101 at a 0.62% rate, and the county's median home is valued at $176,200, almost level with the city's own estimate, so the bill scales with a low value base.

Rents are the lowest in this set too, as far as the cities named here go. Fort Smith's median gross rent of $884 a month is below rent in Fayetteville ($1,065), Springdale ($1,071) and Little Rock ($1,106), and it falls under HUD's Fair Market Rent benchmark of $979, a federal reference figure and not a market median. Owners occupy 53.4% of homes, the same share as Springdale and close to Little Rock's 53.5%, while Fayetteville shows only 41.8%. Sebastian County's HMDA filings for 2025 show 937 loans, a midpoint origination cost of $4,883, and an interquartile range from $3,171 to $6,943.

Calculate for Arkansas

If you buy

Arkansas state transfer tax

Real property transfer tax (documentary stamps): $3.30 per $1,000 of actual consideration, on transactions above $100. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$228,400
State transfer tax$753.72
Share of the price0.33% of the price
Who paysSet by the purchase contract

Default price: the Arkansas median value of owner-occupied homes, $228,400 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: Price divided by 1,000, times $3.30. Applies only when consideration exceeds $100. The pages read do not say how prices that are not multiples of $1,000 are rounded. Who pays: The DFA pages read do not say whether buyer or seller bears the tax; the contract allocates closing costs. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Arkansas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Arkansas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Fort Smith

How much is property tax in Fort Smith?

Homeowners in Sebastian County pay a median $1,101 a year in property tax, 0.62% of the county median home value of $176,200 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Fort Smith?

Home-purchase mortgages in Sebastian County carried median total loan costs of $4,883 in 2025; half of the 937 loans fell between $3,171 and $6,943 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Fort Smith?

Arkansas charges a state real property transfer tax of $3.30 per $1,000 of actual consideration on transactions above $100, which is $660 on a $200,000 sale. It is paid by buying documentary stamps for the deed.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Fort Smith?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Fort Smith ($178,100) equals 16.8 years of the median gross rent ($884 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Arkansas rules that apply in Fort Smith

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Sources

Arkansas · All states · Federal guides