April 3, 2007

Oahu Real Estate Market Update

During March, sales of 330 single-family homes and 541 condominiums were reported through the Board’s MLS, a decrease in sales of 15.8 percent for single family homes and 22.3 percent for condominiums, compared to the same month last year. The median price paid in March for a single-family home was $643,500, while the condominium price was $321,000. On a year-to-date basis, sales volume is lower by 8.3 percent for single-family homes and 19.3 percent for condominiums, while the median prices for the first three months of 2007 were $620,000 and $320,000, a decline of 0.8 percent for single-family homes and an increase of 3.6 percent for condominiums, compared to same time period in 2006. Total dollar sales volume for the first three months of the year was $1.187 billion, a decrease of 11.4 percent, or $153 million, compared to the $1.340 billion generated in the housing market in the same time period one year ago.

There is a 1.0% decrease in Single Family Homes Median Sales Price from last year,
while a 2.9% increase in Condominium Median Sales Price in March 2007 compared to the same month last year.

“The housing market continued to perform as expected during March and there were some positive signs that the market may be picking up soon,” said Berton Hamamoto, President of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “First, the Days on Market indicator reversed direction last month, especially for condominium sales which sped up by nearly three weeks, from 59 days to just 40 days. Second, there continues to be a reduction in inventory, 4 months now of decline after 19 months of increases. This may be a significant factor as we move into the busy summer buying season.”

“The short-term forecast for the residential housing market looks quite good, based on the number of properties that went into escrow this month,” added Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Board of REALTORS®. “While the production numbers still lag those of last year, we expect more closed sales with higher prices in both property categories in April. Finally, median asked prices for the available inventory have settled at about $750,000 and $350,000, for single-family homes and condominiums, respectively, after being higher for the past couple years.”