Honolulu Board of REALTORS®

OAHU MEDIAN PRICES REMAIN STABLE
**Honolulu Board of REALTORS® Releases June and Second Quarter
Residential Resales Statistics**

 

Released: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 

HONOLULU - Median prices in Oahu’s housing market remain stable according to the June and second quarter resale figures released today by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics are:

June 2008 Residential Resales Statistics for Oahu

Single Family Home Resales

Number of
Sales
This Month
Compared To
Median*
Sales Price
This Month
Compared To
June 2008
232
$ 625,000
May 2008
$ 649,500
dn 3.8%
June 2007
338
dn 31.4%
$ 685,000
dn 8.8%

Condominium Resales
Number of
Sales
This Month
Compared To
Median*
Sales Price
This Month
Compared To
June 2008
355
$327,500
May 2008
$337,300
dn 2.9%
June 2007
547
dn 35.1%
$334,000
dn 1.9%

Click here to view June 2008 Resales Charts.
*Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given price.

During June, sales of 232 single-family homes and 355 condominiums were reported through the Board’s MLS, decreases of 31.4 percent for single-family homes and 35.1 percent for condominiums as compared to the same month last year. This brings total single-family home sales on Oahu to 1,413 for the first six months of 2008, a decrease of 25.7 percent over the same time period one year ago. Total condominium sales through June were 2,158, a 27.5 percent decrease from last year. The median prices paid for Oahu properties in the January through June period of 2008 were $629,000 and $330,000, respectively, a decrease of 2.5 percent for single-family homes and an increase of 1.5 percent for condominiums from the same time period in 2007. The total dollar sales volume generated in the housing market for the first six months of this year was $1.971 billion, a decrease of 25.4 percent, or $671 million, compared to the $2.642 billion produced one year ago.

“Sales demand in the Oahu housing market has been slowing, but median prices are remaining within the same range we’ve seen since 2005,” said Dana Chandler, President of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “The median price paid for a single-family home in June was 8.8 percent lower than a year ago, but remember that the price in June 2007, at $685,000, was the highest median ever achieved.”

“While median prices have remained rather stable, the number of sales continued to drop in June and the annual sales rate has fallen below 8,000 units,” added Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Board of REALTORS®. “The peak of the housing market was reached in 2005 with an annual sales rate of 13,000 units, while the trough occurred during the mid-90s when sales fell below 4,000 units. The residential markets could see further slowing throughout the summer, but this reduction in demand may ease toward the end of this year.”

According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its MLS system, the statistics for the second quarter of 2008 are:

2008 Second Quarter Residential Resales Statistics for Oahu

Single Family Home Resales

Number of
Sales
This Quarter
Compared To
Median*
Sales Price
This Quarter
Compared To
2nd Quarter 2008
740
$636,000
1st Quarter 2008
$620,000
up 2.6%
2nd Quarter 2007
1,037
dn 28.6%
$665,000
dn 4.4%

Condominium Resales
Number of
Sales
This Quarter
Compared To
Median*
Sales Price
This Quarter
Compared To
2nd Quarter 2008
1,121
$330,000
1st Quarter 2008
$330,000
No Change
2nd Quarter 2007
1,617
dn 30.7%
$328,000
up 0.6%

*Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given price.

During the second quarter, the number of sales declined from last year and the median price paid for a single-family home declined by 4.4 percent from the record price paid one year ago, but the condominium price increased by 0.6 percent.  The total dollar volume of sales was $997.2 million in the second quarter, a decrease of $457.7 million, or 31.5 percent, from the $1.454 billion in sales achieved in the same quarter last year. 

The Median Prices shown in the chart below are the prices paid for existing residential properties reported sold through our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system during the stated time period. The columns labeled Change indicate the direction of price change from the prior time period (NC is no change). The following table provides the quarterly median prices for the Oahu neighborhood groups.

GEOGRAPHIC AREA SINGLE FAMILY HOMES Change CONDOMINIUMS Change
Entire Island $ 636,000 Up Arrow $ 330,000 NC
 
Metro Oahu (Town) $ 710,000 Up Arrow $ 325,000 NC
Diamond Head $ 900,000 Up Arrow $ 425,300 Up Arrow
Hawaii Kai $ 870,000 Up Arrow $ 557,500 Up Arrow
Kailua $ 785,000 Up Arrow $ 415,000 Up Arrow
Kaneohe $ 690,000 Up Arrow $ 400,000 Up Arrow
North Shore $ 617,500 Up Arrow $ 300,000 Up Arrow
Central Oahu $ 626,800 Up Arrow $ 319,000 Up Arrow
Leeward Coast $ 393,000 Up Arrow $ 170,000 Up Arrow
Ewa Plain $ 469,200 Up Arrow $ 315,000 Up Arrow
Makakilo $ 630,000 Up Arrow $ 302,000 Up Arrow
Waipahu $ 582,500 Up Arrow $ 275,000 Up Arrow
Pearl City $ 637,500 Up Arrow $ 298,500 Up Arrow

Median Sales Price means the midpoint of sales prices, where half of the sales were at prices above the given amount and half were below. Click OAHU MAP to view the geographical references used above.

The public is encouraged to visit the Board's Internet web site at www.HiCentral.com to see what's happening in the housing market. The public has the ability to search through Oahu single-family home and condominium listings, available for sale and for rent, and to see a comprehensive guide of homes that will be open to visit this Sunday. All searches can be done by geographic location, price range or both. HiCentral.com provides useful information about buying and selling real estate in Hawaii.

Established in 1922, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® is one of the largest of 1,600 boards of REALTORS® in the nation and, with over 6,000 members, the largest trade organization on Oahu. Membership is available to licensed real estate brokers, agents, property managers, appraisers, counselors and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry pledged to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. For more information, call (808) 732-3000 or visit www.HiCentral.com.

(This report reflects information about resales of existing properties only and does not include new home sales. All of the MLS information is compiled from sales reported during the cited months; this data is known only after closing of escrow. The time delay between the signing of a sales contract and the closing of escrow is usually between one and three months.)