January

HONOLULU--The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® today released resale figures for the month of January. According to the analysis conducted by the Board's Research Department, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics were:

Peter Freeman, President & CEO of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, said, "Overall residential resales in January were 452 units, compared with 408 last year, for an increase of 10.8%. This extends the housing market expansion that began in July 1997 into a thirty-first consecutive month. The January dollar sales volume was 16.9% ahead of a year ago, to almost $119 million. Dollar sales volume increased in both housing market segments, with single family home dollar volume of sales increasing 13.8% and condominium dollar sales volume up 23.2%. "

Freeman continued, "Speed of sales is one of the statistics we routinely track to gauge the market's performance. It is measured from the date the property was listed until a sales agreement was made. Recently, we've noticed a significant increase in the speed of sales. In January, single family homes sold after a median of only 53 days on the market, compared to 69 days last year, and 80+ days a couple years ago. Sales speed in the condominium market has improved even more, with these properties selling in a median of 63 days, compared to 89 days last year at the same time. Also, the available inventory of both single family homes and condominiums is at the point it was in early-1990, the final stage of the Japanese bubble period."

Freeman also stated, "The public is encouraged to visit the Board's Internet web site, Hawaii Real Estate Central, to see what's happening in the housing market. We've provided the public with the ability to search through Oahu single family home and condominium listings, both available for sale and for rent, and to see those homes that will be open to visit this Sunday. All searches can be done by geographic location, price range or both. In addition, there is a lot of useful information about buying and selling real estate in Hawaii."

The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® is in its 78th year of service to Oahu and is one of the largest of 1,600 boards of REALTORS® in the nation. It is also the largest trade organization on Oahu. Membership, which numbers approximately 3,500, is available to licensed real estate brokers and agents who agree to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics.

(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 two and four months.)