May

HONOLULU--Today, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® released resale figures for the month of May. According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics are:

Peter Freeman, President & CEO of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, said, "The resale figures for May are 272 single family homes and 400 condominiums. On a year-to-date basis the volume of 2001 resales continues to surpass those of a year ago. Through May 2001, we've reported sales of 1,308 single family homes and 1,716 condominiums, up from last year's 1,203 and 1,559, respectively. The median sales price for a single family home was stable. The price for May was $289,500, a decrease of just $500, or 0.2%, from both last year and last month. On the other hand, the condominium median sales price was 11.7% higher than in the same time period last year, at $134,000. Even with the slower May sales performance, the dollar sales volume for the first five months of 2001 was $770.8 million, still ahead of last year's $745.1 million by 3.4%."

Freeman continued, "It is great to remember that we've nearly doubled our residential resales over the past four years, from 3,700 in 1996 to more than 7,100 in 2000. Producing a similar number of sales in 2001 as we had last year would still qualify 2001 as a strong market. More importantly, we've not had the price inflation that went along with multi-year expansions in past markets. Our median sales prices have, in fact, declined over the past four years for both single family homes and condominiums as the market expanded. In 1996, single family homes were selling at a median price of $335,000, compared to $295,000 last year. The median price of condominiums in 1996 was $175,000, and this has been reduced by $50,000, to $125,000."

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, 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. HiCentral.com provides useful information about buying and selling real estate in Hawaii."

The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® is in its 79th 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.)