December

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

Anne Keamo, 2003 Chair of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, said, "The Oahu housing market finished 2002 on a very high note. During December, sales of 347 single family homes and 487 condominiums were reported through the Board's MLS, increases from the prior year of 33.5% and 46.7%, respectively. Median sales prices were also higher. In December, the median price paid for a single family home was $350,000, up 13.5% from last year's price of $308,500. The December condominium price rose to $160,000 from $130,000, an increase of 23.1%. The dollar volume of sales for all of 2002 was $2.617 billion, a sizeable increase of 31.1% from the $1.996 billion generated during 2001."

Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Board of REALTORS®, said, "A preliminary review of the 2002 data shows that the Oahu housing market had a record year. More single family home sales occurred in 2002 than in any other year since the Board began collecting this data in 1985. Condominium sales were the highest since 1990. Combining these two housing categories to obtain total residential sales, we see a 31.0% increase from last year and we achieved the highest number of sales since 1989. There was a substantial increase in property prices during 2002, with the median single family home price advancing 11.7% and condominium prices 14.3% higher."

Shapiro continued, "The Oahu housing market continues to roar, basically due to the historically low mortgage rates. We should expect this heightened level of activity to continue until the Federal Reserve decides to raise interest rates."

Chair Keamo 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 81st year of service to Oahu and is one of the largest of 1,500 boards of REALTORS® in the nation. It is also the largest trade organization on Oahu. Membership, which numbers approximately 4,000, 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.)