February

Released: March 2, 2005

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

Judith Kalbrener, President of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, said, “Oahu home resales were mixed this month, with median prices continuing to increase. In February, sales were reported of 266 single family homes and 525 condominiums. These compare to one year ago as a 9.2% decrease and a 16.9% increase, respectively, in the number of sales. The median price paid for a single family home was $525,500, achieving another Oahu record. Likewise, the condominium median price during February rose to $235,000, also setting another Oahu record.”

On a year-to-date basis, total sales this year have been 599 single family homes and 1,095 condominiums and the median prices paid were $510,000 and $229,000, respectively. Total dollar sales volume for the first two months of the year is $705.7 million, compared to $575.0 million for the same time period last year, an increase of $130.7 million, or 22.7%.

Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Board of REALTORS®, said, “The available inventory of both single family homes and condominiums unexpectedly shrank in February after rising substantially through the end of last year. The number of active listings for single family homes available for sale dropped from 961 in January to just 858 in February, a decline of 10.1%, and only a few units ahead of the inventory of one year ago. Condominium availability shrank from 1,378 in January to 1,202 in February, a decline of 12.8%, and this compares to the inventory of 1,187 last February. Factoring in our sales, we currently have 2.6 months of available inventory for single family homes, and condominiums are at only 2.1 months. This tight inventory of listings will probably result in buyers pushing prices even higher as they vie for the limited number of properties on the market.”

The public is encouraged to visit the Board's Internet web site at http://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.

The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® is celebrating its 83rd 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 5,000, 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.)