Oahu home sales soar in January as median price sets new record

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Home sales on Oahu began 2016 with sales increases in the double digits in January, as the median price for a single-family home reached a new all-time high of $733,500, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The number of single-family homes rose 10.5 percent to 232 homes sold from 210 sold in January 2015. The median price increased by 8.7 percent from $675,000 in January 2015 to reach a new single-month high, the board said. The previous record high median price was $730,000 in September.

“January was an extremely strong month for home resales on Oahu,” said Kalama Kim, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. “Both single-family and condominium sales were up by double digits over January 2015, an indication that demand for all forms of housing remains high.

Condominium sales soared last month, increasing 18.2 percent to 338 units sold, from 286 units sold in January 2015. The median condo price, however, declined by 1.8 percent to $374,500, from $381,500 last year.

“The primary drivers of rising housing prices are shortages of inventory and new development,” Kim said. “We’re seeing especially heavy activity in single-family homes priced in the $600,000 to $800,000 range, and condominiums in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.”

Median home prices on Oahu increased by less than 5 percent for all of 2015, to $700,000 for single-family homes, an increase of 4 percent, and to $360,000 for condos, an increase of 2.9 percent.

“More inventory in these ranges is needed to meet demand,” he said. “The Leeward area, Central Oahu plain, and Pearl City showed big gains in January 2016 and lead the market in home sales.”

Janis L. Magin
Managing Editor
Pacific Business News

Honolulu’s home price appreciation among nation’s highest

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Honolulu has one of the highest home price appreciation rates in the country, real estate data tracking service RealtyTrac said.

The median price of a home, which includes condominiums, was $480,000 in October, giving Honolulu an annual Home Price Appreciation rate of 10 percent, RealtyTrac says.

The top market for HPA is the Toledo, Ohio market, where the median price of a home is $100,000 and the HPA rate is 33 percent.

Nationally, the median price of a home was $193,000 in October, an increase of 16 percent over October 2013.

Oahu Real Estate Market Update

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August_2014The median price of a single-family home on Oahu fell last month, two months after hitting a new record price, as sales in August dropped by 12 percent when compared to last year, according to statistics released Sunday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The median price of a single-family home in August was $650,000, which was 2.3 percent below the median price of $665,000 in August 2013. The median price in June set at record at $700,000.

Sales of single-family homes on Oahu fell 11.7 percent to 323 homes sold, from 366 homes sold in August 2013.

Condominium sales in August declined by 3.5 percent to 444 units sold, from 460 units sold during the same month last year. The median price of a condo on Oahu was unchanged at $350,000.

“August was an interesting month for the Oahu housing market, Julie Meier, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “While on the surface it may look like this past August was not on par with last August for sales of single-family homes, the truth is that August 2013 was a banner month – the high point of sales for the year. It would have been very difficult to duplicate that this year.”

The number of sales in August 2013 was 25 percent higher than August 2012, when 293 homes sold. Last month’s sales were 10 percent higher than the 2012 level. The median price a year ago was 9 percent higher than the median price set in August 2012, which was $609,000. Last month’s median price of $650,000 was nearly 7 percent higher than the price from two years ago.

“Still, this remains a very healthy market, as evidenced by the fact that the average single-family home was on the block for only 15 days before being sold,” Meier noted. “Also noteworthy is the fact that inventory of both single-family homes and condos is climbing, which will help the market meet demand.”

Staff Pacific Business News

As Oahu home prices rise, so does the need for affordable housing

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Julie Meier, the president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said Monday that while she isn’t surprised the median price for a single-family home on Oahu hit a record-breaking $700,000 in June, she is somewhat surprised that it has happened so fast.

A lack of inventory coupled with high demand sent home prices through the roof in June, according to the board.

Oahu has 2.8 months worth of single-family homes on the market and a condo inventory of 3.3 months, meaning that’s how long it would take to sell every property if no new listings were to come on the market.

Those numbers mean it’s a seller’s market, because a balanced market has about six month’s worth of inventory, said Meier, who’s also a Realtor with Prudential Locations.

Inventory increased by 4 percent in June, to 1,200 active single-family home listings, from 1,153 in June 2013. Condominiums fared better, with the inventory increasing 19 percent to 1,749 listings from 1,473 units listed during the same month last year.

“We do have projects in the works, but most are a long way from completion and they cater to a more affluent [clientele],” she said.

The latest figures confirm Oahu’s need for housing at the other economic spectrum, Meier said.

And Meier said that the rising home and condo prices will have a ripple effect, so expect rents to rise, too.

Julie Meier, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Honolulu home prices the third-costliest

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With a median home price of $679,800, Honolulu is the third-most expensive housing market in the U.S. behind San Jose and San Francisco, Calif., according to the National Association of Realtors.

Median prices are $805,000 in San Jose and $705,000 in San Francisco.

Ranked at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, are two additional California markets: Anaheim-Santa Ana, at $670,700; and San Diego, at $485,000.

The Realtors group studied third-quarter closings and compared them with the third quarter of 2012 and found that the median existing single family home price increased in 88 percent of measured markets.

The five most affordable metro areas in the U.S. were Toledo, Ohio, with a median price of $87,500; Rockford, Ill., at $88,900; Decatur, Ill., $91,000; Ocala Fla., $103,600; and Topeka, Kan., where the median price was $106,900.

The national median existing single-family home price was $207,300 in the third quarter, a 12.5 percent  increase from $184,300 in the second third of 2012. The jump is the strongest year-over-year increase since the fourth quarter of 2005 when it shot up 13.6 percent.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20131106_Honolulu_home_prices_the_thirdcostliest.html?id=230840301