Hawaii real estate by Bonnebaker

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

“Sales in August were about the same as a year ago, with single-family homes marginally lower and condominium sales higher, which appear to indicate that we’ve stopped declining and that we’ve hit a bottom in the housing market,” said Sandra “Sam” Bangerter, president of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS^®. “In fact, there is a new energy in the market, as many sellers are seeing multiple offers on properties that are well priced.”

“The Oahu housing market seems to be operating in miniature with sales, inventory and new listings all at lower levels than in past years,” added Harvey Shapiro, research economist at the Honolulu Board of REALTORS^®. “This balance, particularly the shrunken inventory, is the reason for our stability and why we’ve avoided the significant price adjustments experienced on the Mainland. Prospective buyers and sellers continue to sit on the sidelines and wait for a sign that the economy is shoring up, but akamai buyers are already searching for bargains, especially with financing costs at record lows.”

The public is encouraged to visit the Board’s Internet web site at 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.

Established in 1922, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® is one of the largest of 1,600 boards of REALTORS® in the nation and, with over 5,500 members, the largest trade organization on Oahu. Membership is available to licensed real estate brokers, agents, property managers, appraisers, counselors and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry pledged to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. For more information, call (808) 732-3000 or visit www.HiCentral.com.

(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 one and three months.)

The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® released housing resale
figures today for the month of June and the second quarter. According to the analysis
conducted by the Board, using data collected from its computerized
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics are:

During
June, sales of 254 single-family homes and 293 condominiums were
reported through the Board’s MLS, an increase of 9.5 percent for
single-family homes and a 17.3 percent decrease for condominiums,
compared to the same month last year. This brings total single-family
home sales on Oahu to 1,107 for the first six months of 2009, a
decrease of 21.7 percent over the same time period one year ago. Total
condominium sales through June were 1,380, a 36.1 percent decrease from
last year. The median prices paid for island properties in the first
six months of 2009 were $570,000 and $305,000, respectively, decreases
of 9.4 percent for single-family homes from the same time period in
2008 and 7.6 percent for condominiums. The total dollar sales volume
generated in the housing market for the first six months of this year
was $1.227 billion, a decrease of 37.8 percent, or $744.8 million,
compared to the $1.971 billion produced one year ago.

“Single-family
home sales were up in June, compared to a year ago, and the median
prices paid for both single-family homes and condominiums increased
since than last month,” said Sandra “Sam” Bangerter, President of the
Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “Another positive statistic was that the
sales speed as the ‘Days on Market’ indicator was the fastest this year
at 45 days for both housing categories. We don’t want to seem overly
optimistic, but it looks like we could be nearing the bottom of the
current market slump.”

“The available inventory continues to be quite low and
this appears to be the reason for the small decreases in home prices
for Honolulu, compared to the sizable declines for Mainland cities,”
added Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®.
“Recently, the mortgage rates have been rising and the lack of financing
options continue to stifle the market. However, the sales data show
that there are buyers in the market who are willing to purchase properties
that are appropriately priced.”

The
Honolulu Board of REALTORS® also released resale figures for the second
quarter of 2009. According to the analysis conducted by the Board,
using data collected from its MLS system, the statistics are:

During
the second quarter, the number of sales declined from one year ago and
the median price paid for a single-family home decreased by 10.5
percent and the condominium median price decreased by 6.8 percent. The
total dollar volume of sales was $724.0 million in the second quarter,
a decrease of $273.2 million, or 27.4 percent, from the $997.2 million
in sales achieved in the same quarter last year.

The following table provides the quarterly median prices
for the Oahu neighborhood groups (change compares 2nd Quarter 2009 to
1st Quarter 2009):

GEOGRAPHIC AREA	SINGLE FAMILY HOMES	Change	CONDOMINIUMS	Change
Entire Island	$ 569,500		$ 307,500
Metro Oahu (Town)	$ 650,000		$ 305,000
Diamond Head	$ 884,000		$ 427,000
Hawaii Kai	$ 747,500		$ 451,000
Kailua	$ 710,000		$ 392,500
Kaneohe	$ 619,500		$ 365,000
North Shore	$ 754,500		$ 255,000
Central Oahu	$ 566,500		$ 290,000
Leeward Coast	$ 277,000		$ 135,000
Ewa Plain	$ 425,000		$ 275,000
Makakilo	$ 490,000		$ 245,700
Waipahu	$ 520,000		$ 270,000
Pearl City	$ 539,400		$ 290,000

The
public is encouraged to visit the Board’s Internet web site at
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.

Established in
1922, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® is one of the largest of 1,600
boards of REALTORS® in the nation and, with over 5,500 members, the
largest trade organization on Oahu. Membership is available to licensed
real estate brokers, agents, property managers, appraisers, counselors
and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry pledged
to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. For
more information, call (808) 732-3000 or visit www.HiCentral.com.

(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 one
and three months.)

When the market began to slow here in Hawaii in the Fall of 2007, interestedly enough the median sales price from month to month did not decline very much. In fact it stayed at $650,000 and $655,000 for the first half of the Fall before decline to $610,000 for both November and December.  Keep in mind that our highest ever median sales price was $685,000 earlier that year.  During this Fall the days on market slowly began to slide to 51 days and then increasing into 2008.  So, another encouraging sign from this past week’s release of the latest Honolulu statistics was the decline in the days on market (DOM).  The DOM reached a lengthy 71 days which is considered rather long for Oahu if you examine the history. But, with delight I saw that the average DOM for a single family home has dipped to 49 days, a decline in over 30%.  This is simply amazing.