Hawaii Real estate resale statistics for April 2009

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

During April, sales of 189 single-family homes and 257 condominiums were reported through the Hawaii’s Board’s MLS, decreases of 26.2 percent for single-family homes and 33.1 percent for condominiums, compared to the same month last year. This brings total single-family home sales on Oahu to 628 for the first four months of 2009, a decrease of 32.4 percent over the same time period one year ago. Total condominium sales through April were 824, a 42 percent decrease from last year. The median prices paid for Hawaiian island properties in the first four months of 2009 were $575,000 and $305,000, respectively, decreases of 8.0 percent for single-family homes and 7.3 percent for condominiums from the same time period in 2008. The total dollar sales volume generated in the housing market for the first four months of this year was $708.3 million, a decrease of 46 percent, or $602.5 million, compared to the $1.31 billion produced one year ago.

“The slow sales in the Oahu residential housing market are indicative of the weak economic conditions in Hawaii and worldwide,” said Sandra “Sam” Bangerter, President of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “However, for those potential homeowners who can secure the right financing, they’ll find properties with good value.”

“The relatively low inventory of available properties for sale on Oahu is what’s keeping our prices more stable than in other parts of the country,” added Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “Financing remains a problem for would-be buyers, but we’re hopeful that the government intervention will begin working and the tight credit markets will start easing soon.”

(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.)

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