Honolulu board of realtors September 2008 statistics

October 1, 2008

Honolulu median home prices and sales decline

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

September 2008 Residential Resales Statistics for Oahu

Single Family Home Resales

Number of

Sales

This Month

Compared To

Median*

Sales Price

This Month

Compared To

September 2008

215

$ 590,000

August 2008

$ 635,000

dn 7.1%

September 2007

255

dn 15.7%

$ 650,000

dn 9.2%

Condominium Resales

Number of

Sales

This Month

Compared To

Median*

Sales Price

This Month

Compared To

September 2008

305

$296,000

August 2008

$328,000

dn 9.0%

September 2007

414

dn 26.3%

$335,000

dn 11.6%

Click here to view September 2008 Resales Charts.

*Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given price.

During September sales of 215 single-family homes and 305 condominiums were reported through the Board’s MLS, decreases of 15.7 percent for single family homes and 26.3 percent for condominiums, compared to the same month last year. This brings total single-family home sales on Oahu to 2,134 for the first nine months of 2008, a decrease of 25.8 percent over the same time period one year ago. Total condominium sales through September were 3,173, a 27.0 percent decrease from last year. The median prices paid for Oahu properties in the first nine months of 2008 were $625,000 and $325,000, respectively, a decrease of 3.5 percent for single-family homes from the same time period in 2007 and no change in price for condominiums. The total dollar sales volume generated in the housing market for the first nine months of this year was $2.959 billion, a decrease of 25.1 percent, or $994 million, compared to the $3.953 billion produced one year ago.

“ Oahu’s housing market is beginning to feel the effects of the changing economic market, as demonstrated by the decline in both residential sales volume and the median prices paid in September,” said Dana Chandler, President of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “We hope that this period of weak market conditions is short-lived and that we’ll soon return to a more normal market. The National Association of REALTORS® is strongly supporting the proposed bailout of our financial system so that borrowing can be restored and we can get the housing market moving forward again.”

“It appears that the Oahu housing market is reacting to the economic crisis that has been affecting financial markets worldwide,” added Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “Financing a real estate purchase is just as difficult in Honolulu as it is for the rest of the nation, with tighter qualifications and larger down payments.”

The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® also released resale figures for the third quarter of 2008. According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its MLS system, the statistics are:

2008 Third Quarter Residential Resales Statistics for Oahu

Single Family Home Resales

Number of

Sales

This Quarter

Compared To

Median*

Sales Price

This Quarter

Compared To

3rd Quarter 2008

721

$615,000

2nd Quarter 2008

$636,000

dn 3.3%

3rd Quarter 2007

975

dn 26.1%

$649,900

dn 5.4%

Condominium Resales

Number of

Sales

This Quarter

Compared To

Median*

Sales Price

This Quarter

Compared To

3rd Quarter 2008

1,015

$322,000

2nd Quarter 2008

$330,000

dn 2.4%

3rd Quarter 2007

1,366

dn 25.7%

$330,000

dn 2.4%

*Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given price.

During the third quarter, the number of sales declined from one year ago and the median price paid for a single-family home decreased by 5.4 percent and the condominium price decreased by 2.4 percent. The total dollar volume of sales was $987.3 million in the third quarter, a decrease of $323.2 million, or 24.7 percent, from the $1.310.5 billion in sales achieved in the same quarter last year.

The Median Prices shown in the chart below are the prices paid for existing residential properties reported sold through our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system during the stated time period. The columns labeled Change indicate the direction of price change from the prior time period (NC is no change). The following table provides the quarterly median prices for the Oahu neighborhood groups.

GEOGRAPHIC AREA

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

Change

CONDOMINIUMS

Change

Entire Island

$ 615,000

Down Arrow

$ 322,000

Down Arrow

Metro Oahu (Town)

$ 729,000

Up Arrow

$ 312,900

Down Arrow

Diamond Head

$ 1,125,000

Up Arrow

$ 419,200

Down Arrow

Hawaii Kai

$ 777,000

Down Arrow

$ 525,500

Down Arrow

Kailua

$ 766,500

Down Arrow

$ 411,500

Down Arrow

Kaneohe

$ 640,000

Down Arrow

$ 422,500

Up Arrow

North Shore

$ 827,500

Up Arrow

$ 392,000

Up Arrow

Central Oahu

$ 576,000

Down Arrow

$ 295,000

Down Arrow

Leeward Coast

$ 361,000

Down Arrow

$ 148,000

Down Arrow

Ewa Plain

$ 451,000

Down Arrow

$ 327,500

Up Arrow

Makakilo

$ 567,000

Down Arrow

$ 324,500

Up Arrow

Waipahu

$ 529,000

Down Arrow

$ 290,000

Up Arrow

Pearl City

$ 614,000

Down Arrow

$ 301,400

Up Arrow

Median Sales Price means the midpoint of sales prices, where half of the sales were at prices above the given amount and half were below. Click OAHU MAP to view the geographical references used above.

(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.)