January 2023: O‘ahu Property Market Declines

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O‘ahu Real Estate: January 2023 Sales Decline and Price Shifts

byMalia L. Meenderman/February 10, 2023/instatistics/Oahu, Oahu real estate statistics, yacht harbor towers

According to today’s resales figures from the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, the new year started with a notable year-over-year decline in closed sales for O‘ahu properties, with single-family homes dropping by 54.0% and condos declining by 50.2%. January marked the end of a streak of 17 consecutive months where single-family home prices exceeded $1,000,000, finishing with a median sales price of $970,000, reflecting a 7.6% decrease compared to January 2022. Similarly, the condo market experienced a 2.9% drop in the median sales price, bringing it down to $495,000. According to the analysis by the Honolulu real estate board, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the Oahu island housing supply and statistics are:

Oahu (Hawaii) Single-Family Home Re-sales
	Number of Oahu home sales	This Month Compared To	Median* home sales price Oahu	This Month Compared To
Jan 2023	150		$970,000
Jan 2022	326	-54.0%	$1,050,000	-7.6%

Oahu Condominium Re-sales
	Number of Oahu condo sales	This Month Compared To	Median* Sales Price Oahu	This Month Compared To
Jan 2023	275		$495,000
Jan 2022	552	-50.2%	$510,000	-2.9%

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

O‘ahu Real Estate: January 2023 Sales Decline and Price Shifts

At the close of the month, average mortgage rates remained in the low 6% range, a significant increase of roughly 2.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. While month-to-month mortgage rates showed a slight decline, the end of the holiday season saw a resurgence in pending sales. However, year-over-year, the number of contract signings decreased, falling by 15.2% for single-family homes and 34.1% for condos.

Properties are now spending a median of 24 days on the market, nearly double the time compared to the previous year when single-family homes had a median of 12 days and condos had a median of 14 days. New listings are also slowing down, dropping by 16.3% for single-family homes and 21.5% for condos. Despite these trends, active inventory continues to grow compared to 2022, with a substantial increase of 77.2% in the single-family home market and 23.7% in the condo market.

In January, approximately 37% of single-family homes closed at the full original asking price or higher, a significant drop from the 73% of sales that achieved this last January. A similar pattern was observed in the condo market, where around 39% of condo sales closed at the full original asking price or more, compared to 57% of condo sales in January 2022.

In terms of property sales by price point, the single-family home market in January saw declines across all price ranges, with the $1,500,000 and above category experiencing the steepest drop of 73.0% year-over-year. For condos, the $500,000 to $599,999 price range recorded the most significant decrease in sales, declining by 63.0%. The only price range for condos that saw an increase in sales was the $100,000 to $199,999 tier, which was up by 26.7%.

Across O‘ahu, no regions experienced positive sales growth for single-family homes. Kāne‘ohe and Pearl City maintained steady sales, with 16 and 14 properties sold, respectively, unchanged from one year ago. However, most regions witnessed a decline of 50% or more in single-family home sales year-over-year, with the ‘Ewa Plain experiencing the most substantial decrease of 70.7%.

In the condo market, most sales occurred in the Metro region, although there was still an overall decrease in activity, with a 48.1% decline in sales compared to January 2022. The Central region, stretching from Mililani to Wahiawa, also experienced a significant 60.4% decline in closed sales.

Collectively, the $700,000 to $999,999 price range in the single-family home market saw the largest increase in active inventory, with 92 more listings than in January 2022. Most regions on O‘ahu witnessed an increase in active inventory, with the ‘Ewa Plain and Leeward regions accounting for the most significant share of those increases, while the North Shore recorded a 9.4% decline.

In the condo market, there was a 23.7% increase in active inventory, although the number of active listings in the $200,000 to $399,999 price range fell by 12.7% year-over-year. All other price tiers saw an increase in active inventory, with the $600,000 to $799,999 range increasing by 71.1% and the $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 range rising by 56.6%.

Malia’s comments

“With mortgage rates above 6%, it has really cut off the number of sales of homes and condos. It has been a dramatic change”

Hawaii House statistics real time

You can monitor the daily Honolulu housing market and follow home sales on Oahu with instant statistics, new listings for the day and links to neighborhood statistics and real estate data such as Kakaako neighborhood statistics. Visit it here: Daily Oahu real estate market watch

We also have instant housing statistics for Maui island. Visit it here: Daily Maui real estate market watch. When you click on a neighborhood it brings you to the pricing heat map for that area.

About Malia L. Meenderman

Malia is an award winning real estate broker. Born and raised in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii.

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