Heat on for sales of Oahu condos, houses

The relatively low number of Oahu houses listed for sale didn’t stop a boom in April.

Buyers picked up more than 700 previously owned single-family dwellings and condominiums last month, a roughly 30 percent increase representing an extraordinary surge.

Median prices also rose in April by about 5 percent to put Hawaii’s biggest housing market on a positive track after price weakness earlier in the year.

The biggest increase occurred in the condo market where sales volume jumped 33.2 percent to 457 units last month from 343 units in the same month last year, according to the Hono­lulu Board of Realtors’ data released Tuesday.

April’s condo volume gain was the biggest for any month in three years, and the number of sales was the highest for any month since 495 in August 2007 before a housing market boom was dislodged by a financial market meltdown and economic recession.

In the single-family market, sales jumped 29 percent to 280 last month from 217 a year earlier. The gain came on the heels of a 29.7 percent increase in January that represented the biggest increase in almost three years.

The increase in sales last month has excited the industry and raised expectations for continued momentum.

"Compared to this time last year, the tremendous jump in total number of sales and a rise in median price for both single-family homes and condominiums shows the market is poised to make a strong comeback," Kevin Mi­yama, a Prudential Locations agent and president of the Hono­lulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement.

Sales are being driven in large part by job growth and low interest rates. One dampening influence, according to real estate brokers, is relatively low supply.

There were about 1,400 condos on the market heading into April, up from about 1,300 earlier this year but down from about 1,800 in the early part of last year. Single-family listings were about 1,000 heading into April, down from about 1,200 a year earlier.

If the pace of sales in April continued with no new inventory added, the supply would run out in 2.6 months for condos and 2.4 months for single-family houses. Local real estate economists suggest that a figure below five or six months could push up prices.

The median sale price for single-family homes last month rose 4.2 percent to $625,000 from $600,000 a year earlier. It was a modest gain but represented the second consecutive month of increases after declines in January and February.

Year-to-date, the single-family home median price is up 1.3 percent at $615,000 compared with $607,000 in the same period last year.

The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization pro­jects that Oahu’s median home price will rise this year for a second consecutive year, but in March lowered its growth forecast for the year to 4 percent from a 6.7 percent projection made in February because of the recent softness.

Condos sold for a median price of $335,000 last month, up 5 percent from $319,000 a year earlier. Year-to-date, the median is up 7.3 percent at $332,500 compared with $310,000 a year earlier.

UHERO expects condo prices to climb 7.4 percent this year.