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Oahu’s housing market showed further signs of recovery in August, with the median sales price for a single-family home rising to its highest level in more than two years.
The median price rose to $645,239 in August, up 15.2 percent from $560,000 the same month a year ago, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported. The median price also was up from $604,500 in July. The August median price was the highest since May 2007 when it hit $649,500.
The number of homes sold declined as a tax credit for first-time homebuyers was phased out. There were 224 homes sold in August, down 6.3 percent from 239 a year earlier.
The story was similar in the condominium market, with prices rising and the volume of sales falling. The median condo price of $307,500 in August was up 6 percent from $290,000 a year earlier. Sales, meanwhile, fell 17 percent to 289 from 348.
“We anticipated the slowdown in sales with the end of the federal tax credit, but the increases in median prices are a sign that the Honolulu market continues to strengthen,” said Brian Benton, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors.
