Oahu home sales in April fall, median price rises

The median price for previously owned single-family homes sold on Oahu rose for the first time this year with a slight gain in April, though the number of sales was down sharply.

The median sale price edged up 3.5 percent to $585,000 last month from $565,000 in the same month last year, according to data released today by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

April’s gain followed three consecutive year-over-year declines for median prices in January, February and March. Year-to-date, the median price is down 2.1 percent at $568,000.

Sales volume, which had been mostly rising this year, fell dramatically to 229 transactions last month from 285 a year earlier. The 19.6 percent drop was the biggest in two years.

Still, industry leaders said the weakness in activity last month wasn’t enough to depress prices.

"April’s data shows that there is enough demand, albeit lower than last year, to maintain our residential price levels," Joyce Nakamura, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. "We continue to experience a stable environment for both buyers and sellers."

In Oahu’s condominium market, the number of sales decreased 6.7 percent to 379 transactions last month from 406 a year earlier. The median condo sale price was $305,000, down 0.7 percent from $307,000 in the same period.