Oahu home prices continued to rise in August over year-ago levels but remained just under recent record highs, according to a Honolulu Board of Realtors report released for publication today.

The median price for single-family homes was $747,500 last month. That was up 6.9 percent from $699,000 and was the second-highest median price for any month after June’s record of $760,000.

For condominiums the median price was $398,000 in August, up 12.4 percent from $354,000 in the same month last year. August’s median price was the third highest on record, just below $405,500 in June and $400,000 in July.

Kalama Kim, president of the board and principal broker at Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, said demand for housing amid relatively little new production is driving prices higher.

“The market desperately needs more inventory to house potential home owners who are buying for the first time, and those moving to our island looking for a place to live,” he said in a statement. “There are buyers who have been in the market for over a year because of market conditions, and run the risk of being priced out of the market as demand pushes prices up.”

A report from local residential real estate brokerage firm Locations last week said that competition among buyers is pushing purchase prices over asking prices more than ever. The Locations report said sellers received above what they asked for in 38 percent of sales for single-family homes and in 27 percent of sales for condos.

“Competition is at an all-time high,” the report said. Scott Higashi, president and CEO of the company, noted in the report that such competition is expected to continue because of strong buyer demand and low inventory levels. Low interest rates and rising personal income also are fueling demand.

Inventory of homes available for sale over the last five months has been around 1,800 for condos and between 1,171 and 1,275 for single-family homes. That’s down by about 200 for condos and down by 35 to 80 for single-family homes when compared with the same period last year.

Despite the lower inventory, the number of sales in August was either equal to or more than a year earlier.

There were 344 single-family home sales last month, the same as a year earlier. The number of condo sales rose 12.4 percent to 481 last month from 428 a year earlier.

Based on the rate of sales and inventory, the board said inventory would be exhausted in three months if no more homes were listed for sale. Generally, this is a level at which prices will tend to rise. More of an equilibrium between supply and demand generally occurs at levels with six to 10 months of remaining inventory.

The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization has been forecasting for several years that Oahu home prices would go up. The organization’s most recent forecast, in March, projected that median prices will top $800,000 for single-family homes in 2018 and top $400,000 for condos next year.

This year through August the median price for single-family homes is $730,000. That’s up 5.3 percent from $693,000 for the first eight months of last year. For condos the median price this year through August is $388,500. That’s up 8.4 percent from $358,250 a year earlier.