Oahu home, condo market heats up to a record frenzy

Houses and condominiums here are being snapped up at a feverish pace as the summer home-buying season kicks off.

Oahu single-family homes and condos are spending just two weeks on the market — tying a record low — before going into escrow, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

May marked the first month that single-family homes and condos both dipped to a median 14 days on market. Single-family homes first reached 14 days in June 2016.

The 14 days for condos is just shy of the record-low 13 days set in July 2005. The last time condos reached 14 days was August 2005, a month after the record was set, the board said Friday.

Days on market, or DOM, is one indicator of how hot (or cool) the real estate market is. It represents the days between when a property is first listed and an offer is accepted. For listings, days on market is key for buyers, as they decide how much to offer. Generally, the longer a home stays on the market, the less chance the seller will get their original asking price.

The two weeks on market shows anxious buyers are acting quickly and aggressively in submitting offers, despite rising prices, amid an environment of tight inventory and mortgage rates near historic lows.

The median price for a single-family home on this island was $740,000 for the first five months of the year, up from $720,000 in the same period last year. For condos the median price through May was $399,000, up from $380,000 in the same period in 2016.

What’s happening in Hawaii is no different from what’s happening in many parts of the country.

“With a record number of homebuyers out there, this is officially the most competitive, fastest-moving spring housing market in decades,” Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “Following a furious start to the season, the median days on market for homes on Realtor.com in May is the lowest since the end of the recession, and marks the first time that 1 in 3 homes is selling in under 30 days nationally.”

Vivas added, “The lack of affordable inventory remains a critical issue, particularly for a growing number of first-time home buyers and millennials lining up for starter homes and urban dwellings.”

Jaymes Song is a top-producing agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Advantage Realty in Kahala. He can be reached at 228-3332 or JaymesS@BetterHawaii.com.