Oahu home prices rebounded in February with small gains after declines in January gave a subdued start to the state’s largest housing market.
The Honolulu Board of Realtors on Wednesday released sales data that showed roughly 2 percent increases for median sale prices of single-family homes and condominiums last month.
Single-family homes sold for a median $789,000 in February, up 2.1 percent from $772,500 in the same month last year.
Condos sold for $415,000 last month, up 1.5 percent from $409,000 a year earlier.
The gains followed January declines of 0.6 percent for single-family homes and 7.2 percent for condos compared with a year earlier.
Jenny Brady, president of the trade association and a broker with Hokua Hawaii Realty, said February’s moderate price increase was one of several indicators of a healthy real estate market.
Other indicators cited by Brady were a “steady” volume of sales and more inventory of homes for sale.
The number of home sales actually has been declining since last year, and that trend has continued this year.
There were 208 single-family home sales last month, down 4.1 percent from 217 a year earlier. Condo sales plummeted 16.6 percent to 321 from 385 in the same period.
Inventory is up considerably. There were 1,436 single-family homes on the market in February, up from 1,191 a year earlier and 1,370 in January. The number of condos listed was 2,342 in February, up from 1,789 a year earlier and 2,237 in January.
The combination of fewer sales and more inventory reduces upward pressure on prices, as buyers have more choices and less competition. If the dynamic continues, it could put the brakes on what has been a seven-year run of rising median prices in the market. However, University of Hawaii economists expect that median home prices for the full year will be higher.
The UH Economic Research Organization last week predicted in a report that Oahu median sale prices this year will rise 2.1 percent for single-family homes and 3.2 percent for condos. Furthermore, UHERO expects gains will continue for at least two years after that.
In 2020, the median sale price is forecast to rise 2.3 percent for single-family homes and 5.6 percent for condos. And in 2021, UHERO forecasts the increases to be 1.4 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.
If UHERO’s predicted gain this year is accurate, Oahu’s median sale price for single-family homes would top $800,000 following last year’s record of $790,000.
The median price is a point at which half the sales were at a higher price and half at a lower price.
Sales in the trade association report represent purchases of previously owned homes that closed in February and would typically stem from sale agreements made one to three months earlier.
OAHU HOME SALES
The number of homes sold on Oahu in February with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year.
HOMES
SALES / MEDIAN PRICE
2019 208 $789,000
2018 217 $772,500
Change -4.1% 2.1%
CONDOS
SALES / MEDIAN PRICE
2019 321 $415,000
2018 385 $409,000
Change -16.6% 1.5%
Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors
