Another new, small sign of softness in Oahu’s housing market surfaced in May with a slight decrease in the median sale price for single-­family homes.

The 2.2% slip, to $1,085,000 in May from $1,109,000 in the same month in 2023, was the first year-over-year decrease in the single-family home median sale price for any month this year reported by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Generally, sales volume and median prices for previously owned single-family homes and condominiums has been up or flat over the first five months of this year, as buyers compete for relatively limited supply in a high mortgage interest rate environment.

Activity in May, however, was mostly down, according to the trade association’s latest monthly data released Thursday.

The number of single-­family home sales slipped 5.0% to 249 in May from 262 a year earlier. The number of condo sales rose 9.1% to 478 in May from 438 a year earlier, and the median price for those condo sales slipped 2.0% to $495,000 from $505,000 in the same period.

Fran Gendrano, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors and principal broker at KFG Properties Inc., said in the report that there was strong activity in more affordable price ranges, and she called that encouraging for first-time homebuyers and homeowners moving up Oahu’s housing ladder.

The median price is a point at which half the sales were for more and half were for less.

For single-family homes the median sale price has been over $1 million since July 2021, and the peak for any month was $1,153,500 in May 2022. But high interest rates that emerged in 2023 have put such homes out of reach to more buyers and helped push up less pricey condo sales.

According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.99% for the past week. That is up from about 3% in early 2022 and down from the most recent peak of 7.79% in late October.

Sales in May reported by the Board of Realtors typically reflect purchase offers accepted one to three months earlier that closed in May.

Chad Takesue, chief sales officer for local real estate brokerage firm Locations, said in a company report released Thursday that the market appears steady heading into summer months.

“While affordability is still an issue for many homebuyers, we anticipate stable sales and flat-to-slightly rising prices throughout Summer 2024, due to continued low supply and strong demand,” he said in the company report.

For the first five months of this year, single-family home sale volume is up 7.3%, and the median price is up 2.4%. Condo sale volume is down 1.2% and the median price is up 1.0% this year through May.

Based on the average volume of sales over the past 12 months, the supply of properties for sale at the end of May would be depleted in 2.9 months for single-­family homes and 4.4 months for condos if no new inventory were added, according to the Board of Realtors report.

These figures over the past two years are up from lows of 0.8 for single-family homes reached in December 2021, and 1.5 for condos reached in March 2022. Still, the latest figures are still in a range that tends to favor sellers over buyers.