The Oahu housing market has been remarkably stable price-wise in the third quarter and again in October, while the number of sales in the Oahu housing market continued their cooling trend. Our market continues to be strong compared to many sectors on the mainland. 

You can view the full statistical report and all previous reports at The Resource Center.

There were several newspaper articles that came out with the stats as well.  Feel free to read: October Oahu Home Sales, Prices Flat from the Pacific Business News and also, Oahu Median Home Price Edges Up from the Honolulu Advertiser.

“The housing market on Oahu appears to be in a general slowdown, similar to the mainland markets, although we’ve not experienced the price declines,” added Harvey Shapiro, research economist at the Board of REALTORS. “Our market is most likely not suffering from a lack of consumer demand, but rather a shift of buyers to the new properties that are available on Oahu, which are not included in our statistics. This shift, however, is a short term event that will end after the new projects have sold.” While the original sales of new properties are excluded from the Honolulu Board of REALTORS databases, all subsequent resales are transactions that are captured.

Page 4 of 20 of the report shows the number of sales for SFH’s and Condos.  Both were relatively flat in comparison to last month.  We are definitely into the slow season and for buyers this brings about opportunities to negotiate with sellers who need to sell now.  The number of SFH homes sold in October was 265.  The number of condos that sold in October was 423.

Page 6 of 20 shows the median home price for SFH’s and Condos.  The median SFH price was up slightly to $655,000 and appear to be very stable since the beginning of the year.  The median condo price down to $322,500, but also appears to be very stable since the beginning of 2007.  Overall for 2007, SFH’s are up 2.2% from 2006 and Condos are up 4.8% from 2006.

Page 7 of 20 shows the median number of days on market (DOM), or the median number of days a home or condo is on the market before entering into contract.  The median number of DOM for SFH’s declined to 41 days while the DOM for Condos is down to 37 days.  Very good numbers.

Page 14 of 20 shows that the inventory (homes and condos currently available on the market) for SFH’s and Condos increased slightly in both areas.  SFH inventory was at 1,973, and Condo inventory was at 2,444.  SInce demand has cooled off now that we are into the slow season, I am not surprised to see an increase in inventory.

Page 18 of 20 shows the months of inventory remaining. (meaning, if we didn’t bring anymore homes or condos onto the market, how long would it take to sell all of the current inventory.  These numbers jumped a little (due to last months weak sales numbers).  For SFH’s the months of inventory remaining was at 7.7 months.  Up from 5.1 months in September.  For Condos, the months of inventory remaining was at 5.9 months.  Up from 4.9 months in September.

Page 19 of 20 shows the Months of Inventory Remaining breakdown based on type of property, price, and location on the island.  The ones that stand out are the $1.0 million plus SFH’s, and North Shore properties (both Condos and SFH’s). North Shore properties really appear to be struggling right now.  Also, the condo price range of $100,000-$149,000 have 22 months of inventory.  This would be your low-end condo-tel, but mostly your Leasehold Condo with a very unfavorable lease term (probably going to expire within 10 years).

If there are any questions, feel free to contact me: scott@kahalaassociates.com

Here is a bonus report for you: Third Quarter Market Stats For Oahu.