The Kailua-Waimanalo neighborhood is a physically beautiful area on the windward side of O`ahu consisting of many oceanfront locations. This neighborhood is geographically defined by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® as Tax Map Key Zone 4, Sections 1 through 3 and part of 4.
Condominium sales in this neighborhood outpaced the rest of the island during 2007. There was a 10.6% drop in sales from 2006, compared to an islandwide decline of 13.8%. In the first quarter of 2008, however, there was a drop in sales of 24.0%, right around the O`ahu average.
Median prices, on the other hand, have been very solid. The median price paid for a condominium in 2007 was $422,500, a 0.6% upward change from the 2006 price of $420,000. In the first quarter of this year, prices fell a bit, going from $415,000 last year to this quarter’s median of $394,300. During 2007, the highest amount paid for a condo in this area was $1,275,000.
The market time for a condominium property, from listing date to the date of a sales agreement, was 38 days during 2007, more than two weeks slower than in 2006. In the first three months this year, however, this indicator has sped up again to 22 days.
The inventory of available condominiums in Kailua-Waimanalo was just 31 units during the first quarter. This is a 6.9% increase from the same time period last year when there were 29 dwellings for sale. The median asked price was $522,300 this quarter which was a 5.9% advance from the $493,200 list price a year ago.
For further information about recent activity in your specific neighborhood, check out the information available on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.
Since this press release wasn’t published in the local newspapers, I’m providing it here. Please excuse that the columns are misaligned, but the blog text editor is rather limited.
THE HONOLULU BOARD OF REALTORS® ANNOUNCES
FIRST QUARTER RESIDENTIAL RESALES STATISTICS
HONOLULU-The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® released resale figures for the first quarter of 2008. According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics are:
1st Quarter 2008 1,037 $ 330,000
4th Quarter 2007 $ 320,000 up 3.1%
1st Quarter 2007 1,361 dn 23.8% $ 320,000 up 3.1%
*Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given price.
During the first quarter, the number of sales declined from last year, but the median prices paid for a single family home was exactly the same as one year ago and the condominium price increased by 3.1%. The total dollar volume of sales was $974.1 million in the first quarter, a decrease of $213.1 million, or 18.0%, from the $1.187.2 million in sales achieved in the same quarter last year.
The following table provides the quarterly median prices for the Oahu neighborhood groups.
NEIGHBORHOOD SINGLE FAMILY CONDOMINIUM/
GROUP HOMES APT/TOWNHOUSE
Metro Oahu $ 755,000 $ 325,000
Diamond Head 888,000 568,500
Hawaii Kai 865,300 539,000
Kailua 799,500 394,300
Kaneohe 694,500 370,000
North Shore 897,500 420,000
Central Oahu 571,000 310,000
Leeward Coast 389,000 162,500
Ewa Plain 475,000 268,000
Makakilo 567,500 292,500
Waipahu 562,500 282,000
Pearl City 704,500 323,000
For further information about recent activity in your specific neighborhood, check out the information available on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.
Tomorrow, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® (HBR) will release the statistics for the first quarter of 2008, including median prices for the neighborhood groups.
The figures will support the fact that, while sales continue to drop, the prices paid for O`ahu properties are little changed. In fact, the first quarter median price for single family homes is unchanged form the 2007 first quarter and the condominium median actually advanced 3.1%.
These data counter the nationwide trend of falling prices, specially in some parts of California where most of our visitors are from. There is also apparent weakness in other parts of the US, mainly in the midwest and southeast.
What does this tell us about our housing? First and foremost is the economic rule of supply and demand. In Hawaii, particularly the island of O`ahu, we have limited availability of land and other resources for building residences. The available inventory of resale single family homes and condominiums is now about 4,500 dwellings.
Established neighborhoods, such as those on the east side of the island (Hawaii Ka`i, Aina Haina, Kahala, etc.), are basically full. The only feasible area for development is on the west side and this has been occurring for a few years.
Let’s talk about demand. The sales decline that is now happening, I believe, is mostly related to a downturn in the normal business cycle and not a signal of a catastrophic market event. In the mid-90’s, we experienced the last cycle trough, when resales on O`ahu dropped to below 4,000 units. The market rose from this point and peaked in the third quarter of 2005 when the resale rate stood at 13,000 units which was a record. We’re now down to at about an 8,600 sales rate. How low will we go, nobody knows, although I’ve predicted that this year we’ll end up at around 8,000 units.
So, look for the first quarter release tomorrow and frequently check the HBR website for the latest market information. REALTORS®, you’ll receive the next issue of Oahu Housing Trends in a few weeks, even sooner online, that you can review and share with your clients.
Homes in the Hawai`i Kai are are generally upscale and relatively new compared with other parts of the island. This neighborhood is located in the southeastern-most tip of O`ahu and, for research purposes, is geographically defined by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® as Tax Map Key , Zone 3, Section 9.
Sales of single family homes have experienced a substantial reduction in demand, but only a minimal decrease in the median price. In 2007, 229 dwellings changed hands, down 15.5% from the 271 sold a year earlier. For the first 3 months of this year, 46 sales were recorded in Hawai`i Kai compared to last year’s 49, a further decrease of 6.1%.
The median price paid for a home in Hawai`i Kai last year was $875,000, which was only a slight $5,000 decline from the $880,000 paid in 2006. Comparing the prices for the first 3 months of the year, there was a 3.3% increase from last year to this. The highest price paid for a residential property in this neighborhood in 2007 was $15,900,000, while in the first 3 month of 2008, the high price was $6,400,000.
The market time for a property, from listing date to the date of a sales agreement, was 53 days during 2007, almost one more week than it took to sell a house in 2006.
For further information about recent activity in your specific neighborhood, check out the information available on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.
The March numbers are in! Sales were down, as expected, but prices continue to trade within a narrow range.
Sales for March were 282 single family homes and 392 condominiums. These numbers compare to last year at the same time of 330 and 541 for decline in sales of 14.5% and 27.5%, respectively. Don’t forget, these data are for resales only and don’t include new housing or condo projects.
The median price paid for a single family home in March bounced up from February, but, at $628,000, was below the March 2007 figure of $643,500. Last month, the price had dropped to $599,000, an amount not seen since July 2005.
Condominium prices continued to rise with a median of $329,300 in March which was up 2.6% from the $321,000 price a year ago. This price was down, however, from February’s median of $335,000 which was a record.
Sales speeds were faster, with the single family home speed dropping more than 2 weeks, to 47 days. Even though the condo market time shaved only 1 day, it dropped to just 39 days. This speed is NOT indicative of a market slump.
A preliminary look at the first quarter numbers show the same pattern - a slowdown in sales but prices being maintained. More about the first quarter statistics in a future blog.
