Second Quarter Housing Statistics
July 4th, 2008 by Harvey ShapiroThe sales volume and prices for the second quarter, which ended this past Monday, June 30, have been announced by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. As was expected, the number of sales declined, but the median prices are still holding steady.
Sales of 740 single-family homes and 1,121 condominiums were recorded in the April-to-June period. Compared to the same time period last year, the 2008 sales figures show a decline of 28.6% single-family dwellings and a 30.7% decrease for condos. When these second quarter sales numbers are compared to the first quarter, we see increases of 10.0% and 8.1%, respectively.
Pricewise, O`ahu residential properties seem to be holding their value, unlike the drastic negative conditions for the housing market on the Mainland. The second quarter median prices were $636,000 for single-family homes and $330,000 for condominiums. The comparison between last year and this shows a decline for single-family of 4.4% and an increase for condominiums of 0.6%. And, we’re comparing this quarter’s single-family median to the peak which occurred exactly one year ago, at $665,000. Note that the second quarter 2007 price was more than $25,000 higher than in any other quarter, either before or after, due to the larger number of expensive homes that sold at that time. Also note that the $636,000 figure was higher than in the past three quarters and the $330,000 for condominiums was a peak that ties for the record.
The dollar volume of sales for the second quarter was below the $1 billion mark, at $997 million, for the second time in a row. A year ago, the dollar volume was almost $1.5 billion for the same quarter.
Here is a table of the second quarter median prices by neighborhood:
NEIGHBORHOOD SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES CONDO/APT/TWNHS
Metro Oahu $ 710,000 $ 325,000
Diamond Head 900,000 425,300
Hawaii Kai 870,000 557,500
Kailua 785,000 415,000
Kaneohe 690,000 400,000
North Shore 617,500 300,000
Central Oahu 626,800 319,000
Leeward Coast 393,000 170,000
Ewa Plain 469,200 315,000
Makakilo 630,000 302,000
Waipahu 582,500 275,000
Pearl City 637,500 298,500
For the latest information about recent trends in the housing market, check out the information available on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.
July 5th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Do you ever publish the Housing Affordability Index (HAI) for various areas in HI?? Compared to what I’m used to in Spokane, WA these are crazy high prices. Salaries must be big enough to make houses somewhat affordable.
July 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Replying to Jim Grapes:
Salaries are pretty good here. But if you ask the average person, home prices are still unaffordable. The subprime mess that’s hammering the mainland is about to happen here. The median household income here is about $64k annually. Without subprime lending, there’s no way a family can afford a $625k house. Not without some sort of fishy lending. I think medians will fall to $450k in 2-3 years if lending standards remain strict.
We will start to see a lot more forclosures and more defaults as Adjustable Rate Mortgages start to reset here in Hawaii. Higher interest rates and a higher cost of living will crub demand and seller’s will have no choice but to price drop, withdraw from the market, or foreclose. Hawaii is not unique to everywhere else. For the most part, everything that happens in the mainland happens here. It just happens about 1-2 years later.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
For single family homes, 2nd quarter always has more sales in every year. An increase of 10% is nothing unusual.