First, the technical explanation.  Median is to a mathematical term describing a midpoint. When applied to prices, the median is the price at which there are an equal number of prices above and below. Using median prices for reporting sales on O`ahu eliminates the effect of very high-priced homes by making expensive sales just another point above the median.

Now let’s talk logic.  The median price accurately portrays what’s being paid for real estate, but doesn’t tell you anything about individual properties. As an extreme example, let’s assume every O`ahu property sold in a month was on the Leeward coast, where values are lower.  If the next month, sales shifted to the east side, the median price would be higher, even with no change in individual property values, since these properties are more expensive. The opposite would also be true, that is, more west sales and fewer east sales lower the O`ahu median.

The conclusion is that the median price is of limited use for estimating the value of an individual property, so what good is it?  It is actually a measuring stick of the pocketbook of buyers, and by that, I mean, it tells you what buyers are spending. It lets you know what prices are being paid, but nothing about what is being purchased. If all properties were exactly the same, the median would be a true measure of value but, since this isn’t the case, other factors like size, location, view, property features, etc., also come into play.

Can the median price be increasing when valuations are decreasing? YES. Can values be increasing (or decreasing) and the median price is staying the same? YES.

So what’s happening to MY property?  The answer is found by looking at comparables, not overall medians. A comparable is any property similar to yours that, with adjustments, can be used to determine the value of your property. An example would be the sale of a duplicate of your house, in the same location, but it has an extra bathroom.  A proper estimate of the value of your property would be this known sale price, but deducting the estimated value of the extra bathroom.

This process is exactly what a professional REALTOR® or, more formally, an appraiser uses to estimate a value for a particular property and they do not use published median prices.

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.

HBR reported that in June, there were sales of 232 single-family homes and 355 condominiums. These sales were declines from a year ago of 31.4% and 35.1% for single-family homes and condominiums. For the first six months of this year, there have been 1,413 and 2,158 residential sales, respectively, compared to 1,902 and 2,978 sales for the same time in 2007. The year-to-date 2008 figures are decreases in the number of sales of 25.7% and 27.5%, respectively.

Median prices remain strong, with single-family homes going for $625,000 and $327,500 for condominiums. These prices both show decreases from last year, but only by 8.8% and 1.9%, respectively, and don’t forget that last June the median price for a single-family home hit it’s all-time peak of $685,000.

For the entire first half of this year, the median prices have been $629,000 and $330,000, respectively. The median price of a single-family home has decreased by 2.5%, but the condominium price has increased sice the same time period a year ago by 1.5%.

Dollar volume has substantially decreased from last year to this. In the first half of 2007, the housing market generated $2.64 billion in residential sales, but this has shrunk by 25.4% to $1.97 billion this year.

Complete information will appear in the newspaper tomorrow morning and will be available on the HBR website.

The Fed sees inflationary risks for the economy and will probably start increasing rates as soon as their next meeting in August.

This means that there should be no change in mortgage rates in the near term.

It’s up to REALTORS® to help decide who will be our top volunteer for the year. If you know someone who is a strong candidate for REALTOR® of the Year, please complete and submit a candidate application form available on the HAR homepage.

Nominations must be received in the HAR office no later than August 1. Fax forms to the HAR office at (808) 737-4977. For questions, please email dmotohiro@hawaiirealtors.com.

These scams involve rentals that look attractive but are placed by someone other than the property owner. Another form of these scams involve bogus checks sent to landlords with a cashback request. Please be aware that if a deal seems to good to be true…

You can read the complete press release by going to the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com and clicking on the “Alert on Rental Scams” link on the home page.

Condo sales in this area dropped almost in half, from 2006 to 2007, and 2008 has brought an even further reduction. In 2007, there were 118 sales reported through the Multiple Listing Service computer, a 44.9% decline from the 214 condominium units sold during 2006. In the first five months of this year, only 32 sales have taken place, compared to 67 in the same time period last year.

The median price paid for a condominium in Makaha-Nanakuli has been dropping. In 2007, the median price paid was $176,500 and this was a decrease of $3,500 from the 2006 price. This year, for January to May period, the median price has declined further,to $166,300.

The speed of sales, as measured by the Days on Market (DOM) indicator which is defined as the number of days a listing is on the market before an agreement for purchase is signed, was 51 days in 2007. This was about a week slower than for O`ahu overall, and was two days slower than in 2006. For the first five months of this year, the DOM for this area has been 58 days.

Not surprisingly, the inventory in this area, as in the rest of the island, has been rising. In May, there were 158 condominiums being actively marketed for sale, while a year earlier, there were 120. The median list of price of this inventory is $179,000, which is down 11.6% from last year’s asking price of $202,500.

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.

As is true for most of O`ahu, sales in 2007 were lower than in 2006. In 2007, sales of 133 condominiums were reported in this neighborhood, a 14.2% decrease from the prior year’s sales of 155 units. For the first five months of 2008, the sales decline has been less pronounced in this area than for the rest of the island, with 47 sales this year versus 58 sales for the same time period in 2007. This is a 19.0% drop compared to the overall O`ahu loss of condo sales of 25.8%.

The median price paid for a condominium during 2007 in the Kapahulu-Kuliouou neighborhood was $485,000. This compares with the 2006 median price of $475,000, an increase of 2.1%. This year, the median price for the January to May period was $465,000, a decrease of 3.2% over last year’s $480,500 in the same time period. The highest price paid for a condominium in this area in 2007 was $4,500,00, while the high for this year, through May, has been $4,100,000.

The Days on Market indicator, which relates the median sales speed for sold properties, was 43 days in 2007, an almost three week betterment from the 63 days posted during 2006. Contrary to the islandwide sales slowdown, the speed of sales in this area made a slight improvement, to 42 days, during the first five months of this year.

The inventory of condominiums available for sale during May totaled 116 units, including 47 leasehold units. The median list price of the 69 fee simple units on the market is $729,000, compared to $399,000 for the leasehold dwellings.

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.

Sales of homes in this area were stronger in 2007 than in the year earlier. During 2007, a total of 200 dwellings were reported changing hands, compared to 183 in 2006, for a 9.3% increase. There has been a substantial decline in 2008, with 40.2% fewer properties being sold in the first five months, compared to the same time period in 2007.

The median price paid for a single-family residential property in Moanalua-Kalihi was $616,000 during 2007, which was a slight $2,000 decline from the $618,000 paid in the year earlier. Prices have increased quite a bit this year, as the median price has advanced to $660,000 in the January to May period and this was a 1.5% increase from the same time in 2007. The highest price paid for a single-family home in 2007 was $2,700,000, while this year, the maximum price paid in the first five months has been $1,290,000.

The sales speed in this neighborhood, as measured by the Days on Market indicator, was 33 days, one of the fastest on O`ahu in 2007, and was almost three weeks faster thsn in 2006. This year, with the islandwide slowdown, the speed has slipped to 46 days.

The inventory of homes on the market for sale has outpaced the rest of the island. In May 2007, there were 103 available homes, a 37.3% increase from the same time one year ago. The median list price, however, is higher now than it was last year, at $739,000 compared to last year’s $699,900.

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.

Sales of condominiums in the Makakilo neighborhood declined in 2007 from 2006 levels. During 2007, there were 135 condos reported sold versus 191 in the year earlier. This year, sales have really pulled back, with 51.4% fewer homes sold in the first five months of 2008, double the O`ahu total decline of 25.8%.

The median price paid for a condominium has dipped this year, after holding steady last year. The median price was $319,000 for all of 2007, a slight $1,000 reduction from 2006. This year, the year-to-date median price has dropped 6.3%, to $297,000, and this compares to an increase of 2.5% for the entire island. The most costly condo unit in Makakilo sold for $560,000 in 2007, while in the January through May period of this year, the highest price paid was $525,000.

The time that a condo unit is on the market, as measured by the Days on Market indicator, was two days less than for overall O`ahu, at 40 days versus 42. This year, sales have slowed somewhat, down to 51 days before a sales contract is signed.

The inventory of condominium units available for sale has grown at the same pace as the rest of the island. In May, there were 62 available units, a 21.6% increase from last May, when the count was 51 condos. Asking prices are down though, from $369,000 during May 2007, to $299,700 this May.

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.