Each election year, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® (HBR) produces a “Voter’s Guide” in which HBR asks candidates for Honolulu City and County races key questions about issues important to the real estate industry. The issues include eminent domain, fixed rail, housing affordability, transit oriented development and a balanced budget. Candidates are allowed up to 100 words to answer each question.

This year elections will be held for Honolulu Mayor and City Council Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The 2008 HBR Voter’s Guide is intended to help you get to know your candidates for county offices.

A PDF version of the 2008 HBR Voter’s Guide can be downloaded at the Board’s website HiCentral.com under the subheading “City and County of Honolulu” - feel free to share this guide with your family and friends! If you would like a hard copy of the guide, please contact HBR Customer Service at 732-3000 to arrange a pick-up time at the HBR Office in Kaimuki.

As a reminder, the Primary Election is on September 20, 2008 and the General Election is on November 4, 2008.

Hawai`i Kai is the southeastern-most neighborhood on O’ahu and includes a significant mixture of high-rises and townhouses within the condominium category.  And, this is the most expensive condominium area of the island. For research purposes, this neighborhood is defined geographically by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® as Tax Map Key, Zone 3, Section 9.

Sales have fallen off in the Hawai`i Kai neighborhood, but at a slightly lower rate than for the island.  In the first eight months this year, there have been 137 condominium sales recorded, compared to 179 in the same time period last year, a decrease of 23.5%. The O`ahu condo sales loss over the comparable time span is 27.0%. In August 2008, sales totaled 17, as opposed to last August sales of 20 units.

The median price paid for condominiums in Hawaii Kai has advanced a tiny bit since last year.  The current median price is $545,000, which is 0.9% ahead of the $540,000 median posted last year. This August, the median price was $575,000, a 9.5% increase over the August 2007 median of $525,000.

The inventory of available condo units has substantially grown in the past year.  Last year, there were 91 dwellings on the market in August, while this year the number has increased to 125, a jump of 54.3%.  The medianlist price has declined from $672,500 during August of last year, down to the current $585,000.

For further information about this neighborhood, or any other area on O`ahu, check first on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website HiCentral.com or you can contact any REALTOR® on the island.

The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® today released resale figures for the month of August.

Number of Single-Family Home Resales - 255
Median Price for Single-Family Homes - $635,000

Number of Condominium Resales - 345
Median Price for Condominiums - $328,000

During August, sales of 255 single-family homes and 345 condominiums were reported through the Board’s MLS, decreases of 33.1 percent for single family homes and 30.3 percent for condominiums, compared to the same month last year. This brings total single-family home sales on Oahu to 1,919 for the first eight months of 2008, a decrease of 26.8 percent over the same time period one year ago. Total condominium sales through August were 2,868, a 27.0 percent decrease from last year. The median prices paid for Oahu properties in the first eight months of 2008 were $629,000 and $330,000, respectively, a decrease of 2.8 percent for single-family homes from the same time period in 2007 and an increase of 1.5 percent for condominiums. The total dollar sales volume generated in the housing market for the first eight months of this year was $2.67 billion, a decrease of 25.2 percent, or $903 million, compared to the $3.58 billion produced one year ago.

“The number of residential sales during August shows that the Oahu housing market continues to cool, but the median prices paid for island properties are being maintained,” said Dana Chandler, President of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “Market time hovers in the rather speedy 40-day range, demonstrating that Oahu’s market continues to provide a stable environment for buyers and sellers.”

“Sales are not the only measure showing a contraction, but the number of new listings for properties coming onto the market is also shrinking,” added Harvey Shapiro, Research Economist at the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “This August, 514 single-family homes and 622 condominiums were added to the inventory, significant declines from the counts of 622 and 914, respectively, from August 2007. These conditions limit the inventory expansion, which probably accounts for prices holding steady at current levels.”

For information about how your specific neighborhood is performing, check out the local newspapers and the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website HiCentral.com or contact any REALTOR® in your area.

The Makaha-Nanakuli neighborhood is in the western-most area of O’ahu, in the Leeward Coast area shown on the map, and single-family homes here are the most affordable dwellings on the island.  For research purposes, this neighborhood is defined by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®  as Tax Map Key, Zone 8, in its entirety.

On a year-to-date basis, through July, single-family home sales have dropped very little.  In the 2007 period, there were 122 reported sales, while this year there were 112, a decline of just 10 properties or 8.2%. This July, however, sales have declined to only 8, compared to 20 in the month of July last year.

Even with the decline in sales, median prices have risen in this neighborhood.  For the period January through July, the median price paid for a single-family home has been $389,500 which is a 2.9% increase over the 2007 same time period price of $378,500. With the small number of sales this July, the price has fallen $5,000, or 1.3%, to $392,500, compared to last July’s median price of $397,500.

The Makaha-Nanakuli neighborhood had a contraction of available inventory at a time when most other areas on O`ahu were expanding. The overall inventory expansion on O`ahu was 14.8%, but this area lost 16.0% of it’s listings. A year ago, availability here was limited to 200 single-family residences, but this July counts have shrunk to 168 properties. Median asking prices have relaxed, declining from $454,700 last year to the current $392,500, which is exactly the same as the median price paid in July.

For further information about how your specific neighborhood fared, check out the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website HiCentral.com or contact any REALTOR® in your area.

Sales in this well-established area have been strong and the median sales prices are still advancing.  For research purposes, the Downtown-Nuuanu neighborhood is defined by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® as Tax Map Key, Zone 2, Sections 1 and 2.

There was only a 5.9% decline in sales for this neighborhood, quite low compared to the overall island figure of a 26.6% decrease. During the first seven months of 2008, 206 sales were consummated, compared to 219 at the same time in 2007. In July, there were sales of 29 units which compares to 22 in the same month last year, for a 31.8% gain.

The median sales prices has been very strong in this area, and increasing. In the January-July period, the median sales price was $430,600. This was a 13.3% increase from the median price registered in the 2007 month, $380,000. For the month of July, the 2008 median was $491,000, a whopping 31.8% jump from the median price paid last July of $370,000.

The number of condo units available on the market has expanded significantly, most likely due to the new projects that have been built. This July, there were 222 dwellings on the market which compared to just 127 last year at a similar time, a sizable increase of 74.8%. Asking prices, however, have also climbed. The median list price of a unit in this neighborhood is currently $575,000, a 52.9% increase in the past year.

For further information about how your specific neighborhood performed, check out the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.