Oahu’s housing market experienced relatively small and mostly negative changes in sales and prices of previously owned homes last month.

November marked the second straight month with single-digit decreases in year-over-year sale volume, according to data released Wednesday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Meanwhile, the median sale price decreased a bit for single-family houses and rose a little for condominiums.

The median price for single-family homes sold in November slipped 4.3% to $1,100,055 from $1,149,500 in the same month a year earlier. The condo median sale price rose 7.5% to $516,179 from $480,000 in the same comparable period.

There were 180 single-­family home sales in November, down 6.3% from 192 sales in the same month last year.

Condo sale volume declined 8.8% to 310 transactions last month from 340 a year earlier.

“Market activity remains sluggish despite mortgage rates dipping slightly from the peak we saw last month,” Fran Villarmia-­Kahawai, president of the trade association representing real estate agents on Oahu, said in the report.

According to national mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.22% last week, after declining from a recent peak of 7.79% at the end of October. Over the prior 52 weeks, the average has been as low as 6.09%, and that compares with average rates right around 3% two years ago.

Higher interest rates reduce how much buyers can pay in most cases, and thus can put downward pressure on median sale prices while also reducing sale volume.

Sales in the Board of Realtors report represent completed deals typically agreed to one to three months prior, so effects on sales and prices from interest rate changes can lag.

Sale volume in Oahu’s housing market has been decreasing since January 2022 for single-family homes, and since May 2022 for condos amid rising mortgage rates, bouts of high inflation and relatively low inventory.

In each of the first nine months of this year, single-family home sale volume was experiencing drops between 16% and 54% from the corresponding months last year, while the same declines in the condo market ranged from 17% to 50%.

For the first 11 months of this year, the median sale price for Oahu single-family homes is down 4.5% at $1,060,000 while the condo price is down 0.3% at $508,500.

The median price is a point at which half the sales were for more and half for less.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors noted in its report that fewer buyers paid over an original asking price for homes in November compared with purchases a year earlier, or 21% compared with 31%. In the condo market, about 19% of sales closed for more than the original asking price last month, which was about the same as a year earlier.

Villarmia-Kahawai said that it’s essential for sellers to reassess pricing expectations in a cooling market.

Locations, a local residential real estate brokerage firm, said in a Tuesday report that it anticipates modestly higher inventory, stronger sales activity and rising prices in Oahu’s housing market next year based on expected lower mortgage rates.

“Mortgage rates have improved over the past several weeks, and we expect to see rates drop below 7% in 2024, hopefully offering prospective buyers some much-needed relief,” Chad Takesue, chief operating officer of Locations, said in the company’s report.

HOME SALES

The number of homes sold in November with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year.

HOUSES

SALES MEDIAN PRICE

November 2023 180 $1,100,055

November 2022 192 $1,149,500

Change -6.3% -4.3%

CONDOS

SALES MEDIAN PRICE

November 2023 310 $516,179

November 2022 340 $480,000

Change -8.8% 7.5%

Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors