Sales and prices of previously owned homes on Oahu rose for a second consecutive month in February, after roughly two years of weakness in at least one major element of the market.
Gains last month were modest, according to a
Honolulu Board of Realtors report that was released Wednesday and described the market as warming.
“The modest increase in sales volume, median prices and new listings
indicates Oahu’s housing market is warming up,”
Fran Gendrano, president of the trade association and principal broker at KFG Properties Inc., said in the report.
Sale volume for single-family homes edged up 3.5% to 179 in February from 173 in the same month in 2023, while the median price rose 8.9% to $1,075,000 from $987,000 in the comparable period.
For condominiums, sales ticked 2.8% higher to 334 in February from 325 a year earlier, and the median price rose 6.8% to $512,500 from $480,000.
It was the second month in a row where sales and prices for both types of housing increased. The previous time this happened was January 2022.
The trade association report is based on sales that were completed in February, which typically reflect contracts signed one to three months earlier. The median sale price is a point at which half the sales were at a higher price and half at a lower price.
Improvements in mortgage interest rates and inventory of homes for sale have been helping the residential real estate market.
The average rate for a fixed-rate 30-year loan last week was 6.9%, down from about 7.8% in October, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
The Board of Realtors said the number of homes available for sale on Oahu increased 9.5% for single-family houses and 17.9% for condos in February from a year earlier, aided in part by new listings in February that were up 26.6% for single-family homes and 15.1% for condos.
Still, inventory remains at historically low levels and isn’t enough to satisfy demand, according to brokerage firm Locations.
The firm said in a report released Wednesday that if the volume of sales in February continued with no new inventory added to the market then the supply would be depleted in 3.4 months, which is almost half the six-month level considered to be a balanced market that doesn’t favor buyers or
sellers.
Chad Takesue, Locations chief operating officer, said in the company report
that Oahu’s housing
market appears steadily
recovering.
“Buyer demand is evident as we head into the spring and summer, and we expect a modest rise in prices and sales, provided borrowing rates remain relatively stable,” he said.