Oahu’s housing market came close to achieving a total rebound in 2024 following price and sale volume declines in 2023.
Median sale prices for previously owned single-family homes and condominiums rose modestly in 2024, but sale volume increased only for the single-family home segment of the market, according to a Honolulu Board of Realtors report released Monday.
The median price for single-family houses sold in 2024 rose 4.8% to $1,100,000 from $1,050,000 in 2023, and came close to the peak reached in 2022 at $1,105,000.
For condos the median 2024 sale price edged up 1.3% to a record $515,000 from $508,500 in 2023, and also topped the prior high of $510,000 in 2022.
The new annual record for the condo median sale price was bolstered by condos that sold in December for a median $540,000, which represented a new record for a single month. The prior monthly record was $536,000 in March 2023. For single-family homes the record median for a month is $1,153,500 from May 2022.
As for sale volume, there were 2,793 single-family homes sold in 2024, up 9.1% from 2,560 in 2023. The rise in 2024 followed two consecutive years of large declines: 23.2% in 2022 and 26.3% in 2023.
Condo sales slipped in 2024 for a third consecutive year, dipping 2.5% to 4,459 from 4,573, or a difference of 114 sales. The prior condo sale declines were 11.8% in 2022 and 28% in 2023.
Trevor Benn, Honolulu Board of Realtors president, said in a statement that positive sales momentum for the market in 2024 highlights what he called a resilient market. He also said affordability challenges are still a significant hurdle for many buyers.
“Elevated mortgage rates and rising homeownership costs, including maintenance fees and insurance, continue to shape buyer behavior and influence the dynamics of the market,” said Benn, who also is president and founder of brokerage firm Forward Realty.
Insurance premiums predominantly for condo complexes skyrocketed in 2024 due to worldwide insurance industry losses, and in many cases have caused spikes in maintenance fees for individual condo owners.
Average mortgage rates nationally over the past year for 30-year fixed-rate loans roughly bounced between 6% and 7%, up from about 3% at the beginning of 2022, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
The combination of high interest rates and higher home prices made more homes unaffordable for households with moderate and lower incomes.
In a Dec. 13 report, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization noted that a household needs to earn two times the statewide median income, or roughly $200,000 a year, to afford a median-priced single-family home in Hawaii.
UHERO’s report said before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, a household needed to earn about 10% more than the statewide median income in order to afford a mortgage on a median-priced home in Hawaii.
“High prices and high interest rates together make mortgages extremely unaffordable,” the report said.
Carl Bonham, UHERO director, told a committee of state lawmakers Monday that interest rates should come down a little this year but not as much as UHERO previously forecast.
Bonham also said that relatively high interest rates in 2024 inhibited some homeowners from listing their homes for sale because most of their existing mortgages carry lower rates and make buying a different home less attractive.
The Board of Realtors report noted that the number of homes listed for sale in 2024 rose 13% for single-family houses and 18.9% for condos compared with 2023.
Relatively tight inventory of homes on the market combined with strong buyer demand can contribute to rising median sale prices.
Chad Takesue, chief sales officer for local brokerage firm Locations, said in a report released Monday that buyer demand remains strong, and suggests there will be increased sales activity and a moderate rise in prices this year.
“We anticipate moderate growth this year, even as the familiar challenges of high prices, low inventory for homes and fluctuating mortgage rates stubbornly persist,” he said in the Locations report.
UHERO in its Dec. 13 report forecast that the median sale price for single-family homes will tick up 2.6% this year to about $1,130,000, followed by a 1.9% rise in 2026 to about $1,150,000 and then another 2.2% to about $1,180,000 in 2027.
Condo median prices are forecast by UHERO to rise by a little under 1% in each of the next three years.
ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL RESALES
The number of Oahu homes sold in 2024 with the
median price and percentage change from the same
period in 2023:
HOMES
SALES MEDIAN PRICE
2024 … … … … … … … … 2,793 $1,100,000
2023 … … … … … … … … 2,560 $1,050,000
Change … … … … … … … +9.1% +4.8%
CONDOS
SALES MEDIAN PRICE
2024 … … … … … … … … 4,459 $515,000
2023… … … … … … … … 4,573 $508,500
Change … … … … … … … -2.5% +1.3%
HOME SALES
The number of homes sold on Oahu in December with
the median price and percentage change from the same
month in 2023:
HOMES
SALES
Dec. 2024 … … . . 228
Dec. 2023 … … . . 182
Change … … . +25.3%
MEDIAN PRICE
Dec. 2024 . . $1,054,500
Dec. 2023 … . $996,500
Change … … . . +5.8%
CONDOS
SALES
Dec. 2024 … … . . 323
Dec. 2023 … … . . 272
Change … … . +18.8%
MEDIAN PRICE
Dec. 2024 … $540,000
Dec. 2023 … $510,100
Change … … . . +5.9%
Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors
