A report released Tuesday provided a mixed picture of Oahu’s housing market, revealing a drop in sales volumes and prices in May but a sharp increase in contracts signed for future sales.

The median price of a previously owned single-family home sold on Oahu fell to $595,000 in May from $600,000 the same month a year earlier, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported Tuesday. The number of homes sold fell to 243 in May, down 15 percent from 287 a year earlier.

The story was similar in the condominium market, with the median price in May falling to $290,000 from $305,000 the previous year. The number of condo sales fell to 330, a 10 percent drop from 368 in May 2010.

At the same time, the number of "pending sales" for both single-family homes and condos posted their biggest increases in more than a year, according to the Board of Realtors. A pending sale is one in which a contract has been accepted by the seller.

There were 292 pending sales for single-family homes, an increase of 22 percent from May 2010. Pending sales for condos shot up to 420 in May, a 44 percent increase over a year earlier.

"Pending sales are an important piece of the picture to see where we are headed," said Suzanne Yen, a Realtor Associate at East Oahu Realty. "It’s a great indicator of what the coming months will look like."

Yen said the Oahu market appears to be continuing its slow recovery with median prices and sales volumes hovering around the same levels over the past six months.

"I would call it more of a stable market than one that is going up at a real pace. There are sellers out there that need to sell, and there are qualified buyers. Sellers that are pricing right for today’s market are getting multiple offers," she said.

The median sales price for a single-family home on Oahu fell 3 percent in 2008 and 8 percent in 2009 before gaining 3 percent in 2010 to average $592,000 for the year. The University of Hawaii Research Organization is forecasting an Oahu median home price of $607,700 in 2011.

The Board of Realtors report also showed that new listings for single-family homes rose 6 percent in May after falling for five consecutive months.

In addition, the inventory of unsold homes fell to 1,479 in May from 1,658 a year earlier. At the current rate of sales, it would take six months to liquidate the inventory of unsold homes, down from 6.5 months a year earlier, according to the report.

Buyers received an average of 95.6 percent of their asking price in May, down from 96.3 percent in May 2010, the report said.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Oahu single-family home and condominium resales data for May by neighborhood with the percentage change from last year:

Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors