Oahu’s housing market reached a new height in July, setting a price record for condominiums.

The record $345,500 median price for condos was reported by the Hono­lulu Board of Realtors, which also said sales volume and median prices for single-family houses rose in July.

Home prices on Oahu are on pace to climb for a second straight year after four years of modestly negative or weak positive performance.

"It feels just like 2003," said Hawaii Homes International agent Tony Kawa­gu­chi, referring to the early stage of the last run-up in prices.

A seller of a single-family house in East Oahu whom Kawa­gu­chi is representing received five offers — all for more than the asking price, the broker said. Kawa­gu­chi is also representing a buyer interested in a townhouse that he expects will compete with 10 other bidders.

"It’s crazy," he said. "There’s lots of competition."

The condo market, which has expanded in recent years with several new luxury towers, has been particularly strong and is on pace to exceed the annual median price record set in 2007 at the height of the last housing boom.

The median condo sale price peaked in 2007 at $325,000, then drifted down to $300,000 two years ago before rising to $317,500 last year. This year through July the median is at $330,000 after last month’s sales and strong results in February and March when the median reached $340,000.

July’s $345,500 median represented an 8 percent gain over $320,000 in the same month last year.

The number of condo sales surged 17 percent to 426 from 364 in the same period.

In Oahu’s single-family house market, sales rose 9.4 percent to 290 last month from 265 a year earlier.

The median home price edged up 2 percent to $647,500 last month from $635,000 a year earlier. The peak for any month was $685,000 in June 2007 — a mark neared two months ago when the median reached $677,250.

This year through July the median single-family house price is up just 1.1 percent to $627,000. But some observers, including the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, predict that the full-year record set in 2007 at $643,500 will be broken this year.

UHERO forecast in May that Oahu’s median home sale price will reach $651,100 this year. UHERO’s condo median price forecast for this year is $337,700.

Some of the price pressure has been created from a relatively low number of homes available for sale.

The total number of single-family houses on the market in July was 1,105, down from 1,219 a year earlier and 1,511 two years ago. Still, the July inventory was up from a low earlier this year of 939 homes in February as more people put their property on the market.

Condo numbers stood at 1,554 units in July, down from 1,724 a year earlier and 1,866 two years ago. Inventory earlier this year was as low as 1,316 in February.

In addition to low inventory, relatively low interest rates and a local economy improving with job growth have also helped fuel housing market conditions where increased demand from buyers is pushing up prices.

Relatively little new home construction is another factor, according to local economists, though developers in recent months have begun to push out plans for new condo towers in Hono­lulu that will add to inventory. But those projects typically take two years to build.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors data report sales of previously owned homes, so sales of new homes to an initial buyer are excluded.