Posted at 10:45 a.m., Thursday, August 2, 2001

O'ahu condo sales and prices up

Advertiser Staff

Condominium sales on O'ahu are gaining speed and prices have risen to levels not seen since early 1998.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors said 410 existing condominiums were sold in July at a median price of $140,000. That's a 26 percent increase over the number of units sold in July 2000 and the highest median price since the first quarter of 1998, when it stood at $145,000.

"Sales for the month of July were fantastic," Peter Freeman, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statment. "We are seeing the condominium market perform exceptionally well."

Sales of existing single-family homes in July were up 20 percent from a year earlier at 325 houses, while the median price fell 3.5 percent to $304,000. In June, 338 existing homes sold at a median price of $305,000.

Feeman said Windward, O'ahu recorded the strongest gain in condominium sales with a year-to-date increase of 16.7 percent in number of units sold and a median price of $175,000, up from $135,000 a year ago.

June condominium sales for all of O'ahu were 343 units at a median price of $139,000.

Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given number.

Dollar sales volume for the first seven months of 2001 stood at $1.14 billion, or 6.8% higher than the $1.068 billion recorded at this point last year.

Freeman said the median asking price for homes, $365,000, and condominiums, $164,000, in July were the highest they have been since 1997.