It's a hot summer for sales of homes

Advertiser Staff

The O'ahu real estate market remained hot last month, although the number of units sold and the prices they fetched did not match the sizzling levels reached in May.

In May, the median price for an existing single-family home climbed to a six-year high of $360,000. In June, that price fell to $330,000, according to figures released yesterday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. June saw the sale of 339 homes, down from 367 in May.

The story for the condominium market was a bit different. The median condo price rose to $158,000, up 6.8 percent from $145,000 in May. That's the highest median price for condos since October 1997. The number of condos sold fell back to 413 in June from 468 in May.

Guy Tamashiro, chairman of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, looked at prices and the number of units sold over the first half of the year and concluded that the market is still booming.

"Price trends are clearly rising for both single-family homes and condominiums," Tamashiro said.

The median home price through the first six months was $320,000, up 10.5 percent from the first six months of 2001. Condo prices were up 7.5 percent at $144,000 in the first half.

In the first half of the year, the number of homes sold jumped 11.3 percent from the same period last year to 1,832 houses. Condo unit sales were up 15.7 percent at 2,383.

Experts say the local real estate boom — which has been propelled by low interest rates and people wanting to move money into something safer than stocks — will likely continue at least through the summer because the Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates low.