Posted on: Friday, May 3, 2002

Housing resale market gaining on O'ahu

 • O'ahu home resales for April

By David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer

The housing resale market in O'ahu is still hot — especially condominiums.

More condos sold in April — 466 — than in any month since the mid-1990s, and the median condo price was the highest since early 1998.

And things are not too shabby on the single-family home side of the story, where there was a 8.7 percent jump in the number of homes sold.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors said total sales — condos and single-family homes — in O'ahu through April is up $82 million this year compared to the same point a year ago. That's a 13.4 percent gain, which brings the sales total to $685 million so far this year.

"The positive market factors in real estate continue to be favorable pricing, low interest rates, investment potential and consumer confidence in an improving economy," said Peter Freeman, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

In all, 325 single-family homes sold in April, up from 299 sold during the same month a year ago. Meanwhile, 466 condominiums were sold last month, up 29.1 percent from 361 a year ago. That's the best month for condo sales since August 1990 when 524 were sold.

The high demand for condos also boosted the median price to $145,000, up 7.4 percent from $135,000 a year ago and the highest since $157,000 in February 1998.

The median single-family home price rose to $317,000, a 9.3 percent jump from $290,000 in April 2001.

"The April sales figures were phenomenal," Freeman said.

The recent bull market in real estate is different from the gold rush of the late 1980s when Japanese investors poured money into Hawai'i. The prices and number of units sold were higher then, but today's market is more stable, Freeman said.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors releases resale figures each month based on data collected from its computerized multiple listing service. Details are available on its Web site at www.hicentral.com.