O'ahu condos sell briskly

Advertiser Staff

O'ahu homes continued to sell rapidly in September, with condominiums going the fastest in a decade.

A total of 331 single-family homes sold last month at a median price of $360,000, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported yesterday. The figure was up 27 percent from a year ago, but down slightly from the 342 homes sold in August.

"The O'ahu housing market continues to perform well," said Guy Tamashiro, chairman of the Realtor board.

In the condo market, 455 units sold, up 36 percent from a year ago but down from 557 units sold in August. The median price for a condo was $158,500, up from $150,000 in August.

The speed at which condos sold — from listing to contract — fell to 26 days.

"The last time condominium sales posted a sales speed this rapid was in 1990, at the end of the Japanese bubble," said Harvey Shapiro, board research economist.

Shapiro said the number of condo listings was up sharply. In September, 730 condos were listed, compared with 459 a year before.

Record-low interest rates and a declining stock market — which makes real estate a more attractive investment — have been driving home sales.

Sales volume for the first nine months was $1.862 billion, or 23 percent above last year, the Realtor board said.