New-home sales on O'ahu rose in March

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bombs falling on Baghdad did little to unsettle buyers of new homes on O'ahu as developers signed 11.6 percent more sales contracts in March compared with the same month last year.

The strong sales, which also occurred despite shrinking inventory, helped make first-quarter business for O'ahu home builders the best in seven years, according to a report by market researcher Ricky Cassiday for Hawaii HomeLoans.

"I think people decided the war (which began March 21) wasn't going to be a big thing relative to interest rates and housing prices," Cassiday said. "Jobs and income are good here, and very good relative to the rest of the country."

Sales of new homes nationwide increased 7.3 percent in March, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, as interest rates for 30-year mortgages fell in mid-March to their lowest in at least 30 years.

The attractive rates allowed many renters to buy homes, and also let buyers afford more house for their money. The average price for a new O'ahu home in March was $387,789, up from $340,369 in March 2002.

For the first quarter there were 593 sales contracts signed, a 38 percent rise from 431 sales during the first three months of 2002.

The first-quarter average price was $402,141, up from $341,270 in the year-ago quarter. New home inventory in the first quarter narrowed about 19 percent to 899 units.

The number of completed sales, which typically trails contracts by two to three months, was up 31 percent for the first quarter, to 435 from 331, and was up 34 percent in March to 157 from 117.

Homebuilder Stanford Carr, president of Stanford Carr Development, said the strong sales have continued since March, as business in April and May has been brisk. "The last 30 days have been just through the roof," he said.

Carr said he had 21 units at his Peninsula project in Hawai'i Kai sell one week after releasing 27 units for sale last month.

For Carr, the pickup followed slow business in February, with five sales, and March, with seven sales — a slowdown he said was a result of building approval delays that limited sales.

"We were supply constrained," he said. "I think there's a confidence level for a bright future in Hawai'i for at least the next two years."

The best-selling single-family projects for the first quarter were Castle & Cooke's Royal Kunia Gallery with 54 sales, and the Kapolei project Tiburon by Gentry Homes with 41 sales.

Top-selling multifamily projects were Nanea Kai, a Hawai'i Kai project by Schuler Homes, and The Coconut Plantation, a Ko Olina project by Brookfield Homes, with 25 sales each.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.