Isle real estate steady in May
Prices in Hawaii's real estate market are still holding, according to
First American CoreLogic, which released its May home price index yesterday.
While 36 states experienced price declines in the First American CoreLogic index, prices in Honolulu rose by 2.61 percent, according to the company. The company, which provides residential mortgage data and analytics for the mortgage industry and Wall Street, touts the index as a measure of a real estate market's health.
Out of the 34 core-based statistical areas measured by the company, only Honolulu, Salt Lake City and four areas in Texas -- Dallas-Plano-Irving, San Antonio, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown and Austin-Round Rock -- posted increases.
While home prices nationally have declined 10.8 percent over the last 10 months and California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida posted annualized depreciation of 18 percent or more, there are already signs of stabilization, said Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic.
" In fact, the 12-month depreciation rate has been hovering around the 10 to 11 percent range for the last four months," Fleming said. "We are cautiously optimistic that stabilization in the decline rate is the first indicator that house price declines may not be getting any worse nationally."