Oahu housing Oahu's resale housing market showed no signs of abating in February as single-family homes and condominiums posted double-digit percentage gains to remain ahead of last year's pace.
sales surge
Single-family homes and condos
post double-digit gains
in resales over last yearBy Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.comCondos continued to be the hottest-selling properties as they jumped 31.6 percent with 433 resales compared with 329 a year earlier, according to figures released today by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. The median price for condo resales surged 21.9 percent to $167,000 from $137,000 a year ago and was up 5.5 percent from $158,300 in January.
Single-family home resales increased 11.2 percent to 269 from 242 a year earlier, while the median resale price rose 11.9 percent to $350,000 from $312,800 a year ago. The median resale price was flat compared with January.
"The annual sales rate for the Oahu housing market is now approaching where it stood at the peak of the Japanese bubble period," said Harvey Shapiro, research economist at the Board of Realtors.
Shapiro noted Oahu had more than 9,600 resales during the past 12-month period that began in February 2002, compared with a high of 10,148 reached in 1990.
"This rate has steadily risen since we hit the bottom of the market in 1997, when the sales rate was only 3,634 housing units," Shapiro added.
Realtor Jackie D'Orazio of Century 21 Realty Specialists Corp. said the condo market continues to remain on fire because condominiums are more affordable than single-family homes.
"It seems to be easier to get into," she said. "You have a lot of young people getting into the housing market, and the interest rates are lower now than they were a year ago. Single-family homes for some people are still expensive. Condos have a lower threshold."
So far this year, there have been 547 home resales, a 10.3 percent increase over 496 for the first two months of 2002. Condo resales have fared even better with 909 combined in January and February, a 39 percent jump over 654 during the first two months of 2002.
For the year, the total dollar volume of resales has surged 38.9 percent to $405.8 million from $292.2 million a year earlier.
"The housing market continues to outperform other segments in the economy," Shapiro said. "This activity should continue as long as mortgage rates remain at historic lows."
D'Orazio said west Oahu -- particularly Makakilo, Kapolei and Ewa -- continue to attract the most attention.
"They're building a lot of townhomes (condos) and single-family properties out there that people can really get into," she said. "Even though the commute is terrible, people are bearing it because that is all they can buy."
She said the metro, Kailua, Kaneohe and Hawaii Kai areas have priced themselves out of some buyers' ranges.
"If you look at the median price in Hawaii Kai, it's $515,000, and that's way above the median (for the rest of Oahu)," she said. "That's not entry level."
