Oahu home sales
hit recordMortgage rates under 5%
spur single-family home sales
past 400 for June, the most
since at least 1987
Home sales on Oahu continued at a blistering pace last month as many buyers found they could finance mortgages for less than 5 percent.
The number of resales of single-family homes passed the 400 mark for the first month since the Honolulu Board of Realtors began compiling the figures in 1987, hitting 410 in June, a 20.9 percent increase from 339 in June 2002.
Prices kept on rising, too. The single-family median of $388,500 was approaching the previous peak of $392,000 in August 1990, said Harvey Shapiro, research economist at the real estate trade association.
Condominium sales volume and prices also kept rolling at a high pace, with 537 units changing hands in June, a 30 percent increase from 413 in the previous June, but still not as high as the 550-plus volumes recorded in August 2002 and March, April and May of this year.
The median condo resale price of $179,500 last month was up 13.6 percent from the $158,000 June 2002 median, the point at which half the units sold for more and half for less.
While the condo price was the highest for any month since 1996, it was still more than 10 percent below the October 1990 peak of $208,000, Shapiro said.
"With the Federal Reserve policy continuing to lower short-term interest rates, the resulting lower mortgage rates make housing even more affordable," Shapiro said. "The housing sector continues to be one of the strongest in our economy and should remain so, as long as financing costs remain this low."
North American Mortgage Co. was offering a 5.125 percent interest rate on 30-year mortgages at its Hawaii office this morning, with 1 point in loan fees, according to Susan Chikazawa, a loan consultant with the company.
Mortgage rates have risen slightly since the Federal Reserve Bank lowered its institutional lending rate June 25, she said.
The mortgage rate data posted on the Honolulu Board of Realtors' Web site, www.hicentral.com, has not been updated since June 25. It shows that a handful of local mortgage brokers and lenders were offering interest rates as low as 4.75 percent on 30-year mortgages. That was about as low as rates have gone, according to Chikazawa.
Anne Keamo, chairwoman of the 4,000-member Honolulu Board of Realtors, characterized the resale results for June as exceptionally strong. Total resale value through the first six months of 2003 was more than $1.52 billion, a 32.4 percent increase over $1.15 billion in the first six months of last year, she said.
The Honolulu Board of Realtors compiles home-sales information from transactions reported in its computerized Multiple Listing Service. It reports only on sales of previously owned homes, but builders of new homes also have been reporting high sales levels.