Hawaii Real Estate Daily

Thousands of Oahu real estate agents feel the impact of our slowing economy as deeply or more deeply than anyone.

The good news is Hawaii’s real estate, depending on your neighborhood is not in the kind of trouble seen in many mainland markets.

The bad news, more than 70% of Oahu real estate agents have sold two homes or fewer this year. That’s a direct and big impact on them and their families.

Oahu home and condo prices are down only 3% from last year, which means Hawaii is doing a whole lot better than other parts of the country.

But sales dropped almost a third, which means you have a whole lot of real estate agents who can’t generate enough income to get by.

The people who live in this Kaimuki house are ready for Halloween.

They’re also ready to move.

The Matsudas who live next door say, they’ve seen a real slowdown in the housing market.

“It’s been going downhill gradually,” said Karen Matsuda.  “And from last year, it’s definitely been down.”

Along a stretch of Pahoa Avenue, only two other homes for sale.

Quite a difference from a few years ago, when properties were bought and sold on a regular basis.

“In the real estate market, that has a definite effect on real estate agents because they’re looking at the number of transactions they’re putting into escrow,” said Real Estate Executive Scott Higashi.

In the past year, 40% of Oahu real estate agents made zero transactions, which means no home sales.

That’s about 2,000 agents.

The reason is because homeowners like the Matsudas are staying put, and not taking on additional risk.

“I wouldn’t take a chance on picking up another house, taking a mortgage out on anything at this point right now,” said Matsuda.

But Higashi says, as the market slows down, it’s time to act fast.

“People do think twice about, maybe should I wait, should I not move forward at this time. The reality is, owning a home is still a good idea and interest rates are really cooperating,” said Higashi.

Trying to make sense out of an industry that depends on dollars and homes.

Just in the Kaimuki area, the average home price is just under $900,000, so home prices are holding steady.

But the board of realtors thinks the slowdown will continue for at least a couple of years.

Credits: KHNL

Oahu’s real estate market saw its home and condo prices slump to their lowest points in several years last month, with the housing market starting to feel the pinch of a national economic crisis.

The median sales price for a single-family home dropped to $590,000 in September, its lowest point in 31/2 years. The median condo price fell to $296,000, its lowest point in more than 21/2 years.
“What’s going on in the housing market is really a function of what is going on in the overall economy,” said Harvey Shapiro, a research economist at the Honolulu Board of Realtors. “The financial crisis is really dire.”
The number of homes sold declined 15.7 percent to 215 from 255 last year, while the number of condos sold dropped 26.3 percent to 305 from 414.
On the neighborhood level, the largest home price declines came on the Windward Coast, where the median sales price dropped 43.5 percent, and in Waialae-Kahala, where the price dropped by a third.
For condos the biggest price drops came on the North Shore, which fell 31.3 percent, and in Makakilo, where the median condo price dropped 28.1 percent.

Credits: Star Bulletin

August sales for Maui’s real estate sector continued to trend downward; however, there were pockets of optimism as August’s median residential and condominium sales prices rose to nine-month highs.

Last month, 65 single-family homes changed hands in Maui, a 21.7 percent drop from 83 in the prior year.

Single-family home prices fared better, dropping only 2.3 percent to $625,000 from the year-ago $639,996.

There were 50 condominium sales last month, a 56.5 percent drop from 115 in the same month in 2007. However, the median price paid for a condominium rose 6.8 percent to $632,500 from $592,000 in August of 2007.

“The market shows a continuing, general cooling trend,” said Terry Tolman, chief staff executive for the Realtors Association of Maui.

Unit sales in all three classes (residential, condo and land) dropped noticeably following July’s residential high of 97 homes sold, Tolman said. And, active inventory has grown considerably in the last 12 months, he said.

However, while unit sales are lagging, median prices are holding up and days on the market show that properties which are priced right will still sell in a reasonable time frame, Tolman said.

To be successful, sellers need to be realistic and offer properties that are well priced and in better property condition than the competition, he said.

“Unrealistic sellers continue to follow the market down and miss current opportunities that later become woefully apparent,” Tolman said.

While the market is cooling, interested buyers should not try to time the market, he said.

“Buyers waiting for the ‘bottom’ may also miss unique properties/opportunities as market forces, qualification requirements and rates may fluctuate,” Tolman said.

Credits: Star Bulletin

Sales of single-family homes on Oahu plunged 33 percent last month, while the median price dipped only slightly.

There were 255 homes sold on Oahu in August, and while it was the highest number this year since April, it was a 33 percent drop from the 381 homes sold in August 2007, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The number of condominiums sold in August was 345, a 30 percent drop from the same month in 2007, when 495 units sold.

Prices held on last month, however. The median price for a single-family home in August, $635,000, was just 2 percent down from August 2007’s median price of $650,000.

The median price for a condo was $328,000, which was virtually unchanged from August 2007, when it was $325,000.

“The number of residential sales during August shows that the Oahu housing market continues to cool, but the median prices paid for island properties are being maintained,” said board President Dana Chandler. “Market time hovers in the rather speedy 40-day range, demonstrating that Oahu’s market continues to provide a stable environment for buyers and sellers.”

Year-to-date sales are off by 27 percent in bothhomes and condos, when compared to the January-August period in 2007. There were 1,919 single-family homes sold during the first eight months of 2008, and 2,868 condos sold.

“Sales are not the only measure showing a contraction, but the number of new listings for properties coming onto the market is also shrinking,” said Harvey Shapiro, the board’s research economist.

Last month there were 514 single-family homes and 622 condos added to the inventory, down from 622 homes and 914 condos added in August 2007, he said.

“These conditions limit the inventory expansion, which probably accounts for prices holding steady at current levels,” he said.

Credits: Biz Journals