Oahu housing inventory on the rise again in February

Increases in the number of residential homes for sale on Oahu — both in single-family and condominiums — are on the rise. According to the Honolulu Board of Realtors, year-over-year, the total number of active listings on the island has increased for the 19th consecutive month. More options for buyers equate to less competition for each listing and likely, fewer lightning-fast bidding wars.

“The increase in inventory allows buyers more time to prepare for their purchase and research factors like financing, repairs, negotiation strategy and which home or neighborhood is best for them,” says Kalama Kim, Realtor and principal broker at Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties. “For properties which don’t have multiple offers submitted, buyers are beginning to see they have the opportunity to negotiate price and terms.”

Compared to last year, supply has increased indicating we are trending toward a more balanced market. While months of remaining inventory (MRI) for single-family homes is up 60% to 3.2 months, and condos are up 44% to 3.6 months of inventory — and both segments are up for the eighth consecutive month. Yet, this is not excessive. A balanced market is typically defined by an MRI of six or seven months. Still, buyers are taking notice and encouraged by the added inventory.

Sales of Single-Family Homes and Condos | February 2019

Source: Honolulu Board of REALTORS^®, compiled from MLS data

The latest HBR stats report the combined (single-family and condos) closed sales figures are down in February. This is the seventh consecutive month of declining volume.

Single-family sales are down 4.1% — from 217 in February 2018, to 208 last month.  Condo sales are down 16.6% — from 385 in February 2018, to 321 last month.

Pending sales also dropped for the 14th month — down 13.9% and 17.1%, respectively.

“The number of closed sales and pending sales have slowly decreased, causing more properties to remain on the market and pushing active inventory to higher levels,” Kim says. “Buyers are encouraged by more inventory and at the same time, watching mortgage interest rates to see if they’ll start moving upward again.”

Median Sales Price of Single-Family Homes and Condos | February 2019

Source: Honolulu Board of REALTORS^®, compiled from MLS data

Despite the increase in inventory and the slowdown in closed sales, the median prices of homes and condominiums on the island nudged up.

The MSP of a single-family home is up 2.1% to $789,000 in February — up from $772,500 a year ago.

Condo prices are up as well to $415,000 — an increase of 1.5% from the MSP in February 2018, which was $409,000.

Over the past year, the median sales price and average sales price for homes sold have slightly increased, allowing sellers a chance to make a profit, but also still offering buyers the opportunity to consider a home purchase as a way to build equity.

“Island living not only makes Hawaii a great place to live, it also creates a scenario where there is limited space to build homes, which means that over time, the demand created by population constantly pushes home prices up for home buyers to allow appreciation in equity.”

HOT MARKETS!

Inventory is up island wide.

More inventory means more to choose from, less competition from other buyers, and a more balanced market for buyers and sellers. The following is a list of neighborhoods with an increase in inventory of at least 50%.