Oahu home sales see a strong finish in 2019

Oahu home sales had a strong finish to 2019, with a 19% increase in single-family home sales in December, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

By Janis L. Magin  – Real Estate Editor, Pacific Business News 

Jan 6, 2020, 8:00pm EST

A 19% boost in single-family home sales on Oahu in December helped to push sales up by 4% for all of 2019 as the median price remained flat, while sales of condominiums declined by 5% and the median price increased slightly, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

There were 309 single-family homes sold on Oahu in December, an increase of 19.3% from 259 homes sold in December 2018, while the median price of $820,000 was a 4.1% increase from $788,000 during the same month in 2018.

For all of 2019, sales of single-family homes increased by 3.9% to 3,750, from 3,609 homes sold in 2018. The median price of a single-family home last year dipped slightly to $789,000 from $790,000 in 2018.

For condominiums, the median price in 2019 rose 1.2% to $425,000, from $420,000 in 2018, while sales declined by 4.8% to 5,408 units sold, from 5,679 units sold in 2018.

For December, sales declined by 2.7% to 428 units sold, from 440 sold in December 2018, while the median price increased by 6.8% to $425,500, from $398,500 during the same month the year before. 

“In 2019, we saw a steady and stable market with more active listings, slightly more days on market and median prices remaining relatively flat compared to 2018,” Tricia Nekota, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “These conditions, paired with low interest rates and favorable economic conditions continuing to drive healthy market activity, create an advantageous environment where buyers have purchasing power and sellers have more potential buyers for their properties.”