Report: Oahu house, condominium sales softening
HONOLULU — Oahu’s residential real estate sales softened last month amid increased inventory and rising interest rates, according to recent figures.
The median price for a single-family home rose more than 6 percent from October 2017 with half of the homes selling for above $800,000 and half for below, according to a report released Tuesday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.
However, single-family home sales during the same period dropped 13 percent to 309 transactions.
The median price for a condominium fell to $390,000, a nearly 2 percent drop from October 2017. During the same period, condominium sales declined more than 9 percent to 443 transactions.
The number of active listings on Oahu in October was up about 24 percent for single-family homes, which hit 1,431. Active listings for condominiums rose just over 13 percent to 2,085. New October listings for single-family homes stayed flat at 429, but new condominium listings rose to 702, a nearly 8 percent increase from October 2017.
Oahu’s housing market continues to be a stable environment for both buyers and sellers, Honolulu Board of Realtors President Darryl Macha said.
“While sales of residential properties slowed, the median prices remained relatively steady in October, considering the records set earlier this year,” Macha said.
The October results followed a record-setting September where the median price of single-family homes climbed to $812,500, a slight bump from the previous record of $810,000 set in August. But even then these statistics marked the beginning of a shift in Oahu’s housing market with the decline in sales of both single-family homes and condominiums combined with a growing inventory.
The fourth quarter has traditionally been a quiet time for home sales. Macha said he anticipates that will hold true for 2018.
Man found guilty of attempted murder of motorist
HONOLULU — An Oahu man was found guilty of the attempted murder of a man who got pinned under his own car and died.
A jury Monday also found Brandon Reis of Pearl City guilty of using a firearm to commit the attempted murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm while under indictment for other crimes, and carrying a firearm in the open without a license.
He faces a mandatory life sentence with possible release on parole for the attempted murder at sentencing in January. He also faces a mandatory 20-year prison term for using a firearm in the attempted murder and maximum 10-year terms for each of the other charges.
Kyen Knowles died of asphyxia June 22, 2016, in Honolulu.
The state played for the jury security video that shows Knowles pulling into a parking stall in a mixed-use residential and commercial complex. The video then shows Reis walking toward Knowles from across the parking lot pointing a handgun.
Knowles’ car then is seen reversing into the middle of the parking lot with Reis pointing a gun into the vehicle from the passenger side of the car. As the car is reversing and turning right, the driver door opens, and Knowles exits, is hit by the door and falls to the pavement. The car stops with the front driver-side tire pinning Knowles to the ground.
The video shows Reis move around the front of the car, look at Knowles pinned on the ground, then jog off.
There is no sound on the video. However, it appears Reis fired one shot from the handgun. It did not hit Knowles or the car. Police recovered a single shell casing in the parking lot.
Defense attorney Keith Shigetomi told the jury Reis fired at Knowles in self-defense.
The only evidence of a connection between the two men is that Knowles may have looked funny at Reis’ car earlier, deputy prosecutor David Van Acker said.
