HONOLULU (AP) — Higher bids have helped increase the median resale price of single-family homes on Oahu in November, with twice as many sales above the original asking price than during the previous year.
Sales data released by the Honolulu Board of Realtors Sunday indicated the new median high of $872,500 was nearly a 10% increase over the $794,750 reached in November 2019.
The new price mark was also the second highest ever behind the record of $880,000 set in September. The figures showed sales of Oahu single-family homes increased in November by 5.6% to 338, compared to 320 in the same month last year.
Most current sales are at the high end, with 80% of last month’s sales involving houses priced at $700,000 or more. The median time between listing and sale of properties was 10 days.
Honolulu Board of Realtors President Tricia Nekota called the trend a “seemingly new normal of buyers entering bids tens of thousands of dollars over asking price.”
“We are experiencing a fast-paced market with properties flying off the market in a mere matter of days, especially single-family homes and townhouses,” Nekota said.
The housing market has been fueled in part by low interest rates on mortgages. Nekota said the high demand is keeping Oahu’s real estate market “strong and steady throughout the public health crisis.”
The median resale price of condominiums rose to $420,000 last month, an increase of 1.2% compared with November 2019, when the figure was $415,000. Total resales of condominiums declined by 6% to 407 last month, compared to 434 in the same month the previous year.