Honolulu Newspapers, Do They Know The Market?

September 3rd, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs

Here we go again! The Honolulu Board of Realtors issues it’s monthly statistical report and the local newspapers read the runes and tell us what they think is really going on. Below are the headlines and a little of what each paper printed.
Honolulu Star Bulletin, Bouncing At The Bottom, “This balance, particularly the shrunken inventory, is the reason for our stability and why we’ve avoided the significant price adjustments experienced on the mainland,” said Shapiro. “Prospective buyers and sellers continue to sit on the sidelines and wait for a sign that the economy is shoring up, but akamai buyers are already searching for bargains, especially with financing costs at record lows.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN ARTICLE
Honolulu Advertiser, Oahu Home Sales Decline In August, “Eight fewer homes sold on the island last month, representing a 3.1 percent decline to 247 sales from 255 in August 2008, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER ARTICLE.
Pacific Business News, Oahu Home Prices Drop, Sales Flatten Out, “Sales in August were about the same as a year ago, with single-family homes marginally lower and condominium sales higher, which appear to indicate that we’ve stopped declining and that we’ve hit a bottom in the housing market,” said Board of Realtors President Sandra “Sam” Bangerter. “In fact, there is new energy in the market, as many sellers are seeing multiple offers on properties that are well-priced.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE PACIFIC BUSINESS NEW ARTICLE
Here’s my take on the stats.
1. In January 2009, there were 281 closed single family home and condominiums on Oahu. In August 2009, the Honolulu Realtors closed 598 single family home and condominiums. This is an increase in sales of 213%!
2. In January 2009, a single family home took 71 days to sell and a condominium took 59 days to sell. In August 2009, a single family home took 48 days to sell and condominium took 51 days to sell. In other words, homes are taking 32% and condos are taking 14% less time to sell. Historically, a market time of less than 60 days favors sellers.
3. Overall inventory (houses and condos combined) is down by 14.5%. Available single family home inventory ended August at 1624 homes. When SFR inventory drops below 2,000 units it is starting to get low, when it gets to 1,800 we start seeing the market favor sellers even more. Again, putting things in a historical perspective, 1624 available houses is not much inventory. For a much more detailed analysis of the stats, see yesterdays blog post.
Call me pollyanna, since I am in the market everyday, I believe the low inventory and low interest rates make this a very good time to buy. In my opinion, the reason the Honolulu real estate market is not an insane sellers market has more to do with politics and over reaches in spending in Washington, D.C., than the fundamentals of our real estate market.
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If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.

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