New records were set last month in the Oahu single-family home market. For median sales price, there is a new record high of $880,000. Last month, the median sales price was $839,000. There is also a new record for average days on the market, with single family homes staying on the market for just 9 days.
One factor to consider is the number of new listings, which was down last month for both single family home and condo listings. This is creating even steeper competition for buyers, which is one of the reasons the sales price is rising and the days on market is dropping. Many sellers are receiving multiple offers for single family home listings. Tricia Nekota, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors also added another factor that is contributing to the Oahu real estate market. She said that “the spike in demand for single-family homes may correlate to buyers’ pursuing a different quality of life and a new environment following the sharp shift in people working from home.”
Condo sales increased in September when compared to August and are almost back at a pre-pandemic level of sales. There were 456 condo sales last month, which is only a 2.1% decrease when compared to September 2019. Prices for the condo market remain stable and the days on the market for condos continues to trend down.
As of October 15, Hawaii will implement pre-travel testing, allowing travelers to be exempt from the 14-day travel quarantine if they test negative 72 hours prior to their arrival in Hawaii. Many buyers have been waiting for this phase before moving forward with their plans to purchase, so we anticipate the real estate market to remain just as busy as we head into fall.