Oahu Single-Family Home Sales Unaffected by Coronavirus in March

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Anne Cicero

Locations anne.cicero@locationshawaii.com

(808) 738-2041

Oahu Single-Family Home Sales Unaffected by Coronavirus in March

Fewer home sales expected in April

HONOLULU – (April 3, 2020) – Locations—Hawaii’s leading real estate firm— published its Oahu Residential Real Estate Report for the 12-month period ending March 2020. This is a comparison to the previous 12-month period ending March 2019:

• Single-family home sales have been increasing steadily since August 2019 and are up seven percent over the previous 12-month period. 
• Condominium sales are four percent lower compared to the previous year. 
• The single-family home median price over the past 12 months was flat at $790,000, while the median condo price for the past year rose by three percent to $430,000. 
• Across the island, single-family home prices increased in entry-level markets and decreased in higher-priced markets, a reflection of market adjustments.

“We did not see any effects from the coronavirus pandemic on closed sales in March,” said President and CEO of Locations Jason Lazzerini. “However, we are bracing for decreased sales in April, as there were fewer homes in escrow in March. How long the housing market will be affected depends on how quickly the economy is able to rebound from unemployment and reduced tourism related to necessary social distancing measures. We expect Oahu home values to hold steady and then increase as the economy recovers,” he added.

Lazzerini went on to say that as real estate has been designated an essential business, Locations has adopted several strategies to continue its operations. “Our offices may be closed, but Locations agents are still hard at work and able to serve their clients using a variety of technology solutions, including virtual home tours and digital contracts,” Lazzerini added, noting that the firm added a dedicated virtual home tour search to its website, LocationsHawaii.com and mobile app.

At the local market level, Mililani was the top-performing market for single-family homes in March, with sales of single-family homes up 17 percent over last year. Mililani median home prices dipped by three percent to $775,000—just below the overall Oahu single-family home median. Mililani homes are selling in a median of 22 days—an increase of eight days over last year--while bid ups decreased by 18 percent to just over one in four Mililani homes sold for above the asking price. With just 13 homes for sale in Mililani this year compared to 56 a year ago, competition is likely to increase.

Makakilo was the top-performing condo market in March, with a four percent increase in sales and a four percent increase in median price to $414,000. Days on Market increased from 15 days to 22 days over last year, while bid ups fell from 19 percent to 14 percent. Condo inventory in Makakilo decreased by 33 percent, with 16 condos currently for sale.

As local market conditions will be affected differently by the economic impacts of the coronavirus, Locations recommends that homebuyers and sellers partner with an experienced Realtor® who has access to neighborhood-level housing data and the technology tools necessary to conduct business at this time.

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About Locations As the state’s oldest and leading independent real estate firm, our trusted Neighborhood Experts have served Hawaii’s families since 1969. For more than 50 years, Locations has helped more people buy or sell their homes than any other real estate firm in the state. With our rich kama’aina roots, innovative technology and dedicated market-research department, Locations continues to be at the forefront of this ever-changing industry. Today, Locations has over 400 agents across the state with five offices on Oahu and four on the Big Island (Clark Realty). Through our non-profit, the Locations Foundation, our agents and staff support more than 100 Hawaii non-profit organizations both through monetary donations and volunteer hours. Visit LocationsHawaii.com/about-us today to learn more. For up-to-date Hawaii real estate updates, follow Locations on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/LocationsHawaii, Twitter at @LocationsHI, Instagram at @LocationsHawaii, and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/locations-hawaii. Read the Locations blog at: www.LocationsHawaii.com/news.