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Condo Sales Booming in Honolulu

Daniel Ramirez / Flickr
Daniel Ramirez / Flickr

Condominium sales have had a boost lately in Honolulu. It turns out that home buyers are turning to apartments instead of single-family homes. Pacific Business news editor in chief A. Kam Napier, has more.

Median sales price of single-family homes on Oahu have flattened when comparing this July to last July. That price crept up just one half of one percent, to $750,000. The number of homes sold rose just four percent.

Condominiums, on the other hand, have taken off. Compared to July 2016, the median price increased 6.3 percent, to reach an all-time high of $425,000, compared to $400,000 last year.  The number of sales in the month increased 7 percent, with 475 sold this July.

According to Sue Ann Lee, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the housing shortage is as dire as ever. But todays buyers are those who can’t afford a single-family home or, given limited inventory, can’t find one that suits their needs. They’re turning to apartment purchases instead.

We can expect single-family home prices to climb. Looking at pending sales that were open through the month, there was a 24 percent increase in purchases in the $750,000 to $800,000 range. Those values will make their mark on the median price in future months as the deals close and the purchase prices get recorded.

A. Kam Napier is the editor-in-chief of Pacific Business News.
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