O‘ahu Housing Market Remains Steady, Readies for Impacts of COVID-19
Single-family home sales up, condo sales and new listings down in March.
Realtors® takes businesses virtually and continues to provide essential housing services and resources to clients.
“While the numbers illustrate the market is holding strong, we’re only beginning to see the changes in activity,” said Tricia Nekota, president, of the Honolulu Board of Realtors®. “For example, the majority of closed sales were already in escrow at least 30 days prior to the stay-at-home order, and we saw a double-digit decline in new listings last month. These stats are likely an early reaction to economic uncertainty and indicative of a shift in market activity due to the impacts of COVID-19.”
Generally, real estate activity has kept pace with 2019 figures. For the first quarter of 2020, single-family home sales were up 11.6% compared to 2019. Condo's year-to-date sales trail last year by just under 1%. However, the stay-at-home order that went into effect on March 23, 2020, has contributed to a slowdown in the number of listings coming on the market. Single-family home listings declined by 16.7% and condo listings were down 14.3% in March. A significant number of active listings have also been moved into a temporarily off-market status, which has resulted in lower inventory levels.
Information provided by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Click here to see an overview of stats.
