For the month of May Waikiki has shown it's feeling a bit of downward pressure, or close to holding its own.  Compared to last month Waikiki has had the number of properties sold increase while Days on Market have gone down and prices have dropped less than 1%.  When you look at May of this year in comparison to May of 2007 you notice a slight slowdown.

May 2007

• 68 Units Sold
• Avg. List Price $413,488 of units sold
• Avg. Sold Price $398,682
• Avg. Days on Market 76

May 2008

• 53 Units Sold
• Avg. List Price $403,485 of units sold
• Avg. Sold Price $385,991
• Avg. Days on Market 62

Sold prices are down about about 3% from last year at this time.  Days on Market (the time to sell a property) have been trimmed by about 19%.  Taking into consideration that 53 units sold in May of '08 vs. 68 in May of '07 (22% decline) I would say that you have every right to draw a slightly opaque conclusion to all this.  However, keep in mind that in 2007 it was a lot easier to get a loan than it is in 2008.  Lenders are now scrutinizing buyers more than ever.  You need to keep your credit score in check, have more money to put down, and be prepared to verify everything.  There are plenty of willing buyers out there but since lenders have added more hoops to jump through it's keeping more and more buyers on the sidelines.

For myself, I watch a few different markets off island and for our prices to only drop by 3% in a year is fantastic.  Less units are selling, but units are now selling faster.  The simple conclusion that I come to is that sellers are becoming more realistic and open to offers, but still are not willing to give away the farm.  Which is exactly what any healthy real estate market needs.

Brought to you by:  Rob Gerichs - RE/MAX Honolulu

Going Above and Beyond

(808) 284-4441 ~ www.HawaiiRob.com ~ Rob@HawaiiRob.com

____________________________________________________________________________________________________