**EDITED for updated pending numbers***It's surprising how well the real estate market is doing amid Covid19 - but if you look closely at the price points and areas it tells another story. The luxury market is down (see down below.)
Oahu, island wide single family home sales April 2020 vs April 2019 per the Honolulu MLS, experienced a slower month due to low inventory and decreased demand from buyers. We're not looking at # of homes sold, or the price point, as most of the homes sold in April went under contract pre Covid19, so that's not relevant. To determine the state of the current market we look at new listings and contracts accepted during the month of April.
Per the stats below, you will see we had about 20% less new homes hit the market, and 20% less total number of houses to choose from than in 2019. We had 36% less houses go under contract though in spite of no open houses, limited showings, almost 40% unemployment and tougher lender requirements.
What does all of this mean? What about the luxury market? See below...
What does this all mean? Good news is, buyers are still buying, albeit more in some areas than others - you'll see Kailua demand is equal to last year (read more on Kailua April 2020 stats here.) Sellers are reluctant to list their homes during this time. My guess is they took this slow time to prep their home to list in June once the stay at home orders are removed. With reduced buyers, and reduced new listings we have a pretty even market. With an even market - you won't see major price shifts, and we should maintain shorter days on the market. You should even see multiple offers around the island still.
The higher priced market has slowed down to half of what it was last year
Homes priced over 1million
All of Oahu in April of 2019 had 134 +1million homes go under contract.
All of Oahu in April of 2020 had 64 +1million homes go under contract.
Luxury Market: Over 2+Million
All of Oahu in April of 2019 had 23 +2million homes go under contract.
All of Oahu in April of 2020 had 15 +2million homes go under contract.
This is most likely linked to the difficulty obtaining jumbo loans and the qualifying process tightening up. The mortgage market will continue to see low rates through the end of the year, but qualifying will be harder. The good news is - VA loans are in full swing - regardless of being Jumbo or conventional. Since the military as a stop movement order (not moving until July1st) we most likely have not seen as many military purchases in April as we saw in past years, and this alone may be a big contributer to the lack of homes going under contract.
If you want to talk about your specific area and what's going on there - let us know. We are always happy to help!