The Hawaii real estate market, comprising the most heavily populated island of Oahu and the smaller neighbor islands, faced the continuing challenges of foreclosures and distressed properties in the most recent tracking period. Overall, though, the Aloha State posted strong growth in the month of May. According to a June 8, 2010 article from the Pacific Business News, “Home sales on Oahu rose considerably in May, while prices for single-family homes and condominiums posted modest gains compared to the same month last year. The median price of a single-family home in May was $606,000, which was a 12 percent boost over May 2009, when the median price was $542,000, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors. That was based on 284 home sales, which was a 31.5 percent increase over 216 sales in May 2009. Condo sales on Oahu soared 35.5 percent in May to 355 units sold, up from 262 units sold in 2009.”
The report on the health of the Hawaii housing market went on to analyze condominium sales and median prices. It noted that “Condo sales on Oahu soared 35.5 percent in May to 355 units sold, up from 262 units sold in 2009. The median price of a condo rose 4 percent to $312,500, up from $300,000 in May of 2009. ‘May’s sales figures and median prices are certainly encouraging for Honolulu’s real estate industry’ board President Brian Benton said in a prepared statement. ‘The pent up demand for residential properties are now being met with homes and condos being priced right for first-time homebuyers, those wanting to trade up to a larger home or individuals wanting to purchase investment property.’”
The delinquent home market, especially Hawaii foreclosures, continued to hound properties in the Aloha State. According to a June 18, 2010 article from the Pacific Business News, “The Maui resort tops a list of more than a dozen hotel, industrial, office and retail properties that have defaulted on multimillion-dollar commercial mortgages or have been lost to foreclosure.
The $425 million loan on the Four Seasons Maui property, which is owned by billionaire Michael Dell’s investment firm, was transferred to special servicing in April after falling delinquent on payments, according to Trepp.com, which researches commercial mortgage-backed securities and commercial mortgages.”