The fact that home sales on Oahu are up over 11 percent from the same time last year and around 10 percent alone in 2012 should tell you that the current Real Estate trends on Oahu are looking very promising. While Oahu is still coming out of the 2008 housing crisis, the island has definitely fared much better than other markets around the nation.

While we wouldn’t go as far as to say it is a seller’s market just yet, the fact of the matter is that Oahu Real Estate trends are starting to point in a direction that will be beneficial to both buyers and sellers. This wasn’t always the case, as 2008 and the following years have not brought much good news for sellers.

While a buyers market has been in tact on Oahu over the last few years (just view some statistics and couple that with lower than ever interest rates), the fact of the matter is that many people were forced to sell and lost a ton of money. Right now the market is starting to trend back to sellers. While Oahu is not there yet, the market does show that it is starting to come out of the crisis and should start to trend to a place where both buyers and sellers benefit. 

Too many numbers would be involved to break down monthly trends, so for the sake of argument lets just look at a recent set of numbers for homes on Oahu. Available single-family homes for sale on Oahu sat at around 1,200 the past two months, which is a significant drop from around 1,700 we were hovering around a few years back. Available condo listings were also low around 1,800, which is a contraction from 2,311 listings just a few years ago. As you can see, the numbers are not up to par yet, but they are climbing and becoming healthier. It is still a buyer’s market, but sellers are starting to see some daylight as well. 

Hot Seller’s Neighborhoods 

  • Makaha - Nanakuli
  • Hawaii Kai
  • Waialae – Kahala
  • The Windward Coast

Hot Buyer’s Neighborhoods

  • Hawaii Kai
  • Moanalua – Salt Lake
  • Wahiawa
  • North Shore

Interestingly enough, Hawaii Kai comes in as a hot neighborhood for both buyers and sellers. This doesn’t happen often (especially since 2008), but it does state the case that some neighborhoods are starting to be more seller friendly and that more should start to follow. 

Real Estate trends on Oahu seem to be a bit easier to predict lately. After the housing crisis hit the market was all over the place, with many people (even some agents and brokers) unable to predict what would happen next.

With the economy on an upturn, albeit a slow upturn, Real Estate trends on Oahu should be much easier to predict. A couple of things that we do know are that it is still a great time to buy, more and more sellers are making money, and interest rates are lower than at any point in history.

The real estate market on Oahu is healthy and should continue to prosper.