From the Board of Realtors:

"During June, sales of 279 single-family homes and 342 condominiums were reported through the Board's
MLS; single-family home sales experienced a 12.5 percent increase while condominium sales decreased
by 3.4 percent from June 2011. The median price paid for island properties in June was $620,000 for
single-family homes and $297,000 for condominiums, an increase of 10.2 percent and a decrease of 1.3
percent respectively, compared to the same month last year. "

 

The average home sold for 96.1% of the list price in just 35 days.  That's a strong seller's market, with only 3.9 months of inventory available. There are 436 pending sales, an increase of 27.9% since last year.  This means that next month's sales numbers will be even higher, and the inventory will be even lower.  

 Sales are particularly strong in East Oahu, where inventory is so low that I have multiple buyers waiting for the same  type of house for months at a time. 

It's a great time to be a seller, a difficult time to be a buyer.  But with interest rates at 3.5% right now, it makes buying much easier than the last few years, even with prices up. 

With rates down more than 2% since a couple years ago, prices would need to increase 20% to make up the difference in the payment from having lower rates.