Yes, the number of sales has dropped dramatically - by 41.7%. That's right, the number of sales has dropped nearly in half since last year, 2021, which was the craziest year in real estate history.
But while the market has slowed a lot, prices are still UP 5% since last year. On a monthly basis, prices peaked in May of this year at $1,153,500, so from that time, the median price is down by about $100k to $1,050,000.
Here's a chart of monthly median prices:
It seems prices are back to about the same as January, which makes sense because buyers were going nuts offering way too high on listings earlier this year. We needed to cool down, that's for sure.
What's amazing is that listings are still selling in about 19 days, and the average listing sold at 99.8% of the list price.
The most telling numbers are:
1. there were only 285 new single family home listings, which is far lower than last year at this time, meaning inventory is still very low in Hawaii.
2. There are only 198 pending single family sales, which is down 50%, so sales will continue to slow for a while.
With interest rates at 7.5%, (though most people aren't actually getting that rate) it's likely that prices will soften through next year until rates level out or drop.
Buyers are finding opportunities to ask for seller credits and offer below asking price, as many sellers are still thinking like it's 2021. Smart sellers are pricing at the low end of their markets to make sure they get sold quickly!