Do you feel like a betting person? Well, I bet if we were to take a straw poll across Oahu and ask people if it's a Buyer or Seller's market for real estate, I think 99% of people would say it's a Buyer's market right now. That's because everything you hear about in the news is that things are slow, homes aren't selling, there's a ton of inventory.
What Defines a Buyer's Market?
Well, one of the major stats that the National Association of Realtors looks at is months of remaining inventory. That basically says that if no new homes were to come to market, how long it would take all the existing inventory to sell. Anything more than 6 months of remaining inventory is considered a Buyer's market as far as the National Association of Realtors goes.
What's Months of Remaining Inventory Like on Oahu?
I've got some stats up here behind me that might debunk some of what's going on out there and actually confirm what some of you are believing. In general it is NOT a Buyer's market. It's still a Seller's market here on Oahu for the majority of the market.
If you look at the stat in the bottom left, it's 2.7 months, which is well under 6 months and that's similar to just about every category (of sales price range) with the exception of homes over $3 million. Furthermore, in the chart behind me here, everything is less than 6 months of remaining inventory in every single category of pricing here on Oahu. However, once you get above $3 million, it's 10.3 months. So, it's definitely a Buyer's market.
If you have a lot of cash (I know a lot of people out there don't), it's time to go shopping if you're in that luxury home market because there is a lot to chose from. Another thing I'd like to point out behind me is that orange number. That's going to be homes above $2 million and it kind of broke through that 6 month (of remaining inventory) mark midway through this year.
Id bet is if we had homes worth more than $3 million (on the orange chart), we would have cracked into that Buyer's Market earlier this year or even going back to last year. Because, we've been noticing some of those luxury home sales slowing down. They're still activity taking place on the luxury home front. There's no doubt about it.
Ready for Luxury Home Shopping?
If you're in that market north of $3 million and have some money to spend, there are some good deals out there. There's a lot more to chose from than in that $1-2 million range, so if you're a shopper in that market, give us a call @ 808-371-3509. If you're a seller in any market, give us a call. We'd love to help. Mahalo!