Expired real estate listings on Oahu at lowest point in a decade

Expired real estate listings on Oahu tell their own tale of what is happening in the market. We have watched indicators like the median sales price for both homes and condos rise year after year. The Days on Market indication (Showing how long properties are on the market before they sell) hovering between 20 and 25 days for years now. All of this says what a tight market we have in Hawaii. The truth is that there are more buyers or out there or people that want to buy then there are available properties. It has been this way forever it seems. Now we examine that expired listings at the lowest point in a decade on Oahu.

I am constantly looking at different parameters and statistics to try to uncover where we are going from here. One such parameter than many do not look at is expired listings. Anyone can ask anything that they want for a property. Some are at the top end of the market and can take many months or even years to sell. If you have a situation where there are too many properties trying to be sold above the current market, the number of expired listings will be high.

That is not the case right now. Expired listings are at the lowest level in 10 years. As evidenced by the charge below of the last 10 years of data:

To me, this expired listing data says 2 things:

1. That even less desirable properties are selling.The house that is right next to the busy road or the condo with lots of street noise and a view directly into another building are selling. In part, it is as a direct result of the lack of properties on the market. It also must have to do with the low interest rates.
2. Prices are rising to a point where Buyers are paying what Sellers are asking. Buyers in some cases are paying over asking for desirable properties. It is a sign of the times.

As we move forward, there is no telling what will happen boreal estate prices. Many local economists only see continued economic growth for Hawaii for at least the next couple of years. We are waiting on what impact that the FED funds rate change may have on interest rates and therefore the entire real estate market.  One thing is for certain, rates are perhaps as low as they will get and that is something to realize when shopping for a property in Hawaii.