"The soft demand for residential properties continued with the November figures lagging behind both last month's and last year's levels," said Helen M. Lindemann, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. "Condominium resales have been particularly weak," she said.

The real estate trade association said 147 single-family homes changed hands last month, a 3.3 percent decline from 152 in November 1995. Condominium unit resales were down 12.6 percent from a year earlier, with 153 changing hands last month compared to 175 in November 1995.

Prices for single-family homes were down substantially but condominium prices did better, according to figures gathered from the association's Multiple Listing Service computerized records.

The median price among the single-family homes sold in November was $330,000, a 12 percent drop from the year-earlier median of $375,000. The November median price for condominiums, $160,000, was down 9.1 percent from the year-earlier median of $176,000.

The median price is the point where half the properties sold for more and half sold for less. The association tallies resales, but not sales of new homes.

Lindemann said some areas had better results than others.

"Resales of single-family dwellings in the metropolitan Honolulu, East Oahu and Windward regions have been outperforming the rest of the market," she said.

"The brightest spot in the housing market has been in East Oahu, where both single-family and condominium properties are selling better this year than last," Lindemann said. She said prices have eased but East Oahu, the area from Diamond Head to Hawaii Kai, still has the highest priced homes on the island.

November sales of single-family homes were down 2.9 percent from October and condominium sales volume last month was down 2.1 percent from October.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors has 4,400 members, licensed real estate brokers and agents.