Oahu home prices
had steepest drop
in nation

But the median price here
remains more than twice the U.S. figure

From staff and wire reports

Oahu home prices had the steepest decline in the nation in the 12 months through the end of June, the National Association of Realtors said today.

The 12-month median price among existing single family homes sold to new owners was $300,000 on Oahu, a drop of 10.4 percent from the previous 12-month median, the price at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

The Oahu median price nevertheless remained remained the highest in the nation, well over twice the U.S. median of $123,700.

Oahu, where prices for many years have led the nation, was one of few metropolitan districts where 12-month prices were down. Nationally the median was 3.9 percent higher than it was in the year ended June 30, 1996.

The national real estate trade association surveyed 133 metropolitan areas.

The association said most areas showed price increases higher than that demonstrated by the national median. The rise in the national home price median was higher than the national inflation rate of 2.3 percent for the same 12 months.

Oahu prices continued to fall in July. The Honolulu Board of Realtors last week reported that the median price among resold single family homes locally was $308,500 in July, a 13.5 percent drop from the median of $356,750 in July 1996. Lower prices last month accompanied a 40.8 percent increase in the number of Oahu resales.

In addition to Honolulu, other high-cost areas included San Francisco, $288,500; Orange County, Calif., $228,400; Bergen, N.J., $203,600; Newark, $198,600; Boston, $194,200; San Diego, $183,400; New York, $177,700; Middlesex, N.J., $176,000, and Los Angeles, $173,200.

The lowest medians were in Ocala, Fla., $64,100; Waterloo, Iowa, $64,800; Beaumont, Texas, $69,000; Saginaw-Bay City, Mich., $72,000; Youngstown, Ohio, $72,800; Amarillo and El Paso, Texas, and South Bend, all $74,100; Shreveport, $75,200, and Davenport, $75,600.