The median price of existing single-family homes sold on O'ahu last month was little changed from a year earlier, but a 29 percent decline in sale volume maintained what has been a sharp drop in demand this year.

Technically, the median price in May experienced a slight drop of 0.1 percent to $649,500 from $650,000 a year earlier, and represented the fourth decrease in five months this year.

The biggest median price decline this year was 3.9 percent in April. Still, for the first five months of this year the median price is down just 0.8 percent to $630,000 compared with the same period this year.

Real estate agents say that's not bad considering how prices in some Mainland markets such as California and Nevada have cratered following the recent implosion in the subprime mortgage industry after roughly five years of rapid buying and booming prices.

"The median prices have been holding up remarkably well," said Dana Chandler, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors trade association and broker-in-charge at Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd. "This continues to be a stable environment for both buyers and sellers."

However, the sales pace and tally continue to slow, which often puts pressure on prices to move lower as demand shrinks dramatically and supply grows slowly.

There were 252 single-family homes sold last month, down 29.4 percent from 357 sales a year earlier. That was the second-largest percentage decrease this year after a 40 percent decline in February.

The sales slowdown in O'ahu's housing market started in 2005 with a 2 percent decline, then hovered around 10 percent declines in each of the last two years. For the first five months of this year, sales are down 24.5 percent from the same period a year ago.

In addition to fewer sales in May, it took longer to sell those homes. On average, homes sold in May spent 52 days on the market, up from 42 days a year ago. That represented a change from the first four months of the year when the sales speed was quicker than the same month a year earlier except for January when there was an increase of one day.

Inventory in May rose to 2,043 homes, which was up from 1,805 a year earlier and 1,955 in April. May inventory also was just shy of the previous recent high of 2,052 homes in November 2006.

Chandler said the higher inventory could lead to weaker prices, but that it hasn't had any real negative impact yet.

The University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization in March forecast that the median single-family home price this year will decline 3.2 percent, a projection that would pan out only if there are larger median price declines later this year.

If the single-family home price drops this year, it would be the first annual reduction since 1999, when the median dipped 2.4 percent to $290,000. Last year, the median price rose 2.1 percent following five years of annual price increases roughly between 7 percent and 28 percent.

In O'ahu's condominium market last month, there was a similar drop in sales but the median price maintained slight growth.

Condo sales were down 29.7 percent to 382 in May from 543 a year earlier, and are down 25.8 percent for the first five months of the year compared with the same period last year.

The median condo sale price last month was $337,300, up 3.8 percent from $325,000 a year ago. Year to date, the median condo price is up 2.5 percent to $330,000.

UHERO expects the median condo price this year to decrease 1 percent.

Condo inventory was 2,717 units, up from 2,238 a year earlier and 2,629 in April. May inventory also was close to the previous recent high of 2,750 units in September 2006.

Condos sold in May spent an average of 41 days on the market, up from 38 days a year ago and the first year-over-year increase for any month this year.