For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the volume of single-family home sales decreased by 15.8%, while condominium sales decreased by 3.3%, in each case as compared to the same period in 2021, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors. The median price of single-family home sales and condominium sales on Oahu was $1,110,000 and $510,000, respectively, or an increase of 13.9% and 9.1%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021. As of September 30, 2022, months of inventory of single-family homes and condominiums on Oahu remained low at approximately 1.9 and 2.0 months, respectively. Lastly, state general excise and use tax revenues increased by 19.8% for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021, according to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
There remain many uncertainties related to COVID-19 including, among other things, the ongoing impact to our customers, employees and vendors; the impact to the financial services and banking industry; and the impact to the economy as a whole, as well as the effect of actions taken, or that may yet be taken, or inaction by governmental authorities to mitigate both the economic and health-related effects of COVID-19. Refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, for further information regarding (i) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and our results thereof, as well as the impact on our financial position and (ii) legislative and regulatory actions taken related to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as they relate to the banking and financial services industry.
Effect of Inflation and Changing Prices
The consolidated financial statements and related financial data presented in this Form 10-Q have been prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, which require the measurement of financial positions and operating results in terms of historical dollars without considering the change in the relative purchasing power of money over time due to inflation.
In recent periods, the increase in inflationary conditions accelerated due to, among other factors, global supply chain disruptions, changes in the labor market and geopolitical tensions. Higher commodity prices, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, including those resulting from Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, are also contributing to higher inflation levels, which could, in turn, adversely affect the U.S. economy, the demand for our products and creditworthiness of our borrowers.
Our operating costs have increased as inflationary conditions put upward pressure on the Company’s expenses. As virtually all of our assets and liabilities are monetary in nature, interest rates (which do not necessarily move in the same direction or the same extent as the prices of goods and services) generally have a more significant impact on our performance than do general levels of inflation. Rising interest rates may contribute to increased net interest margins and benefit our net interest income as our assets are expected to reprice faster and to a greater degree than our liabilities. Changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and securities and the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but also our ability to originate loans and deposits. In addition, changes in interest rates also have a significant impact on (i) the carrying value of certain assets, including loans, real estate and investment securities, on our balance sheet and (ii) the level of loan refinancing activity in our portfolio, which impacts the amount of prepayment penalty income we receive on loans we hold. In addition, we may incur debt in the future, and that debt may also be sensitive to interest rates.
In light of volatility in the capital markets and economic disruptions, we continue to carefully monitor our capital and liquidity positions. As of September 30, 2022, the Company was “well-capitalized” and met all applicable regulatory capital requirements, including a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.79%, compared to the minimum requirement of 4.50%. We continue to maintain high levels of liquidity. For additional discussions regarding our capital and liquidity positions and related risks, refer to the sections titled “Liquidity and Capital Resources” and “Capital” in this MD&A.
Economic conditions and therefore our results of operations may be impacted by a variety of other factors as well, such as an economic slowdown or recession, financial market volatility, supply chain disruptions, monetary and fiscal policy measures, heightened geopolitical tensions, fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, the political and regulatory environment, changes to the U.S. Federal budget and potential changes in tax laws.
These and other key factors could impact our profitability in future reporting periods. See Item 1A. Risk Factors, beginning in the section captioned “Summary of Risk Factors,” included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2022.