Vacation home sales up

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Homes at vacation resorts in Hawai'i were selling for slightly lower prices during the first half of the year, but more people are buying them, according to a report released yesterday.

Owners and developers of residential real estate at resorts such as Wailea and Hualalai sold a record $625 million of single-family and multi-family residences from January through June. That compares with $531 million in the same period last year.

The highest price paid for a resort home was $16.5 million — a record, said Honolulu-based market researcher Ricky Cassiday.

Cassiday's analysis showed 730 resort home sales statewide for the first half of the year, a 20.7 percent increase compared with 605 in the same year-ago period.

Prices averaged $854,981 this year through June, compared with $861,400 a year ago. That was a difference of about $6,000, less than 1 percent.

The dip in the average sales price resulted mainly from price decreases of new homes, especially condominiums. That offset a greater number of sales above $1 million — a market that had 144 sales, with almost half between $1 million and $1.5 million, and five above $10 million.

Cassiday said residential resort homes under $1 million maintained prices better, as did resales of existing homes at resorts.

As has been the case in the residential market outside of resort areas, interest rates have been driving much of the buying.

Perhaps more so, investors are putting money into second homes instead of the stock market, Cassiday added.

"There seems to be many more buyers than many sellers had expected," he said.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.