Neighbor Island home resale prices up
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
While sales of existing homes on O'ahu last month continued to increase steadily, resales on the Neighbor Islands were mixed, with Maui activity rising, Big Island falling and Kaua'i reporting a little bit of both.
Prices, however, rose on all islands.
Neighbor Island residential real estate markets have benefited from historic low interest rates, but are more influenced by swings in tourism than O'ahu, which last month accounted for more than twice as many home transactions than Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i combined.
The strongest activity occurred on Maui, where there were 119 single-family home resales last month, up 36.8 percent over 87 resales in May 2002. Condominium resales on Maui totaled 153 last month, up 5.5 percent over the 145 resales during the same period in 2002, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.
Maui's home resale activity, which includes transactions on Lana'i and some on Moloka'i, was the highest in 10 years, association records show.
Year to date through May, single-family home resales on Maui were up 12.2 percent at 423, compared with 377 during the first five months last year. Condo resales were up 2.7 percent at 606, compared with 590 for the same period.
The median Maui single-family home resale price last month was up $6,000 to $375,000 from $369,000 in May 2002. The median condo price was $201,000, up from $199,000 during the same period last year. The median price is a point where half the prices are higher and half are lower.
On the Big Island, the number of resales was down about 11 percent in the same year-over-year period, falling to 173 from 195 for single-family homes, and dropping to 62 from 70 for condos, according to real estate data provider Hawaii Information Service.
Dave Lucas, broker in charge for Century 21 All Islands in Kailua, Kona, said low inventory kept resales from increasing.
"Our market is just rippin', but we're losing inventory," he said. "There's not a lot to choose from."
Median prices on the Big Island were significantly higher for single-family homes, rising to $245,000 from $174,500, or a $70,500 increase. The median condo price was up $1,000 to $175,000.
Year to date through May, Big Island single-family home resales are ahead of last year, with 799 transactions compared with 755, a 5.8 percent increase. Condo resales on the Big Island totaled 378, up 33.1 percent from 284 transactions during the same period last year.
On Kaua'i, there were 40 single-family home resales last month, one fewer than the same month a year ago, representing a 2.4 percent decline, according to Hawaii Information Service. Kaua'i condo resales were up 11.8 percent, to 57 from 51, during the same period.
Median prices for single-family homes on Kaua'i were up slightly to $412,500 last month from $410,000 in May 2002, and up $65,000 for condos, where the median price rose to $310,000 from $245,000 during the same period last year. Both of Kaua'i's median prices were higher than those of other island in the state.
Kaua'i single-family home resales for the first five months of the year were up 23.7 percent to 240, compared with 194 during the same period last year. Condo resales were down 7.2 percent on the island to 193 from 208.
May data for O'ahu resales, which tend to peak at different times of the year compared with Neighbor Island markets, was released and reported earlier this month.
Single-family home purchases on O'ahu last month were up 7.1 percent to 393, from 367 in May 2002. Condo resales were up 20.5 percent to 564, compared with 468 sales during the same period last year.
The median price of an O'ahu single-family home last month was $365,000, up from $360,000 in the year-ago month. O'ahu's median condo price was $166,000, up from $145,000 during the same period last year.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
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