Resort home sales set record in 2001

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Visitors, part-time residents and investors spent more than $1 billion last year buying vacation homes in Hawai'i — a record reached through a staggering sales volume increase of nearly 50 percent. Despite the surge in demand, the average price for luxury homes fell statewide.

Luxury home sales hit a record high in 2002 with 1,572 units drawing an average of $740,022. High-end homes on the Big Island and Lana'i sold for the most money. Maui saw more sales than any other island, but price fell significantly. Advertiser library photo

The previous year had 1,057 sales at an average price of $868,518, for $932 million in total sales.

Most of the resort homes sold on Maui and Kaua'i, while the most expensive sold on the Big Island and Lana'i.

The resort home real estate market expansion was a change from two previous years of relatively slow growth.

Cassiday said the market growth looks like it will continue this year based on preliminary sales data for the first quarter.

"The market is still expanding, with closings and total revenues about 20 percent (to) 30 percent higher than they were in 2002," he said in the report.

The Big Island had the highest total transaction volume, at $452 million, from 284 sales at an average price of $1.6 million.

More Maui resort homes were sold, 657, but the lower average price of $670,805 resulted in total transaction volume of $441 million. The average price on Maui was down from $874,593 in 2001 — the major cause of lower statewide average last year.

Cassiday said the lower average price on Maui was probably the result of sellers lowering prices following Sept. 11, 2001.

"Maui is pretty much a commodity market in the sense that it is deep and broad," he said. "There was a ripple effect there."

On Kaua'i, resort home prices were up, averaging $429,408. With 523 sales, the island generated $225 million in resort-home revenue.

On Lana'i, 14 resort homes sold for an average of $865,536, for a total of $12.1 million. On O'ahu, 94 resort homes sold for an average of $363,916, for a total of $34.2 million.

Among resorts, the highest average price paid for a home was $5.5 million at Kuki'o on the Big Island, followed by $2.9 million at another Big Island resort, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. The highest single sale was for $16.5 million at an unidentified resort.

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