The home, one of 14 planned for the exclusive community Maluhia At Wailea, is one that market researcher Ricky Cassiday projects will push sales of new and existing homes at master-planned resorts to a new statewide high of $1.4 billion this year.

For the first half of the year, there were 968 resort home sales, up 17 percent from 828 during the same period last year, according to a report released yesterday by Cassiday.

The average price paid was $736,055, down 10 percent from $821,789 during the comparable year-ago period, but because of more sales, the total volume was up 5 percent to $711 million versus $680 million.

Cassiday forecasts that the buying, primarily by visitors from the Mainland looking for part-time homes or investments, will continue for the second half of the year.

The market growth is consistent with expansion of sales and prices for new and existing Hawai'i homes being bought mostly by residents in nonresort areas.

The expansion of the resort market, however, has been more recent, as resort home purchases declined in 2001 before rising last year, according to Cassiday. The average price of a resort home also decreased last year.

Cassiday said the price drops last year and earlier this year reflect lower-priced homes being sold on O'ahu at Ko Olina Resort & Marina and at the Waikoloa Colony Villas on the Big Island.

"I think it's kind of a good thing at least for the market," he said. "You want it to be deeper with a broader mix of prices so there's more opportunity."

The highest price paid for residential real estate at a resort this year to date was $13.4 million, compared with $16.5 million last year and $15 million in 2001.

Homes still for sale at Maluhia could change that, however, if buyers spring for one of three available residences priced between $7.2 million and $15.5 million unfurnished. Adding custom furnishings from a design firm affiliated with developer PRM Realty Group would cost an additional $1 million to $2 million.