Neighbor Island home prices rise

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Home prices continued to rise on the Neighbor Islands last month despite falling demand for condominiums on Maui and fewer single-family homes being resold on the Big Island and Kaua'i.

The mixed results for sales of existing homes on the three islands in August follows an increase in July after an unsteady May and June, according to the latest market reports. But for the first eight months of this year, more homes were resold compared with the same period last year.

For August, only the Big Island had a net decrease in volume when combining condo and single-family home resales.

The median price for an existing single-family home sold on the Big Island in August was $245,000, about $50,000 more than the $194,250 median price in August 2002, according to Hawaii Information Service.

The number of transactions for Big Island single-family homes fell 5.2 percent during the same period, to 184 from 194.

For Big Island condos, the median sales price, which is the point where half the prices are higher and half are lower, was up by almost $50,000, rising to $185,000 last month, compared with $138,500 in August 2002.

The number of Big Island condo resales rose 5.8 percent during the same period, to 73 from 69.

On Kaua'i, the median price for a single-family home was $367,500, up almost $90,000 from the $280,000 median price in August 2002, Hawaii Information Service reported.

Single-family home sales volume on Kaua'i dropped by 22.4 percent, falling to 52 from 67 during the same period.

The median Kaua'i condo price more than doubled, rising by $190,000 to $345,000 last month, compared with $155,000 in August 2002.

Michael Schmidt, principal broker at Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty Inc., said he suspected that the year-ago figure was depressed by a lot of non-resort, low-end condo sales, because condo values generally have been rising by 40 percent to 50 percent in each of the past three years.

The high prices, he said, are being driven by buyers of luxury second-home resort properties, including year-old condos being bought for as much as 20 percent more than when they were new.

"Our market values today are higher than they have been ever before," Schmidt said.

The number of condo transactions on Kaua'i also showed the biggest increase in August, rising 57.1 percent to 55, up from 35 in the same month a year ago.

On Maui, the median price for a single-family home last month was $449,000, nearly $100,000 more than it was a year before when the median price was $352,000, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

There were 97 single-family home resales on Maui, up 21.3 percent from 80 resales in August 2002.

Maui's median condo price was $240,000, up about $60,000 from $179,000 during the same year-over-year period.

The number of Maui condo sales was down 2.8 percent, at 139 last month, compared with 143 in the year-ago month.

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