Posted on: Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Big Island home sales jump

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sales of previously owned homes soared on the Big Island last month, boosted by condominium transactions in Kailua, Kona, that helped outshine other more sluggish Neighbor Island markets.

Big Island condo sales in November more than doubled to 122, compared with 59 a year earlier. Buyers paid more too, as the $294,900 median price was up 37 percent from $215,000 a year ago.

Single-family home sales on the Orchid Isle were up 21 percent, to 219 from 181 a year earlier, as the median price rose 19 percent, to $315,000 from $264,500.

Larry Hull, broker in charge at Clark Realty Corp.'s Kailua, Kona, office, said resales of condos at only recently completed new-home projects in the area helped fuel a market running low on inventory.

Sales were particularly strong in North Kona, where 84 condos sold — 50 more than in November 2003.

Hull also said that the traditional strength of the market during winter months, when tourists escape cold Mainland weather and do most of their Hawai'i real- estate investing, is being extended year-round.

"We certainly are enjoying the incredible market we're having right now," he said. "I think people are feeling good about their investments."

Carolynn Lapre, a 12-year Big Island resident who works at the Hilo Wal-Mart, said residents like herself are competing more and more with visitors for homes all over the island.

"It just seems," Lapre said, "that every tourist that comes in (to the store) says, 'We were going to stay for two weeks, and now we're going to buy.' "

After scouting the home market earlier this year, Lapre got a good deal purchasing a house in Pahoa from her boyfriend's mother. "The market was moving faster and faster," she said. "I'm grateful I was able to buy before the market passed me by."

On Kaua'i and Maui, the market slowed somewhat in November, but prices still advanced.

Kaua'i single-family home sales dropped 15 percent, to 50 last month compared with 59 in November 2003, according to Hawaii Information Service, which also compiled Big Island data.

The median price for a single-family home on Kaua'i jumped to $547,500 last month, up 59 percent from $344,000 a year earlier. The median represents a point where half the sales were for less and half for more.

Kaua'i condo transactions also slowed, dropping 17 percent to 38 last month compared with 46 a year earlier. The median price was $415,000, up 8 percent from $385,000 over the same period.

On Maui, single-family home sales volume was flat at 104, according to the Realtors Association of Maui. The median was $525,000 last month, up 7 percent from $492,500 a year earlier.

Maui condo sales rose 4 percent, to 138 last month compared with 133 a year earlier. The median price was $386,750, a 52 percent gain over $255,000, in the same comparable period.

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