Homes on Maui selling at premium
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Rocketing prices and falling sales buffeted Maui's condominium market last month, highlighting a general slowdown in the number of previously owned homes sold on Neighbor Islands in October amid near-record high prices.
The median price for a Maui condo reached a record $365,000, as sellers tested new bounds for a market low on inventory. That price is up 43 percent from $255,000 in October 2003.
The rise corresponds to a 43 percent decline in the number of previously owned Maui condos sold, which fell to 115 from 201 in that time, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.
Don Emigh, a broker with Prudential Maui Realtors, said he's seen a lot of sellers testing the market in the last two months with significantly higher asking prices. "They're going to see how high high is," he said. "It has definitely put a damper on sales."
Wil Copeland, a 13-year Maui resident who bought a Kihei condo last month, said he felt as though he defied huge odds by finding someone who accepted $227,000 for the 1-bedroom, 1-bath unit listed for $235,000.
"I think we got very fortunate," he said, explaining that two weeks after his purchase closed he saw two nearly identical units put on the market for $50,000 more. "It was real scary. Prices are just skyrocketing."
The median price for a Maui single-family home last month was $607,500, a 17 percent increase over $520,000 in October 2003 and close to the May record of $622,500.
The median price, a point where half the sales were for more and half for less, jumped in all major Neighbor Island markets, according to data compiled by the Hawaii Information Service.
The jump was highest for single-family homes on Kaua'i, where the October median rose 76 percent to $580,000 over $329,000 in October 2003. Despite the increase, sales volume was up 15 percent to 70 last month compared with 61 a year earlier.
Kaua'i condo resales in the same period declined 33 percent, falling to 34 compared with 51, as the median price rose 41 percent to $388,000 over $275,000.
On the Big Island, condo resales were down 6 percent last month at 89, compared with 95 a year earlier. The October median price was $312,000, up 39 percent from $225,000 a year earlier.
Big Island single-family home resales totaled 227 last month, off 1 percent from 229 a year earlier, as the median price rose 29 percent to $329,000 from $256,000 in the same period.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
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