Posted on: Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Big Island condos hit record high

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Condominiums on the Big Island sold for a record $350,000 last month, but they were still the least expensive type of housing in major Neighbor Island markets in March.

Prices for previously owned homes on Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island rose between 9 percent and 46 percent while the number of transactions moved up and down, according to the latest statistics from Hawaii Information Service and the Realtors Association of Maui.

The only price record was for Big Island condos, with a median that was 27 percent higher than $275,000 in March 2004. The median is a point where half the sales were for more and half for less.

The number of Big Island condo sales rose 14 percent to 99 last month, compared with 87 a year earlier.

Single-family home sales on the Big Island totaled 257, up 15 percent from 224, during the same period. The median price was $365,000 last month, or 46 percent higher than $250,000 a year earlier.

The costliest housing was on Maui, where a median-priced single-family home sold for $632,000, or 27 percent more than $499,000 a year earlier.

It was the third time in the last year that the median was over $600,000.

The record — $640,000 — was set last May and matched in January.

There were 116 Maui single-family home sales in March, up 5 percent from 110 a year earlier.

Maui condos sold for a median of $415,000, up 34 percent from $310,000 a year earlier. The number of Maui condo sales in March totaled 168, a 13 percent drop from 193 a year earlier.

On Kaua'i, the single-family home median price was $509,000, or 20 percent more than $425,000 a year earlier. The number of single-family home sales dipped 5 percent to 52, compared with 55, during the same period.

Kaua'i condos sold for a median of $357,500 last month, a 9 percent rise from $329,000 a year earlier. Volume was down 5 percent, to 56 from 59, in the same period.

O'ahu maintained the least expensive prices for previously owned homes sold last month, with a median condo price of $230,000. O'ahu's median single-family home price was $550,000.

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