Kaua'i is king of pricey homes

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kaua'i took over the top spot from Maui for having more expensive home prices last month, as half of all previously owned Garden Isle single-family houses sold for more than $627,000.

It was the first time the single-family home median price broke $600,000 on Kaua'i, making affordable homes more elusive in that relatively small market.

Kaua'i's single-family home median price was 48 percent higher than the February 2004 median of $425,000, according to Hawai'i Information Service data released yesterday.

Bob Craver, a special events coordinator who moved back to Kaua'i with his wife after relocating to Maui in 1992 because of Hurricane 'Iniki, said he didn't even look at single-family houses in their search.

He said a few Kaua'i homes he knew of were priced around $800,000, leading the Cravers to buy a 3-bedroom condominium for about half that price in January.

"It's scary," he said. "What's happening on Kaua'i (is very similar) to what happened on Maui."

Maui broke the $600,000 mark for a median priced single-family home last May when the midpoint figure surged to $635,000. Since then, the Maui single-family home median stayed below $600,000 until January when it hit $625,000. Last month the median was $575,000, up 5 percent from $550,000 a year earlier.

The high prices combined with tight inventory have created a shrinking resale market on Maui, where the number of single-family home sales has declined for nine of the last 10 months compared with the same months a year earlier.

But on Kaua'i, the number of single-family home sales is still growing. Last month there were 50 sales, up 11 percent from 45 a year earlier.

Kaua'i condo transactions were down 52 percent to 23 last month, compared with 48 a year earlier. Kaua'i's median condo price last month was $431,650, down 1 percent compared with $435,000 a year earlier.

On Maui, there were 75 single-family home resales last month, down 14 percent from 87 in February 2004, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

The median price for a Maui condo was $358,269 last month, up 34 percent from $267,450 a year earlier. Volume during the same period was down 7 percent to 143, compared with 154.

Big Island condos had the biggest median price increase, rising 70 percent to $325,000 last month, compared with $191,000 a year earlier, according to Hawai'i Information Service. Sales in the same period were up 7 percent to 73, compared with 68.

The Big Island single-family home median price was $350,000, up 29 percent from $271,143 in the year-over-year period. There were 157 sales, down 7 percent from 168.

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

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