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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Hawai'i home sales continue to cool

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's housing market continued to show signs of cooling in April, with sales of previously owned homes falling by half in two Neighbor Island markets.

One record was set, as the median price for condominiums sold last month on Maui hit $539,000. But prices on Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island were below records set last year and earlier this year, providing further evidence Hawai'i's housing boom is slowing.

The largest decline in sales volume occurred on the Big Island where 59 condos were sold last month, a 54 percent drop from 128 a year earlier, according to Hawaii Information Service data.

Big Island single-family home sales declined 30 percent, to 168 in April from 241 a year earlier.

The median price for Big Island single-family homes sold in April was $439,900. That was down from $449,900 in March, but up from $390,000 a year earlier. For condos, the median was $580,000. That was up from $462,500 in March and $379,950 a year earlier, but below $605,000 in February.

The median is a point at which half the sales were for more and half for less.

The other market where sales fell by half was the condo market on Maui, where there were 111 sales last month compared with 222 a year earlier, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

Single-family home sales on Maui dropped 41 percent to 68 in April from 116 a year earlier.

The median price for Maui condos sold last month hit a record $539,000, which was up from a revised $530,250 in March and $329,500 a year earlier.

Maui's single-family home median price was $690,000, down from a revised $725,000 in March but up from $674,000 a year earlier.

On Kaua'i, Hawai'i Information Service reported 76 condo sales last month, up 27 percent from 60 a year earlier. The April median price was $351,750, off slightly from $355,000 in March and 15 percent lower than $414,000 a year earlier.

Kaua'i single-family home sales totaled 41, down 40 percent from 68 sales a year earlier. The median price was $740,000, down from $850,000 in March but up 23 percent from $600,000 a year earlier.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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