Hawai'i's commercial real estate investment boom slackened last year, bringing to rest a vigorous three-year expansion of sales, according to a new report.

Investors last year bought less commercial property such as hotels, shopping centers, apartment complexes, industrial land and office buildings largely because there wasn't as much for sale, according to the report by local commercial real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander.

The report, which compiled statewide commercial property sales of at least $1 million, said sales last year totaled $3.76 billion, down 12 percent from $4.28 bill-ion in 2005. There were 350 transactions, down 19 percent from 431 the previous year.

Still, last year's totals for value and transactions likely were the second-highest for the industry in the last 15 years, according to Colliers, and were more than four times the volume in 2002, just before the investment surge began.

"For the past three years, Hawai'i enjoyed a convergence of positive factors that led to record commercial real estate activity," Colliers research and consulting director Mike Hamasu wrote in the report.

Beneficial factors for the 2003-2005 investment rise included low interest rates, lots of available capital, a shortage of prime Mainland investment properties and Hawai'i's strong economy.

Last year, however, Hawai'i's economic growth began to wane, and Colliers said available prime Hawai'i properties fell into short supply.

Primarily contributing to last year's falloff in the value of commercial property sales were declines in office building and shopping center sales. Dramatically fewer apartment building transactions helped pull down the number of sales but had a less significant impact on the market's value decline.

The four single-biggest transactions reported by Colliers were Hualalai Resort for $285 million, the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel for $218 million, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua hotel for $200 million and the Kahala Mandarin Oriental hotel for $176 million.

All hotel sales together accounted for $2.1 billion, or more than half the value of all commercial property transactions.

The biggest sales in other categories were Pearl Highlands Center for $140 million (retail), a cluster of Royal Kunia rental townhomes for $114 million (apartment), 100 acres of land in Kapolei for $79 million (industrial), and a downtown Honolulu block with three small office buildings, a parking garage and Macy's department store for $35 million (office).

The Colliers report said Mainland and international investors bought higher-value assets on average, but that 70 percent of all purchases were made by Hawai'i investors.

Hamasu said there is still lots of demand, but he expects limited supply will result in another decrease in Hawai'i commercial property purchases this year to what he roughly guesses will be around 300 transactions for near $3 billion.

"There's a shortage of prime real estate for investment here," he said.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.