Home sales and prices were lower in January on Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i, according to data released yesterday after similar movement for O'ahu's market was reported earlier this week.

The most active of the Neighbor Island markets last month was Maui, where sales of previously owned homes were down by almost half.

The Realtors Association of Maui said there were 29 single-family home sales last month, down 49 percent from 57 sales in January 2008.

The median price — the point where half the sales are higher and half are lower — was $558,000, or 1 percent lower than the $563,225 median in January 2008.

Maui condominium sales totaled 48, which represented a 46 percent decrease from 89 sales a year earlier. The median price was $427,500, or 30 percent lower than the $610,000 median in January 2008.

On the Big Island, single-family home sales fell 46 percent to 49 sales last month from 91 a year earlier, according to data compiled by Hawaii Information Service. The median price was $274,000, or 17 percent lower than the January 2008 median of $330,000.

There were 15 Big Island condo sales in January, down 25 percent from 20 a year earlier. The median price was $200,000, a 56 percent decline from $450,722.

The small size of the Neighbor Island markets means that median prices don't always reflect inherent property values. More lower-end sales and fewer higher-end sales depress the overall median.

For instance, last month compared with a year ago there were three more condo sales in South Hilo, where the median price was $132,250. And there were nine fewer condo sales in South Kohala, where the median was $750,000.

On Kaua'i, there were 10 single-family home sales in January, down 55 percent from 22 a year earlier. The median price was $466,785, down 20 percent from $585,000. Only seven Kaua'i condos sold last month, down 65 percent from 20 a year earlier. The median price was $235,000, down 60 percent from $586,000. Again, the change was largely reflective of a shift to more sales in lower-priced residential areas and fewer sales in higher-priced resort areas.

All the sales data is for home sales that closed in January, reflecting sales contracts signed one to three months earlier.