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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, March 4, 2010

February homes sales rise on Maui, but prices fall

Advertiser Staff

Sales were up but median prices were down for homes sold on Maui last month.

The Realtors Association of Maui reported that single-family home sales rose 56 percent to 53 in February from 34 in the same month last year. The median price was down 7 percent to $507,200 from $545,000.
Condominium sales on the Valley Isle were up 12 percent to 94 from 84 in the same comparable period. The median condo price was down 38 percent to $429,000 from $692,500.
Some of the rising demand is coming from buyers trying to cash in on federal tax credits for home purchases, and lower prices, according to brokers.
“The market seems to be getting its footing generally, as we grind out of the bottom end of the market,” said Terry Tolman, chief executive of the trade association.
The median price for single-family homes on Maui has been falling for the last three years, and in 2009 was at roughly the same level it was in late 2003 — $500,000.
In Maui’s condo market, median prices last year fell for the first time since Hawaiçi’s broad housing market downturn in Hawaiçi. The 2009 median declined 18 percent to $450,000 from $550,000 a year before.
The condo median price drop in February was particularly large partly because of weak prices and also partly because of the mix of units sold, association data shows.