Sales and prices were mostly lower for previously owned homes sold last month on the Big Island and Kaua'i.

The exception to the continued decline was an uptick in the number of Kaua'i single-family homes, but for Kaua'i condominiums the slowdown was harsh.

Only six Kaua'i condos sold in August — one-quarter the number sold a year earlier and about one-third the average monthly sale volume this year to date, according to sales statistics from Hawai'i Information Service.

"That's a heck of a drop," said Phil Fudge, president of the Kaua'i Board of Realtors and principal broker of Kauai Landmark Realty.

However, Fudge said the dearth of condo sales last month was probably just an unusual dry spell, given that about 20 condo sales are pending and likely will result in a more normal number of sales completed this month.

"It was probably just an anomaly," he said of August sales.

The major drop in Kaua'i condo sales occurred in the Hanalei region, which includes Prince-ville Resort, where sales fell to zero last month from eight in August 2007. The Kawaihau region, which includes Kapa'a, had only two sales compared with seven a year earlier. And in the Koloa region, which includes Po'ipu, there was one sale last month compared with five a year earlier. The most condo sales occurred in Lihu'e, where there were three, down from four a year earlier.

The median Kaua'i condo sale price was $274,500, which was down 53 percent from $587,000 a year earlier. The low median was largely influenced by the sales in Lihu'e, where the middle of the three sale prices was $210,000. The one Koloa condo sold for $825,000.

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

In Kaua'i's single-family home market, there were 26 sales last month, up from 21 a year earlier. The median price was $545,000, down 13 percent from $624,500 in the same comparable period.

On the Big Island, sales were down 47 percent for condos to 30 last month from 57 a year earlier. The median price was down 2 percent to $287,000 from $293,403 in the same comparable period.

There were 84 Big Island single-family home sales in August, down 46 percent from 156 a year earlier. The median price was down 20 percent to $320,000 from $398,250 in the comparable period.