Single-family home sales slow pace of Maui market

It was a better market for condominiums than single-family homes on Maui last month, but overall activity in residential real estate on the Valley Isle was close to what it was a year earlier.

A report released Wednesday by the Realtors Association of Maui showed that sales and median prices rose for condos but fell for single-family homes in January compared with the same month last year.

There were 89 condo sales for a median $339,000 last month, compared with 87 at a median $295,000 a year earlier. That represented a 2 percent increase in sales and a 15 percent increase in the median price.

In the single-family home market, there were 49 sales for a median $408,000 last month compared with 54 at a median $495,415 a year earlier. That represented a 9 percent decrease in sales and an 18 percent decrease in the median price.

The changes in the median price don’t necessarily reflect changes in property values. The median is a point at which half the sales are for more and half for less, so changes can be affected by differences in the size, location and quality of homes.

For instance, one home sold last month in the Maui Meadows area for $2.3 million. A year earlier, there were three sales for a median $650,000.

Overall, the combined value of all residential real estate sold last month on Maui was close to what it was a year earlier: $66 million compared with $69 million.