Lihue condos propel rise in sales on Garden Island

Condominiums in Lihue were a popular buy last month and helped drive gains in Kauai’s housing market, while single-family home sales were up on Hawaii island, according to statistics released Monday.

A report from Hawaii Information Service showed that sales and median prices rose in July on both islands, with the biggest increase occurring for Kauai condo sales, which more than doubled.

There were 36 condos sold on the Garden Isle last month, up 112 percent from 17 in the same month last year. The median price edged up 3 percent to $259,000 from $252,800.

The surge in volume helped push total condo sales this year through July on Kauai to 217, up 19 percent from 182 in the same period last year.

Most of last month’s surge happened in Lihue, where there were 17 sales for a median $157,049 compared with five sales for a median $120,000 a year earlier, the report said.

At the high end of Kauai’s condo market in Hana­lei, where resort units often represent a significant number of sales, eight condos sold for a median $472,000 last month compared with three for a median $372,500 a year earlier.

For single-family houses on Kauai, the number of sales rose 8 percent to 40 last month from 37 a year earlier. The median price rose 6 percent to $432,500 from $410,000 in the same period.

The median price is a figure at which half the sales were at a higher price and half were at a lower price. The measure is affected by several factors, including the location, age, size and quality of homes sold.

On Hawaii island the biggest increase was in the volume of single-family house sales, which rose 14 percent to 161 last month from 141 a year earlier. The median price for those sales rose 12 percent to $290,000 last month from $260,000 a year earlier.

Condo sales on Hawaii island rose 12 percent to 64 last month from 57 a year earlier. The median price for those sales was $254,500 last month, up 13 percent from $225,000 a year earlier.