Homebuyers pick Puna, purchasing 179 properties

A report from Hawaii Information Service tallying residential sales on the island showed that sales of single-family houses jumped 76 percent to 179 in September from 102 in the same month last year.

Most of the surge occurred in Puna, where the number of sales soared 88 percent to 60 from 32 a year earlier.

Another big part of the sales increase on the island happened in South Hilo, where the number of transactions more than doubled to 28 from 11.

North Kona also had a strong month, as sales there rose to 42 from 24.

The median sale price for houses on Hawaii island rose 13 percent to $280,000 last month from $247,500 a year earlier. 

In Hawaii island’s condominium market, the number of sales rose 27 percent, or by nine units, to 43 last month from 34 a year earlier.

The median condo sale price was up 17 percent to $315,000 from $269,500.

Hawaii Information’s report also included data for Kauai’s residential real estate market, where sales were up by smaller amounts and median prices were down.

There were 39 single-family houses sold on Kauai last month, up 15 percent from 34 a year ago. The median price declined 7 percent to $490,000 from $524,500.

Kauai condo sale volume rose 33 percent, or by seven units, to 28 units last month from 21 units a year ago. The median price declined 36 percent to $207,500 from $325,000.

The big decline in Kauai’s condo median appeared to be driven by the mix of units sold. There were eight sales for a median $182,000 in the Kawaihau region last month compared with four sales for a median $358,000 a year earlier. 

In Lihue there were 11 sales last month for a median $165,000 compared with six sales for a median $163,000 a year earlier.