Maui home sales, median prices diverge

Median prices were up and sales were down for Maui homes through the first six months of the year, according to data released Thursday by the Realtors Association of Maui.

The trade association said the median price for single-family houses sold through June was $575,000. That’s up 7 percent from $539,444 in the same period last year.

In June alone the median was $535,000 compared with $599,000 in the same month last year. The June median was based on 91 sales last month and 93 a year earlier.

For the first six months of this year, there were 454 sales, a 7 percent decline from 490 a year earlier.

In Maui’s condo market the midyear median price was $422,750, or 13 percent higher than $373,000 a year earlier. The number of condo sales was down 3 percent to 656 this year through June compared with 673 at the same point last year.

June sales contributed significantly to the year-to-date drop for condos, as there were 94 sales in the month compared with 125 in June 2013. The median condo sale price in June was $444,500, up 11 percent from $400,000.

Don’t forget DRAM claims, Louie says

Attorney General David M. Louie issued a reminder to Hawaii consumers to file their claim in the $310 million DRAM settlement in time to meet the Aug. 1 deadline. The settlement involves 12 Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) manufacturers over claims of price fixing. Consumers and businesses can file a claim if their purchases were between 1998 and 2002.

DRAM is a high-density, low-cost-per-bit memory component that stores digital information and provides high-speed retrieval of data.

DRAM is sold separately or pre-installed in electronic devices such as computers, graphics cards, video game consoles, MP3 players, printers, PDAs, DVD players and digital video recorders.

The minimum payment for smaller purchases of DRAM or DRAM products is expected to be $10. The actual payment amount depends on the total number of claims filed, and payments could be $25, $50 or more. Claims can be filed online at www.DRAMclaims.com in five minutes or less or by calling 800-589-1425.

Ainsley leaving HHSC after 5 years

Howard Ainsley, regional chief executive officer of the East Hawaii region of Hawaii Health Systems Corp., is resigning Aug. 9.

The East Hawaii region operates Hilo Medical Center, HHSC’s largest facility, Hale Ho’ola Hamakua (originally known as Honoka’a Hospital) and Ka’u Hospital. An HHSC affiliate, Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home, also is in the region.

He will join Novant Health System in North Carolina as CEO of its newest affiliated facility, Morehead Memorial Hospital, HHSC said in a news release. Ainsley has been with the state’s quasi-public hospital system for the past five years.

Novant Health System is a private, nonprofit health care system with $5.8 billion in operating revenue from facilities in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia.

Ainsley leaves HHSC as its regions are creating cost-cutting plans to help the system reduce a $48 million shortfall this year.

ON THE MOVE

Honolulu Cookie Co. has named Glenn Yamashita vice president of finance. He has more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality, technology, telecommunications, real estate and banking industries, including providing strategic consulting services to Pacxa, an IT services company in Hawaii.

Aqua Hospitality has announced two appointments:

>> Machille Pedro is director of reservations and oversees the company’s central reservations office based in Honolulu. She has 17 years of experience in customer relations, account management and leadership. 

>>George Hart has been hired as revenue manager. He has nearly 10 years of experience in competitive strategy and market analysis, including serving as a senior partner and portfolio manager at Heritage Wealth Architects.