Real estate a mixed bag on Kauai and Big Island

October was a largely subdued month for Kauai and Hawaii island housing markets as sales were mostly lower, though there was some uptick in median prices, a new report indicates.

Data from the Kauai Board of Realtors and Hawaii Island Realtors distributed this week by Hawaii Information Service showed the biggest slowdown in sales happened on the Big Island, where 49 sales of condominiums last month represented a 21 percent decline from 62 sales in the same month last year.

Nearly all of the downturn in condo sales occurred in South Kohala, which saw 11 fewer sales in the comparable period.

Single-family house sales on Hawaii island slipped 9 percent to 146 from 160 in the same period. The decrease in this category was concentrated in the Puna area, which includes Pahoa, where lava is threatening homes. There were also fewer single-family house sales in North and South Kona.

Kauai fared a bit better with 29 condo sales in October, down from 33 a year earlier. Sales of single-family houses on the Garden Isle ticked up to 35 last month from 32 a year earlier.

Median prices moved in opposite directions on the two islands, rising on Hawaii island and falling on Kauai.

The median price for single-family houses sold on the Big Island last month was $325,750. That was up 22 percent from $266,500 a year earlier.

The increase was influenced by the sales slowdown in Puna, where home prices are lower compared with most other parts of the island. Fewer sales of lower-priced homes increases the median price for all homes because the median price is a point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

In Hawaii island’s condo market, the median sale price rose 34 percent to $295,000 in October from $219,475 a year earlier. This gain appeared to be largely driven by more higher-end condos sold in South Kohala based on data in the report.

On Kauai the median single-family house sale price was $475,000 in October, down 18 percent from $580,000. The condo median fell 29 percent to $226,675 from $320,000 in part due to the mix of homes sold.