Maui home prices dinged in January

Not as many pricey homes sold on Maui last month, which dinged the statistics for median prices in a report released Sunday by the Realtors Association of Maui.

The report said the median price for single-family houses sank 17 percent to $577,000 in January from $695,000 in the same month last year. The median condominium sale price dropped 14 percent to $378,000 from $441,000.

The mix of homes sold contributed significantly to the drop, the report shows.

For instance, in the resort area of Wailea/Makena there were two single-family house sales for a median $1.2 million last month compared with six sales for a median $2.3 million a year earlier. And on Lanai, three homes were sold last month for a median $417,000 compared with two homes a year earlier for a median $3.2 million.

In Maui’s most active area for housing, Central Maui, there were 23 single-family house sales for a median $507,500 last month compared with 14 sales for a median $405,698 a year earlier.

A similar mix effect appeared to significantly influence the median condo sale price, with more sales at the low end of the market than the high end.

For instance, there were no condo sales on Lanai last month compared with two for a median $1.7 million a year earlier. On Molokai, there were four sales for a median $64,500 last month compared with one sale for $222,500 a year earlier.

The median is a point at which half the sales were for a higher price and half for a lower price. The Realtors Association of Maui counts new and previously owned sales in its statistics.

The number of singe-family houses sold in January was 75, up 15 percent from 65 a year earlier.

In Maui’s condo market, the number of sales declined 12 percent to 83 from 94 in the same period.