Kauai, Hawaii isle prices mixed as housing supply lags demand

Housing prices on Hawaii island and Kauai were mixed in June as demand continues to outpace supply in the single-family home market.

Prices of previously owned homes on the Big Island fell 3.3 percent to $290,000 last month from $300,000 in the year-earlier period, while sales dropped 1.8 percent to 167 from 170, according to statistics from Hawaii Island Realtors and the Kauai Board of Realtors released by Hawaii Information Service.

Big island condominium prices, however, were the bright spot, up 7.6 percent to $286,750 from $266,500, though sales were flat at 54.

"There’s just not enough houses to fill the specific needs of the potential buyers. There are a lot of people looking, but they’re not finding the right house because the inventory is down," said Kona-based Realtor Bryan Caldwell of Clark Realty Corp., who characterized the market as showing healthy growth. "One of the things most real estate agents agree on is we see prices going up gradually. In general, things are slowly going up. Here it’s still possible for first-time buyers to get in. Over on Oahu it’s going to be a lot harder because it’s just so much higher."

Meanwhile, the median sale price for a home on Kauai inched up 1.7 percent to $570,000 from $560,750, though sales were down 9.6 percent to 47 from 52. Garden Isle condo sales jumped 16.7 percent to 42 from 36, though prices were down 0.2 percent to $306,504 from $307,000.

On Oahu the limited supply of single-family homes pushed the median price to $700,000 in June, tying the record set a year ago and placing homeownership out of reach for many first-time buyers.