Pieces of Maui’s housing market moved in opposite directions last month, with sales up and prices down for single-family homes, but sales down and prices up for condominiums, according to sales data released Monday.
The report from the Realtors Association of Maui showed that the divergent moves weren’t sharp and aren’t uncommon for the relatively small market, in which about 200 sales a month is normal.
The biggest change was a 16 percent decrease in the number of condo sales, which fell to 104 last month from 123 in the same month last year. The median price for condos sold in March rose 12 percent to $494,000 from $440,000 in the same period.
Much of the condo sale volume decline occurred in the resort areas of Kapalua and Kaanapali. In Kapalua there was one sale for $835,000 last month, compared with six sales for a median $1 million a year earlier. In Kaanapali there were 13 sales for a median $1.1 million last month, compared with 17 sales for a median $1.5 million a year earlier.
Condo median prices got their boost largely from sales in the Napili-Kahana-Honokowai area, where there were 23 sales last month for a median $510,000, compared with 23 sales for a median $396,000 a year earlier.
For single-family homes, sales rose 14 percent to 98 last month from 86 a year earlier. The median price slipped 4 percent to $610,750 from $632,625.
The trade association noted that big players in Maui’s real estate market, Canadians, have been dealing with a decline in the value of their currency that might be motivating them to sell rather than buy property on the Valley Isle.