Sales of homes on Hawaii island and Kauai rose last month, but prices were a mix of large gains and small declines, according to a report released Thursday.
The biggest segment of the two neighbor island markets, single-family homes on Hawaii island, had some of the most modest changes in volume and prices. And the smallest segment, condominiums on Kauai, had the largest change.
The report from Hawaii Information Service is based on data from the Hawaii Island Realtors and Kauai Board of Realtors trade associations.
On Hawaii island, sales of single-family homes rose 5.6 percent to 190 in April from 180 in the same month last year. The median price dipped 3 percent to $367,500 from $378,950.
Big Island condo sales edged up 3.8 percent to 82 units last month from 79 a year earlier. The median price, however, jumped 35.7 percent to $352,750 from $260,000.
The strong gain in condo sale prices was due to more expensive units bought in the North Kohala area where there were 40 sales for a median $342,750 last month compared with 37 sales for a median $230,000 a year earlier. Median prices for condo sales in other parts of the island were mostly lower last month than they were a year earlier.
The median price is a point at which half the sales were at a lower price and half at a higher price. This measure often is easily swayed by the age, quality, size and location of homes, especially when relatively few sales are involved. Also, the neighbor island real estate agent trade associations include both previously owned homes and new homes in their report, which can affect median prices significantly when large numbers of new homes are sold.
Kauai’s condo market produced the biggest gain on a percent change basis, with the number of sales up 36 percent, representing a rise to 34 sales last month from 25 a year earlier.
The median Kauai condo sale price was $429,975 last month, up 11.7 percent from $385,000 a year earlier.
Kauai single-family home sales rose 27.8 percent in April to 46 from 36 a year earlier. The median price dipped 1.7 percent to $542,500 from $551,750.
