Kauai’s real estate market sizzled last month as the median price for single-family houses soared above $700,000 and the median cost for condos rose nearly 50 percent.

The single-family house median price increased 10.8 percent to $720,000 from $650,000 in the year-earlier period, according to Kauai Board of Realtors data in a Hawaii Information Service report issued Sunday. Sales, though, fell 10.8 percent to 33 from 37.

Condo prices surged 49.4 percent to $464,000 from $310,500 as sales jumped 40.9 percent to 31 from 22.

Kauai’s numbers can be misleading because the relatively few sales on the Garden Island can create volatility.

For example, 13 of the 33 single-family house sales came from the Hanalei and Koloa regions, where the median price was $957,000 and $720,000, respectively. The Kawaihau region had 13 single-family house sales by itself for a median of $585,000.

Likewise, 13 of the 31 condo sales came from the Hanalei and Kawaihau regions, where the median price was $490,000 and $482,500, respectively. The Koloa region had 14 condo sales of its own — up from three in the year-earlier month — for a median of $276,250.

In that same report, Hawaii Island Realtors said the median price of single-family homes on the Big Island rose 16.2 percent to $348,500 from $300,000 while the median price for condos rose 11.7 percent to $377,000 from $337,500. Sales for single-family houses declined 16.6 percent to 161 from 193 while condo sales rose 20.5 percent to 53 from 44.

The North Kohala region led the way for single-­family houses with five sales at a median of $825,000.

South Kohala had 18 condo sales at a median price of $625,000.

On the neighbor islands, large median price gains don’t necessarily reflect such a change in inherent real estate values because relatively few sales make it easy to have major swings in the median price, which is a point at which half the sales are for more and half for less. The median also can be affected by the age, size, quality and location of homes sold. 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.