Homes mostly sold for less last month on Kauai, Big Island

Homebuyers mainly bought less valuable properties on Kauai and Hawaii island last month, according to a report released Monday that also showed sale volume on the two neighbor islands was mostly higher.

The biggest change in prices occurred in Kauai’s condominium market where the median sale price plummeted 28 percent to $333,000 in February from $464,000 in the same month a year earlier. That means half the homes sold for more than $333,000 and half for less last month.

Median prices are often swayed more by the age, location, size and quality of homes on Kauai and Hawaii island because relatively few sales are involved and sales of both new homes and previously owned homes are included in the statistics reported by the Kauai Board of Realtors and Hawaii Island Realtors through Hawaii Information Service.

Last month there were 36 Kauai condo sales compared with 31 a year earlier.

In Kauai’s single-family home market, there were 53 sales in February, up 56 percent from 34 sales a year earlier. The median single-family home price on Kauai edged up 6 percent to $725,000 from $682,500 in the same period.

On Hawaii island the number of single-family home sales dipped 8 percent to 152 last month from 166 a year earlier. The median price slipped 5 percent to $327,500 from $344,250.

Hawaii island condos sold for a median $332,500 in February, down 14 percent from $387,000 a year earlier. That was based on 58 sales last month compared with 54 a year earlier.