Real estate professionals on the neighbor islands said their markets in 2018 experienced softening and price resistance — similar to Oahu — and that could indicate the latest ramp-up is coming to a close.
Hawaii Information Service reported Saturday that December single-family home sales on Hawaii island decreased to 182, a more than 11 percent drop from December 2017. For the year, single-family sales declined almost 7 percent to 2,330. While December condominium sales increased by nearly
15 percent to 68, annual condominium sales fell nearly 3 percent to 833.
Last month the median sales price paid for a Big Island single-family home increased nearly 18 percent to $399,500. The median condominium price paid for a condominium on Hawaii island last month increased more than 36 percent to $384,000. For the year, the median price for a Big Island single-family home increased nearly 3 percent to $358,750, and condominiums rose nearly 13 percent to $350,000.
Double-digit increases or decreases in median prices are not uncommon for neighbor island housing markets because the sale volume is relatively small and sales of new homes in addition to previously owned homes are counted. Differences in the size, location, age and quality of homes sold affect the median price, which is a midpoint where half the sales were at a higher price and half at a lower price. The Realtors Association of Maui hasn’t reported its December or year-end data. However, local agents report common softening across the isles.
Howard Dinits, owner of Dinits Realty, who handles real estate transactions on Hawaii island and Maui, said both markets have softened like Oahu. Dinits said rising interest rates and reports of lagging real estate markets on the mainland have given some Maui buyers pause, although affluent buyers are less affected by these indicators.
“Six months ago I was hearing that the San Diego and Bay Area markets had stopped getting 10 percent appreciation. At that time we could put anything on the market and get multiple offers. Right now that’s not the case, but that makes sense because we tend to lag the mainland,” he said.
Dinits said the market also is slowing on Hawaii island, especially the east side.
“Homes listed for $330,000 before the (lava) flow can be had for $200,000 now. There was an inventory shortage for about six months as displaced homeowners sought new properties, but it’s back to a normal market now,” Dinits said.
Dinits said the good news is that Hawaii island’s east side slowdown doesn’t seem related to concern over the earlier Kilauea eruption, which accelerated in May and stopped flowing in August, and buyers can get insurance through the Hawaii Property Insurance Association.
Kelly Liberatore, a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Island Properties on Kauai, said Kauai experienced a fourth-quarter rise in residential sales volume but a decrease in sales.
“That tells me we have a lack of supply that is pushing the prices up,” Liberatore said.
Hawaii Information Source reported that single-family home sales on Kauai in December rose more than 7 percent to 45, and condominium sales fell just over 2 percent to 41. For the year, single-family sales climbed more than
8 percent to 596, and condominium sales grew more than 11 percent to 502.
The median price paid for a single-family home on Kauai in December rose more than 6 percent to $625,000, while the full-year gain was nearly 6 percent to $699,500. In December the median price paid for a Kauai condominium grew almost 22 percent to $660,338. The median price of a Kauai condominium for full-year 2018 rose nearly 6 percent to $459,000.
Liberatore said current pricing has made it difficult for some buyers, especially first-timers, to enter Kauai’s market. There are only 17 homes under $500,000, four homes under $400,000 and one condominium available for under $300,o00 outside of a resort or retirement community, she said.
But Liberatore thinks price resistance will bring prices down in 2019 and that “we’ll start to see buyers who couldn’t buy a home at the end of this cycle start looking again.”
