Big Isle housing mixed; Kauai prices, sales drop

Hawaii island’s housing market turned in mixed results in September but the results were worse on Kauai where sales and prices fell for both single-family homes and condominiums.

On Hawaii island, the median price rose 12% for single-­family homes to $399,500 from $356,720 in the year-earlier period while condos’ median price jumped 19.2% to $354,500 from $297,500, according to a recent report from Hawaii Information Service based on Hawaii Island Realtors and Kauai Board of Realtors data. The median price is a point at which half of all sales are at a higher price and half at a lower price.

Sales on the Big Island fell 12.8% for single-family homes to 164 from 188 while condo sales edged up 3.4% to 61 from 59.

It was a different scenario on Kauai where the median price for single-family homes fell 9.2% to $615,000 from $677,000 and the median for condos plunged 38.8% to $485,000 from $792,500 primarily due to big decreases in sales volume in Koloa and Kawaihau. Sales for single­-family homes declined 13.6% to 51 from 59 while condo sales dropped 22.5% to 31 from 40.

Hawaii Island Realtors and the Kauai Board of Realtors also include sales of new homes and previously owned homes in their data. New homes typically sell for more than otherwise comparable used homes, which pushes up median prices that also are affected by residences’ size, location and quality.