Part of Maui’s housing market nearly rebounded to what might be considered normal in July.
The Realtors Association of Maui said in a new report that the number of single-family home sales for Maui County last month was one transaction shy of the sales tally for the same month last year.
There were 86 such sales in July compared with 87 a year earlier.
July’s results followed year-over-year declines of 20% in June and 69% in May in the midst of impacts from COVID-19 that include job and wage losses for residents along with the near absence of tourism.
In April, the number of Maui
single-family home sales rose 8% but included transactions agreed
to before the coronavirus pandemic was recognized as a problem in Hawaii that triggered an economic downturn.
Typically, completed sales in each month’s report reflect purchase contracts signed one to three months earlier.
Data from the trade association showed that the almost-stable
recent single-family home sale
volume was primarily driven by
25 transactions in Wailuku in July, which compared with 14 sales in the same area a year earlier. There also were four sales on Lanai last month compared with one a year earlier.
In the bigger piece of Maui’s housing market last month, condominium sales continued a string of severe sales volume declines.
The number of condo sales in July fell 44% to 91 in July from 162 in the same month last year. Prior to that, year-over-year condo sale volume had plummeted 46% in June, 63% in May and 37% in April.
Despite the divergence in single-family home and condo sales in July, median prices for both types of housing were close to where they were a year earlier.
Single-family homes sold for a median $777,595 in July, down 1.3% from $788,000 a year earlier. Condos sold for a median $502,530 in July, up 1.5% from $494,875 a year earlier.
The median price is a point at which half the sales were at a higher price and half at a lower price.
The Realtors Association of Maui includes sales of new and previously existing homes in its report.
