Sales of neighbor island homes boomed in April

Home sales on the neighbor islands in April bounced high from coronavirus­depressed levels a year earlier, according to data that also showed median price gains in almost every market.

Sale volume jumped at least 60% across the board, according to recent statistics from real estate trade associations for Maui County, Hawaii island and Kauai.

The biggest gain was a 244% increase in condominium sales on Hawaii island, where there were 148 such transactions in April, compared with 43 in the same month last year.

The median price for these sales last month increased by 39% to $487,500 from $349,900 a year earlier.

For single-family homes on Hawaii island, the number of sales jumped 60% to 285 last month from 178 a year earlier, while the median price was up 32% to $480,000 from $362,500.

On Kauai the bigger surge in sales also took place in the condo market, where 60 units were sold last month, up 88% from 32 sales a year earlier.

Kauai condos sold for a median $478,500 in April, a 4% dip from $497,250 a year earlier which represented the only general price softness in the three neighbor island reports.

The median price is a point at which half the sales sold for a higher price and half for a lower price.

In Kauai’s single-family home market, the number of sales jumped 68% to 69 last month from 41 a year earlier, while the median price surged 45% to $1.05 million from $725,000.

April was the fourth month in a row with a similar median sale price just over $1 million for Kauai single-­family homes.

In Maui County the trend of booming condo sales held true with a 198% spike to 259 sales last month from 87 sales a year earlier.

The median sale price for condos mainly on Maui, plus a couple on Molokai and none on Lanai, was $695,000 last month, up 15% from $602,494 a year earlier.

Single-family home sales in Maui County surged 60% to 134 in April from 84 in the same month last year, while the median price rose 30% to $983,500 from $754,523.

Local real estate agents say a lot of pent-up demand from buyers who stepped back amid early stages of the coronavirus pandemic last year is behind much of the recent purchasing activity, along with buyers from the mainland who include folks looking to work remotely from the 50th state.

Bigger increases for condo sales have been attributed in part to more buyers being priced out of the single-­family home market because of price.

Some rebound was easy to achieve last month because sales fell hard in April 2020, with declines mainly ranging from 20% to 60% in the three neighbor island markets.

The strength of the gains last month, however, is stunning to some observers and causing angst for many buyers, who have faced stiff competition.

“Such markets can create stress and frustration for prospective homebuyers, who are frequently having to submit offers on multiple properties before they are able to secure a purchase,” the Realtors Association of Maui said in its report.

Sale reports for Hawaii island and Kauai were compiled by Hawaii Information Service using data from the Hawaii Island Realtors and the Kauai Board of Realtors trade associations.

All the neighbor island data includes sales of previously owned and new homes.