More homes were sold on Hawaii island and Kauai last month compared with a year earlier, though median sale prices were divided with a rise on one island and a fall on the other.

The Hawaii Island Realtors and Kauai Board of Realtors trade associations released sales data for September through Hawaii Information Service on Wednesday. It shows market activity for the two relatively small neighbor island housing markets.

The biggest change in September was sales volume rising 22 percent for single-family homes on Kauai. However, the gain represented just eight homes. There were 44 sales last month, up from 36 last year.

There also were 30 Kauai condo sales last month, up from 29 a year ago.

Median prices on Kauai were up in the same period. They rose 5 percent for single-family homes, to $580,000 from $550,500, and 16 percent for condos, to $452,500 from $390,000.

On Hawaii island, single-family home sales volume rose 17 percent to 174 last month from 149 a year earlier. But the median price slipped 10 percent to $328,000 from $365,000.

Hawaii island condo sales inched up 4 percent, or by two units, to 51 last month from 49 a year earlier. The median price dropped 17 percent to $310,000 from $375,000.

It’s not unusual to see relatively big price swings for neighbor island home sales in one month because the number of transactions is relatively small. The median price is a point at which half the sales were at a higher price and half at a lower price. This balance can be more easily swayed by the age, quality, size and location of the mix of homes sold when relatively few sales are involved. The Hawaii island and Kauai sales data also include new homes and resales.