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Maui August condo sales rose; homes kept falling


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POSTED: Saturday, September 12, 2009

Condominium sales rose on Maui in August; however, single-family home sales and prices continued declining, according to data from the Realtors Association of Maui.

Sales of condos, which included the final Honua Kai units, rose 21.6 percent last month, but the median price paid for a Maui condominium dropped by 45.6 percent to $340,000.

Only 52 single-family homes changed hands, representing a 21.2 percent drop in sales from August 2008. More than half of the single-family homes sold for $500,000 or more, which represented a 22.5 contraction from the single-family median in August 2008.

“;Similar to latest reports from many mainland markets, our market seems to be bouncing along at the bottom,”; said Terry Tolman, RAM chief staff executive.

A large inventory of short sales and bank-owned properties must be sold before Maui's marketplace can return to normal, he said.

“;Priced right is still the determining factor,”; Tolman said.

Unrealistic sellers continue to follow the market down and miss current opportunities that later become woefully apparent, he said.

Year-to-date, Maui's single-family home sales have fallen by 38 percent, and the median price has dropped by 14 percent to $515,000. Similarly, condominium sales have dropped 16 percent for the year, and the median price has fallen 4 percent to $560,000.

HOME SALES

The number of homes sold on Maui in August with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Home sales
       
August 200952
August 200866
Change-21.2%
Median price
August 2009$500,000
August 2008$645,000
Change-22.5%
Condo sales
August 200962
August 200851
Change+21.6%
Median price
August 2009$340,000
August 2008$625,000
Change-45.6%

Source: Realtors Association of Maui