Neighbor island
home prices
reach $400,000

The pace of sales stays
steady as prices jump

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By Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.com

Even as median prices for single-family homes approached $400,000 on Maui and exceeded that on Kauai, the pace of neighbor island home sales maintained momentum in October.

On Maui, 86 single-family homes were sold during the month. For condominiums, the number reached 120.

The median price for a single-family home on Maui during October was $393,720, up 45.8 percent from a year earlier when the median stood at $270,000.

Likewise, condominium values on the Valley Isle continued to rise, reaching an October median of $210,000, up 25.6 percent from October 2001's median of 167,250.

Kihei led the pack with 24 single-family homes sold last month. For condominiums, West Maui's Napilli, Kahana and Honokawai neighborhoods led with 44 sales.

With all the sales activity, Maui's available housing inventory continues to show signs of strain.

There are 501 single-family homes listed for sale, said Terry Tolman, executive director of the Realtors Association of Maui.

"That's as low as I've seen it," Tolman said.

On the Big Island, both the number of sales and median prices continued to rise for both single-family homes and condominiums.

Nearly 160 single family homes sold in October, up from the previous October's 130 sales.

Median prices moved up 16.1 percent, to $219,500 from $189,000.

In the condominium market, 74 sales occurred, up from the previous October's 49 sales. The median price for a condominium also improved by 39.2 percent from October 2001's sales price of $125,000 to last month's $174,000.

Dave Lucas, broker in charge at Century 21 All Islands Kona office, noted that prices are higher in all sections of the island.

"We're doing a lot of business in Hilo and there has been multiple offers on properties. Over in Kona it's the same, only less to sell and higher prices. I don't see any slowdown," he said.

Even some of the Big Island's more remote areas are showing sizable price jumps, Lucas said.

"One year ago in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates there were probably 70 homes under $100,000. Today, there's about eight," he said.

Likewise, prices for what is thought of as affordable housing have also moved up.

Lucas notes that when an affordable housing project in North Kona was originally approved, prices were set at $120,000. Today, those homes are being priced at $250,000.

"Now the county is saying the affordable benchmark is $250,000. I don't see that as affordable, especially when wages have not kept up with the drop in interest rates," he said.

On Kauai, the number of sales in single-family homes and condominiums as well as median prices rose in October.

A total of 47 single family homes and 40 condominiums sold during the month. The median price paid for a single-family home hit $415,000, up 48.2 percent from a year earlier. For condominiums, the median price paid was $203,968, up 9.5 percent.

The broker-in-charge at Century 21 All Islands Koloa Branch, Betty Bell, said she's not surprised that the island's median price for a single family home has moved above $400,000, given the lack of remaining affordable inventory.

"Anything in the $200,000 to $300,000 is hard to come by. We need some projects on the south shore because there's just not enough for people who want to buy," she said.