Maui homes hit high
Single-family home prices on the
island were $460,000 last month
Single-family home sales on the neighbor islands continued to show strength and, in some cases, break records last month.
On Maui, the median price of a single-family home in April reached the highest level in at least the past five years -- hitting $460,000, up 22.7 percent over last April's median of $375,000. There were 81 single-family home sales last month, down slightly from 85 sales during the same period last year. The number of condominium sales on Maui last month was also down slightly, to 124 transactions. The median price of a condominium on Maui last month was $227,000, up slightly from a median of $225,000 the previous year.
On Kauai, 53 single-family homes, with a median price of $339,000, changed hands in April, a 13.3 percent price increase over 2002's median of $300,000.
But both the number of condominium sales on Kauai and their median price fell when compared with the same period last year. There were 26 condominium sales, down from the previous year's 48. The median price paid for a condominium last month was $227,000, down slightly from the $227,500 median in April 2002.
Lee Morey, principal broker at Century 21 All Islands Koloa office, attributes the drop to a shortage of condominiums in the right price range.
"I think it's completely due to the lack of inventory in condominiums under the $300,000 price range," Morey said. "Our inventory continues to deplete, particularly anything under $300,000."
Over on the Big Island, prices for both condominiums and single-family homes in April continued to rise. The median sales price for a single-family home on the Big Island in April was $229,000, up slightly from April 2002's median of $214,360.
A total of 172 single-family homes changed hands last month, compared with 165 a year earlier. For condominiums, there were 74 transactions, down from 85 in April 2002. But the median price for a condominium of $192,250 reflected a jump of 37.4 percent from a year ago.
