Neighbor island
condo prices grow
Condo buyers from the mainland kept neighbor island real estate markets sizzling in March even as single-family home prices showed signs of cooling.
CORRECTION
Friday, April 23, 2003>> The Realtors Association of Maui was misidentified as the Maui Board of Realtors in a story about neighbor island home prices on Page C1 yesterday.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.The number of condominiums sold on Kauai nearly doubled compared with the previous March to 59 from 30, while the Big Island saw 87 units sold, up from 79 a year earlier, according to Hawaii Information Service.
Maui condo sales were also higher year-on-year at 182, compared to 166 the previous March, according to data from the Maui Board of Realtors.
"This wave of 'new money' California buyers that we've been seeing is just continuing," said Michael Schmidt, principal broker with Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty in Hanalei.
"Condos are an easy buy for them. They can work as a vacation home, they can be rented out, and they're not as much fuss for the owner," he said.
Condo prices also jumped. The greatest increase came on the Big Island, where the median sales price for a condo grew 77 percent year-on-year to $275,000. Maui prices climbed 63 percent to $327,000, while Kauai condos were the most expensive in the state at a median $329,000, up a relatively modest 21 percent.
"Prices are wacko. Some Realtors just can't believe it," says Terry Tolman, executive director of the Maui Board of Realtors.
Tolman said he believes buying remains strong because many buyers believe interest rates will stay low at least until after the presidential elections, and they want to lock in rates now.
The number of single-family homes sold on the neighbor islands also rose, though price growth softened. The number of homes sold on the Big Island grew 41 percent to 223, but median prices were down 5 percent to $250,000. On Maui, the number of homes sold grew modestly to 105. The Maui median price was up 13 percent to $499,000, but that's down sharply from more recent months. Kauai home prices grew 5 percent to $425,000.
