Maui home prices
top $600,000

The median price of a single-family home on Maui broke $600,000 for the first time last month as both homes and condominiums set new records.

Half the homes sold last month on Maui went for more than $612,000, according to figures released yesterday by the Realtors Association of Maui. The median price for a condominium hit $415,000.

But the pace of sales dropped off, according to the Realtors board's statistics, with 7 percent fewer single-family homes and 43 percent fewer condominiums selling than a year earlier.

"There are more dollars than deals in this market," said Fred Haywood of Paia-based Fred Haywood Realty.

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Maui's higher prices have made homes unaffordable to many, he said.

"A lot of buyers that could have afforded three or four years ago can't afford to buy now," Haywood said. "It's a sad state of affairs, but this island has become a rich retirement center." Those who can afford to buy have become more particular, leading to a decline in sales volume, he said, as buyers focus on value.

There were 91 single-family homes sold on Maui last month, down from 98 in January 2004. Condo sales slipped to 91 units, compared with 159 a year earlier.

Home sales in higher-priced areas like Kapalua, Kaanapali and Wailea -- where the median exceeded $1 million -- drove up Maui's islandwide median price, the point at which half the sales were higher and half were lower, Haywood said.

Despite continuing demand, Haywood expects rising interest rates will eventually turn the market.

"There's an ebb and flow to everything," he said. "If interest rates rise significantly, demand will slacken and the market will get softer."