The median home price in Kaua‘i County dropped to $509,000 in March, according to statistics from the Hawaii Information Service. This represents a significant decrease from February, when the median cost of a residential home was $627,000. Karen Ono, executive
The median home price in Kaua‘i County dropped to $509,000 in March, according to statistics from the Hawaii Information Service.
This represents a significant decrease from February, when the median cost of a residential home was $627,000.
Karen Ono, executive officer for the Kauai Board of Realtors, said the month-to-month change was not as significant an indicator as the year-to-date numbers are.
Ono said the median cost of a residential home so far this year was $540,000, or a 35.1-percent increase from the same point last year, when the median cost was $399,450.
Terry Tolman, Ono’s counterpart with the Maui Board of Realtors, said the median cost of a residential home in Maui for March was $632,000, up from $575,000 in February.
Ono said it was hard to figure out the reason for the decrease in March, but that it could be attributed to tax time coming up later this month, and the sluggish performance of the stock and mutual-funds markets in the first quarter of the year.
“It could be with those factors, people might not be willing to turn money over so fast,” Ono said.
The Hawaii Information Source reported 52 homes were sold in March, two more than in February, but three less than the same time a year ago.
Some 16 home sales were recorded in the Koloa district, at a median price of $680,000.
There were also 16 home sales tallied in the Kawaihau district, which includes Kapa‘a, with a median cost of $462,500. The number of sales represented a 27-percent decrease from March 2004. There were
seven home sales recorded in Hanalei, down from 12 a year ago. Seven home sales also happened in Lihu‘e last month.
For the year to date, Hanalei saw a 19.4-percent decrease in number of homes sold compared to the first quarter last year.
Hawaii Information Service leaders reported condominium sales increased to 56 last month.
The median price dropped to $357,500, significantly lower than February’s $431,650.
On Kaua‘i, nearly $86 million worth of property changed hands last month, on 138 transactions. For the first quarter of 2005, nearly $228 million worth of property sold on the island, through 346 transactions.
- Andy Gross, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.net.
