And the boom goes on. For the second month in a row, the median price of a single-family residential home on Kaua‘i set an all-time high for any month hitting $700,000 in July, according to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sales
And the boom goes on.
For the second month in a row, the median price of a single-family residential home on Kaua‘i set an all-time high for any month hitting $700,000 in July, according to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sales statistics.
This represented a 44.1 percent increase from the same month a year ago, and a 30.6 percent increase for year-to-date.
Sales volume for the month was down 14.1 percent, but up 24.4 percent for the year-to-date, according to MLS data.
Kaua‘i saw a huge boom in condominium sales volume. Condo sales volume increased 103.5 percent over the same month a year ago and 38.4 percent year-to-date.
The number of condos sold in July increased 50 percent from the same time last year, with Hanalei showing a 211 percent increase for the month, with 28 sold compared to nine one year ago reflecting the growing resort properties on the North Shore.
Harvey Shapiro, research economist for the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said condominiums are attractive investments because they offer a buyer minimal maintenance responsibilities, rental potential and are available cheaper than single-family residential homes.
Unlike Kaua‘i, which has had two consecutive hot months, Maui’s residential real estate market dipped for the second month in a row. According to the Maui Board of Realtors, the median price for a single-family residential home was $679,000 while the median price on O‘ahu was $599,000.
Realtor Louis Abrams of Garden Island Rentals, a division of Charlee & Associates, said Kaua‘i’s spike was not a surprise.
“It’s what was expected to happen. As supply goes downward, prices stay high because of demand,” he said. Abrams said at some point sales will flatten and prices will drop.
As part of Kaua‘i’s monthly trend, the number of sales for residential homes dipped 23.4 percent from the same time last year and decreased 6.18 percent for the year, meaning fewer homes were sold but at higher prices. Dr. Paul Brewbaker, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for Bank of Hawaii told Kauai Realtors last week that Kaua‘i was closer to the end of the boom than the beginning. That may be so in California which is showing slower price gains, which Brewbaker said was historically linked to Hawai‘i’s market, but national trends show homes continue to sell for higher prices.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the national median price of homes sold in the second quarter rose 13.6 percent from the second quarter of 2004.
