LIHU‘E — A dormant housing market awoke from its slumber to start the new year, as home sales and prices rebounded with eye-opening gains in January.
Single-family home sales jumped to 29 in January from 16 in January 2023, according to monthly data pooled from multiple sources by Hawai‘i Realtors in Honolulu. That marked an increase of 81.25 percent in the period.
At the same time, the median price of a home leaped 76.65 percent to $1,430,000 from $809,500. The latest figure was easily the highest of the four major Hawaiian islands, and more than $900,000 higher than the median price on Hawai‘i Island, which was the lowest in the period.
But the hot start to the new year also served as a reminder that buying a home on Kaua‘i is largely unattainable for people without financial wherewithal.
“The expensive ones are selling because there aren’t any cheap ones left,” said Jimmy Johnson, who is broker in charge at RE/MAX Kaua‘i, on the state of the island housing market.
The condominium market wasn’t nearly as frisky to start the year, as sales slumped 36 percent to 16 in January from 25 in January 2023.
But that downturn came at a steep cost, as the median price of a condo climbed 29.75 percent to $992,500 from $764,950. The latest figure was nearly $200,000 more than the next closest median price, which was posted on Maui.
Neighbor islands
Single-family home sales were strongest on O‘ahu, which weighed in with 184 in January, compared with 150 in January 2023 for an increase of 22.67 in the period. At the same time, the median price rose 5.26 percent to $1,021,016 from $970,000.
Sales of condos were up 6.18 percent to 292 from 275, while the median price inched up 1.52 percent to $502,500 from $495,000.
Hawai‘i Island ranked second in home sales with 157 in January, compared with 139 in January for a gain of 12.95 percent. But the median price dipped 1.19 percent to $499,000 from $505,000 in the period.
Sales of condos were off 15.79 percent to 32 from 38, while the median price eased 2.68 percent to $608,500 from $625,250.
Maui, which continues to recover from the devastating August 2023 wildfires, notched single-family homes sales of 55 in January, compared with 61 in January 2023 for a decrease of 9.84 percent.
However, condo sales roared back with a 70.37 percent increase to 92 from 54, while the median price was up 20.91 percent to $795,000 from $657,500 in the period.
