Kauai’s housing market in June further solidified its distinction as the place in Hawaii dominated by million-dollar single-family residences.
For a sixth month in a row, half of all single-family houses on the Garden Isle sold for more than $1 million, according to the latest sale data.
The median price for all Kauai single-family homes sold in June was $1.1 million, up 82% from $605,000 in the same month last year.
This figure was based on 85 sales last month, compared with 23 a year earlier.
Maui also had a $1.1 million median sale price for single-family homes in June, up from $773,250 a year earlier.
The number of Maui single-family homes sold last month was 110, up from 72 a year earlier.
June was the second month this year where the median sale price for Maui single-family homes topped $1 million, after a $1,019,000 median price in May.
The median price is a point at which half the sales were for a higher price and half for a lower price.
On Hawaii island, single-family homes sold for a median $465,000 in June, up 24% from $375,000 in the same month last year. There were 272 sales last month, up 65% from 165 sales a year earlier.
Some of the year-over-year difference in median prices can be due to the size, quality, age and location of homes being sold, with bigger changes possible when relatively few sales are involved.
For instance, in the North Hilo sub-market on Hawaii island, five single-family homes sold for a median $510,000 last month, which was more than double the median price of $225,000 a year earlier based on three sales. In South Hilo, 39 single-family homes sold for a median $398,000 last month compared with 12 sales for a median $367,500 a year earlier.
In the condominium market, prices and sale volume rose on all three neighbor
islands.
The biggest gain was in the number of condo sales on Kauai, which roughly quadrupled to 71 in June from 17 a year earlier.
Much of the increase
reflected depressed sales a year ago, when concerns and restrictions over COVID-19 were higher. Still, demand appears exceptionally strong given that the
71 Kauai condo sales last month topped the 41 sales in June 2019.
Local real estate agents and economists have said that demand for homes throughout Hawaii generally is being driven by buyers who deferred purchases last year, people moving to Hawaii from the mainland to work remotely from a tropical locale, low interest rates and the rebounding economy, among other things.
On Hawaii island, the number of condo sales more than doubled in June to 106 from 43 a year earlier. The median price rose 28% to $485,000 from $378,000 in the same period.
Maui condo sales more than tripled to 246 in June from 67 a year earlier, while the median price rose 26% to $635,000 from $503,000.
Data for home sales on Hawaii island and Kauai is published by Hawaii Information Service sourced from the Hawaii Island Realtors and the Kauai Board of Realtors trade associations. The Realtors Association of Maui produced data for Maui, which is a report for the county that includes a few sales on Lanai and
Molokai.
All three market reports include sales of new and previously owned homes, unlike Oahu, where only previously owned home sales are counted to avoid spikes when large new projects are completed.