Last year failed to produce a broad turnaround for falling median home prices on the Big Island and Kauai, according to a report released yesterday.

The two neighbor islands saw median home prices generally continue their decline from peaks in 2006 and 2007, according to the report from Hawaii Information Service.

One bright spot was the median price for single-family homes sold on Kauai, which eked out a 2.9 percent increase to $475,000 last year from $461,500 in 2009. The peak was $675,000 in 2006.

But median prices fell between 7 percent and 12 percent for other market segments despite strong rises in the number of sales.

The median price for single-family homes sold on the Big Island last year was $255,000, down 7.3 percent from $275,000 the prior year. The peak was $421,000 in 2006.

Condominiums on the Big Island sold for a median $270,000 last year, a 9.7 percent drop from $299,000 the year before. The peak was $426,498 in 2006.

Kauai condos sold for a median $344,500 last year, down 11.7 percent from $390,000 the year before. The peak was $565,000 in 2007.

The weakness contrasts with Oahu’s housing market that is on pace for 2010 activity to reverse a couple of years of median price declines, based on figures through November. Full-year results for Oahu are due out this week. Maui statistics are also due out soon.

Local economist Paul Brewbaker of TZ Economics said neighbor island housing markets are fairing worse because more buyers there were investors snapping up luxury vacation property compared with Oahu. The neighbor island activity produced higher highs and lower lows because relatively fewer homes were being bought by residents with moderate housing needs.

"Oahu’s housing market was less bubblicious," Brewbaker said.

Still, a bottom for the housing markets on the Big Island and Kauai appears to be forming, given that the number of sales is rising, Brewbaker said.

The number of single-family home sales on the Big Island rose 20.6 percent to 1,503 last year from 1,246 the year before. Condo sales surged 58.2 percent to 519 from 328. It was the second consecutive year for rising single-family home sales, and the first for condos since 2006 peaks.

On Kauai, single-family home sales rose 38.2 percent to 362 last year from 262 a year earlier. Condo sales jumped 48.5 percent to 239 from 161. It was the first year showing a gain for both segments since 2006 peaks.