Home sales on the neighbor islands mostly slowed in September, but median prices continued their rising trend compared with a year ago.
Rising median prices have been fairly consistent this year on Hawaii island, Maui and Kauai, and were in line with the trend on Oahu, which was reported in the Star-Advertiser on Tuesday.
The biggest neighbor island housing market by volume, single-family homes on Hawaii island, registered the biggest sales decline, a 33 percent fall to 95 sales last month from 141 in the same month last year, according to Hawaii Information Service.
But the median sale price rose 13 percent to $255,000 from $225,000 in the same period.
Hawaii island’s condo market saw a 24 percent decline in sales to 32 units in September from 42 a year earlier, while the median price surged 35 percent to $289,000 from $213,750.
Because the neighbor island housing markets are relatively small, differences in the quality, size and location of homes can more easily sway the median price, which is a point at which half the sales were for a higher price and half for a lower price.
For instance, the median condo price in South Hilo was roughly unchanged at $110,000 last month and a year earlier. But last month there were only two sales in this area compared with six a year earlier. Fewer sales at the lower end of Hawaii island’s market in effect boosted the islandwide median price.
In North Kona there were 16 condo sales for a median $235,000 last month compared with 20 sales for a median $208,250 a year earlier. And in South Kohala the median price declined 9 percent to $337,500 on 14 sales last month compared with $369,000 on 16 sales a year earlier.
On Maui the Realtors Association of Maui reported the number of single-family home sales dipped 5 percent to 76 last month from 80 a year earlier. The median price rose 6 percent to $437,500 from $412,000 in the same period.
Maui condo sales fell 23 percent to 65 in September from 84 a year earlier. The median price edged up 1 percent to $339,563 from $334,950.
Of the three neighbor islands, Kauai was the only one with sales gains, though they were relatively small.
Hawaii Information Service reported that the number of Kauai single-family home sales last month was 34, up from 28 a year earlier. Condo sales rose to 21 last month from 20 a year earlier.
Kauai’s single-family home median sale price jumped 19 percent to $524,500 in September from $440,000 a year earlier. The median condo price surged even more — 38 percent to $325,000 from $235,000 — in the same period.