Big Isle, Kauai housing markets mostly positive

Home sales and the median price of homes mostly rose on the Big Island and Kauai in August, according to local real estate agent trade association data released by Hawaii Information Service.

As was the case in June and July, the volcanic eruption in Puna that began in May but had more or less subsided last month caused some drag on sales of Hawaii island single-family homes and vacant residential lots. But these were the only two segments of the housing markets to see a major decline.

There were 191 single-family homes sold in August on Hawaii island, down 11% from 215 sales in the same month last year, according to Hawaii Island Realtors data. The median sale price slipped only slightly, to $359,000 from $370,000 in the same period.

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Sales in the Puna region mostly drove the volume decrease. Puna traditionally is where most single-family home sales occur on the Big Island. There were 68 sales last month, down 23% from 88 a year earlier.

A bigger impact from the volcanic eruption was felt in the market for residential lots. These sales dropped to 136 last month from 217 a year earlier, a 37% decline. The median lot price, however, was dramatically higher at $40,000 last month compared with $23,250 a year earlier.

Most lot purchases on Hawaii island were concentrated in Puna, where the number of transactions plummeted 51% to 78 last month from 158 a year earlier. The median price for lots in Puna was $21,000 last month, up from $18,000 a year earlier.

In Hawaii island's condominium market, the number of sales jumped 31 percent to 77 last month from 59 a year earlier. The median price rose 10 percent to $330,000 from $300,000.

On Kauai, sales and median prices were all higher, according to Kauai Board of Realtors data.

There were 50 Kauai single-family home sales last month, up 14% from 44 a year earlier. The median price rose 15% to $716,500 from $622,063.

Kauai condo sales surged 46 percent to 35 units last month from 24 units a year earlier, while the median price rose 6% to $455,000 from $428,500.

Sales reported by the two trade associations represent transactions that closed in August and typically are the product of sales contracts signed one to three months prior. Both trade associations count sales of new and previously owned homes. The median price is a point at which half the sales were for a higher price and half for a lower price, a which can be affected by the age, size, location and quality of homes sold.