Maui home sales rise but condo prices take hit

Low-end transactions dragged down some of the island's housing market in January

More demand at the lower end of Maui's housing market helped expand sales volume but dampened median prices in January, according to a report.

The Realtors Association of Maui reported that sales of single-family homes on the Valley Isle rose 12.5 percent to 54 last month from 48 a year earlier. The median price was up 6.7 percent to $495,415 from $464,500.

HOME SALES The number of homes sold on Maui in January, with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year: Homes   Sales Median Price January 2011 54 $495,415 January 2010 48 $464,500 Pct. change 12.5% 6.7% Condos   Sales Median Price January 2011 87 $295,000 January 2010 75 $404,000 Pct. change 16.0% -27.0% Source: Realtors Association of Maui Inc.

The median price, which is a point at which half the sales sold for more and half for less, was affected by a rise in sales of lower-end homes, the report showed. A decrease in high-end home sales also kept the median from more than a modest rise.

In Maui's most active submarket, Central Maui, there were 13 single-family home sales for a median $355,000 last month, compared with seven sales for a median $405,000 a year earlier. In the high-end resort area of Wailea-Makena, there were no sales last month, compared with three sales for a median $3.5 million a year earlier.

A similar swing occurred in Maui's condominium market to produce a big decline in the median price, the data showed.

Maui condo sales rose 16 percent to 87 last month from 75 a year earlier, while the median sank 27 percent to $295,000 from $404,000.

At the low end of the condo market, Central Maui, there were 13 sales last month for a median $199,000, compared with three sales a year earlier for a median $280,000. At the high end, there was one sale in the resort area of Kapalua for $1.3 million, compared with five sales a year earlier for a median $840,000.