Kaua‘i has priciest condos in the state

Median condo prices are soaring across Hawai‘i, especially Kaua‘i, where last month’s reports show average prices here nearly $100,000 more this year than this time last year.

Prices ranged from $425,000 in Hanalei, where 21 were sold last month, to $215,000 in Lihu‘e, where 11 were sold. Another 16 were sold in Koloa for a median of $401,500.

“People are getting almost as much, if not more, money for condos as they are putting it out as timeshares,” said Steve Hunt, chair of the county’s Real Property Task Force, at last Friday’s presentation by Lowell Kalapa of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

The newest reports from the Realtors Association of Maui and the Hawaii Information Service, which tracks Kaua‘i and Big Island prices, show median prices on Kaua‘i vary more because sales volume is small, increasing the potential for a few big sales to pull everything out of normal alignment.

There were 24 houses sold in the Kawaihau area for a median price of $413,500, and 19 sold in Hanalei on the North Shore for a median price of $700,000. There were 14 houses sold in Koloa on the south shore for a median price of $475,000. In Lihu‘e, where only six existing homes were resold, the median price was $310,000.

Only 70 existing homes and 51 existing condos were resold here last month.

Statewide housing prices are running about 20 percent to 30 percent above year-ago levels, but can jump 50 percent to 70 percent in desirable areas — such as Hanalei — with very limited inventory.

Here are the countywide median prices in April, tracked by the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the Realtors Association of Maui and the Hawaii Information Service:

• Kauai: houses $477,500 (condos $389,000);
• O‘ahu: houses $435,000 (condos $205,000);
• Big Island: houses $276,000 (condos $230,000);
• Maui: houses $500,000 (condos $310,000).

Business Editor Phil Hayworth may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or phayworth@pulitzer.net.