Based upon the current volume of real estate sales on Kaua‘i, it is not much of a stretch to say that by year’s end real estate could very well be a billion dollar-a-year industry here. “It’s moving upward. I think
Based upon the current volume of real estate sales on Kaua‘i, it is not much of a stretch to say that by year’s end real estate could very well be a billion dollar-a-year industry here.
“It’s moving upward. I think it’s going to be a billion dollar industry, probably exceed it,” said Ken Kubiak, manager of Kaua‘i operations for Century 21 All Islands and broker-in-charge.
According to data provided by Hawaii Information Services (HIS) which is the provider of Kaua‘i’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the median cost of a residential home on Kaua‘i for the month of June was $699,500, breaking the record set in May of $665,000. This represents a 29 percent increase.
For the year-to-date, the median sales price for a residential home on Kaua‘i is $600,000 a 29 percent increase over 2004. The volume of sales in June increased 38 percent over June 2004 and 32.7 percent for the year-to-date over 2004, despite fewer actual sales.
In June 2004 78 residential home sales were recorded; this month it was 68. For the year-to-date total sales are down 3.3 percent.
According to MLS data as of July 1, for the year to date, the total sales for residential, vacant land, commercial and condos of 80 listed real estate offices on Kaua‘i was $586,207,755 based on 931 sales for an average sales price of $629,653.
The sales volume data reflects only actual sales and not listings.
The sales volume number represents about a 28 percent increase over the same time a year ago when total sales reached $422,572,878, according to HIS and MLS data, based on 832 sales, for an average sales price of $507,900.
Comparatively, from January 2003 to June 30, 2003 the total sales volume for that six-month period was $333,958,800.
According to the MLS, the total sales volume for the year 2004 on Kaua‘i was $917,571,657.
If the same sales volume totals pace were to continue for the rest of the year, Kaua‘i’s 2005 final sales volume would be about $1.17 billion, or more than the gross national product of Mongolia, the Cayman Islands and Monaco and just below the European nation of Liechtenstein, according to 2003 data provided by students of the world Web site.
“By year-end, Realtors may not sell as many properties (as the year before) but the sales volume will be 30 to 40 percent more than last year,” Kubiak said.
“I don’t think it’s slowing down, the demand is still there,” he said.
Kubiak said high-end developments on both the north and south shores will provide the inventory to meet that demand in coming years.
According to MLS data, the top five real estate offices in terms of sales volume only as of June 30, were Century 21 All Islands-Princeville, Sleeping Giant Realty, Inc., Re/Max Kauai Princeville Resort Office, Makai Properties LLC, Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty, Inc.
According to a report in USA Today, July 7, written by Edward Iwata, there might be some indications that the overheated housing market may be cooling down a bit, if only temporarily.
The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, based on data collected for May, stands at 124.9, which is 2.0 percent below April but 3.7 percent above May 2004.
April’s downwardly revised reading of 127.5 was second only to a record of 128.1 in October 2004, according to Iwata’s reporting.
The index is based on pending sales of existing homes, including single-family and condos.
A sale is pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed. Pending home sales typically close within one or two months of signing, the report noted.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, is quoted in the story as saying, “the index shows robust home sales can be expected for June and July. “Pending home sales are at the third highest on record, so we’re looking at a banner year for the housing market. To put the index in perspective, we’re running about 25 percentage points higher than what is considered to be historically strong.”
Twenty years ago in the United States, the price of a middle of the range home would have represented about five years of income for the house-holder. Now, it’s nearly eight years, according to an April 26 report at BBC News Web site.
- Andy Gross, business editor, 245-3681 (ext. 251) or agross@pulitzer.net.
