A month after breaching a historic high of $1 million, Maui County median sales prices for single-family homes topped the state in June and set a new county record at $1,117,500, according to the Realtors Association of Maui report released late last week.
June medians across the state include $1,100,000 for Kauai, $978,000 for Oahu and $465,000 for Hawaii island, according to data from Hawaii Information Service and Honolulu Board of Realtors.
Although Kauai had been seeing the highest median statewide in recent months, Maui County inched even higher last month due to a large volume of luxury home sales and near-record lows for inventory.
The Maui median was $773,250 during the same month last year, which sets a 44.5 percent increase this year, the association report said.
Last month is the fifth consecutive month of record-setting or near-record single-family median home prices for Maui County. January prices rose to $980,000, February reached $895,000, March spiked to $985,000, April hit $983,500 and May marked $1,019,000.
This is the first year the median for single-family homes has passed the $900,000 — and now $1 million — threshold.
In April 2019, median sales prices for the first time broke the $800,000 threshold.
Association data on single-family home median sales prices, the point at which half of the sales sold for more and half sold for less in a given month, dates back to 1993.
The county last month had 110 home sales, a nearly 53 percent increase year over year. Days on the market dropped more than 27 percent to 109.
Inventory hovered near record-lows at 236 units, a 46.8 percent drop year over year. New listings stayed flat at 135.
Inventory plummeted to a new all-time low of 221 single-family homes in May — a nearly 50 percent drop from the same time last year, according to amended information in June’s report.
Association data on inventory, the number of properties available for sale in active status at the end of a given month, dates back to 2010.
The median sales prices for condos, meanwhile, increased 26.2 percent year over year to $635,000 in June.
Condo sales spiked about 267 percent to 246 units. Days on the market dropped 16 percent to 125.
Inventory plunged by nearly 70 percent to 190 units. New listings dropped 18.5 percent to 150.
For single-family homes, seven homes with a median over $5 million were sold in areas including Kaanapali, Wailea/Makena and Lanai. Other high median sales prices were found in Kapalua, where two units sold with a median price of $3.38 million, along with Lahaina, Maui Meadows and Sprecklesville/Paia/
Kuau, where 16 homes sold with a median over $2 million.
The lowest prices were in Hana, where one sold for $811,000, Pukalani, where four sold for $857,500, and Wailuku, where 24 sold for $872,000.
For condos, 73 units with a median over $1 million sold in areas including Kaanapali, Kapalua and Wailea/Makena. A little more than 140 condos with a median in the $500,000 range sold in Kihei, Napili/Kahana/
Honokowai, Sprecklesville/Paia/Kuau and Wailuku areas.
The lowest median sales prices were on Molokai, where 10 units sold for a median of $245,000 and in Kahului, where two units sold for a median of $307,000.
The association’s report said the U.S. housing market is continuing at a “frenzied pace,” with low interest rates and limited inventory fueling record high sales prices.
National data shows that May saw the median existing-home sales price exceed $350,000, a 24 percent increase and the largest year-over-year increase since 1999, according to the National Association of Realtors.
“Eager buyers are making multiple offers, some for well over asking price, while others are making offers on homes sight unseen,” the report said.
Increasing sales prices also brings a slight decline in existing home sales nationwide, though, as homebuyers struggle with dropping affordability and the lack of inventory, “forcing some buyers to simply wait it out in hopes of more inventory and less competition.”
* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at [email protected].