Stability remains consistent and strong once again in the West Hawaii housing market.
North Kona
Overall sales were very stable in North Kona in January. We had 26 residential sales compared to 21 in January of last year. For condominiums, we had 20 sales compared to 26 in January of last year. That is a combined total of only 1 less sale. The median price of residential houses rose nearly $26,000 to $379,991. The condo median price was $132,700. This is down from the January 2011 median of $192,500.
South Kohala
South Kohala was also stable. There were 13 residential sales compared to 14 last year. There were also 13 condominium sales compared to 13 last year. Again that's a combined net of 1 less sale. The residential median price was $275,000, compared to $332,500 last year. This is a significant decrease from last month, which had a surprisingly high median price. I think given the small sample size both numbers are a little bit skewed. The truth is likely in between. The condominium median price was $489,000. That’s an increase of over $150,000 from 2011.
Looking Ahead
Right now in North Kona and South Kohala we have a total of 866 condos and houses on the market. 106 of those are foreclosures and short sales (12%). We have 262 houses and condos in escrow, and 143 of those are foreclosures and short sales (54%). Those numbers should show that foreclosures and short sales go fast when they are on the market. It also looks like we have quite a few sales already in the pipeline.