by: Coreen S. Sarabia, Realtor/Broker, ABR, CIPS, CRS, RSPS, e-Pro
The number of home sales on Kauai in 2011 was nearly identical to 2010 while the median price dropped another 9% and the dollar volume increased by over 16%! This is the kind of year I love to write about because you have one segment of the market virtually unchanged while two other segments are in plus and minus territory.
The statistics that we Realtors are able to obtain from our Multiple Listing Service is not always 100% accurate so it sometimes becomes necessary to work with raw data, which is very time consuming. The following information was compiled after reviewing every single home sale on Kauai during 2011.
Overall, every section of the island except the north shore had one or two sales in the under $200,000 category. The highest sales in the Lihue area were in the low $700,000s with every other section of the island having at least one sale over a million dollars. The north shore definitely took the cake with high dollar volume and number of homes sold in the over $1,000,000 segment of the market.
This is a summary of sales starting from one end of the island to the other.
West Kauai – from Kekaha to Hanapepe:
The lowest priced home sale was in Hanapepe for $120,000. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,152 sq. ft. home on a 6,501 sq.ft. lot and it was Hawaiian Homes leasehold land that requires special Buyer qualifications. The largest concentration of homes (11 units) sold were in the $200,000-$300,000 price range. A legal vacation rental (in this area which is not in the Visitor Destination Area (VDA) ) located on Kaumualii Highway across the street from the beach sold for $600,000. The largest sale was for a restored plantation manager’s home also located across the street from the ocean that sold for $1,075,000. There were a total of 30 sales on Kauai’s west side.
South Shore – Kalaheo to Poipu:
The most active price range was between $300,000-$400,000 with 18 reported sales. The second most active price range with 13 sales was between $500,000-$600,000 which included sales of brand new homes at the Koloa Creekside Estates next to the Koloa Neighborhood Center. The $200,000-$300,000 and $400,000-$500,000 price points both had 11 sales recorded respectively. Homes located near Baby Beach, on the Kiahuna Golf Course & Lanai Villas all sold between $800,00-900,000. And the Wainani golf course homes that were auctioned in December of 2010 recorded between $870,000 to $1,000,000 during the first and second quarter of the year. There were three oceanfront homes that sold for between $1,950,000 to $4,125,000.
Central – Puhi to Hanamaulu :
Sales were fairly evenly distributed between each $100,000 increment in the $200,000 to $500,000 segment. With the exception of one sale just above $500,000, transactions pretty much disappeared above this price point except for 2 homes in the Puako and Pikake subdivision which recorded for $710,000 and $715,000.
East – Wailua to Moloa’a :
There were 35 home sales in the $300,000 to $400,000 sector alone which amounts to more than all the residential sales on the west side and nearly as many as all of the Lihue district. The east side’s 116 transactions topped any other area on the island. There were 6 homes that exceeded one million dollars, all either offering acreage with views or a beachfront location in Moloa’a.
North – Kilauea to Haena:
The north shore was the only section on Kauai where sales under $200,000 didn’t occur. The lowest sales price was $335,000, which along with 6 other sales totaled the number of homes sold under $400,000 on the north shore. The least expensive house in Princeville was $410,000 and the lowest price paid for a home on acreage was $710,000. There were two other properties with acreage that sold with only guest house rights just above and below the $600,000 mark. What is really amazing is the whooping 30 units sold that exceeded one million dollars! I had to further break down the price points since the span was quite wide. There were 14 homes that sold between $1M-$2M, 7 homes between $2M-$3M, 2 homes between $3-4M and $4-5M and 5 properties over $5M. In 2010, I sold the most expensive home on Kauai for $5M and in the first quarter of 2011 there were 3 homes that sold for $5.5M, $7.5M and $8.5M! Then, in November there was a $13,375,000 Hanalei beachfront property and a Kilauea Secret Beach Bluff home that sold for $20,000,000! Both were by way of cash.
This concludes my report for home sales on Kauai….. for now. I will be adding more content as well as reporting on condominium and land sales. Check back for more information.
