With interest rates below 4%, the West Hawaii housing market is cooking along with the summer. Sales of condos and homes in North Kona are not only above where we were last year, but also above where the market was in 2017. (Median price for 2018 is skewed down because of the lasting impact of the four month eruption which ended in August, but affected the housing market until November.)

For single family homes in North Kona in August 2019, 49 homes sold, compared to 36 last year and 45 in August 2017, according to Hawaii Information Service statistics. For Condos, 39 sold last month, compared to 31 in 2018 and 35 in 2017. Year to date, single family home sales have increased 13.86% and for condos, the sales pace is up 14% from 2018.

For pricing, single family homes in North Kona are hovering around $645,400 and condos are $325,000. For comparison to 2017, the median price for condos was $290,000. For South Kohala, the median price of a home is $582,000, a .78% increase over last year when homes were $577,500. For condos, the median price is $525,000 a 10% decrease over 2018 when the median price was $585,000. (Condos in Waikoloa Village are historically less expensive than those found in Waikoloa Resort, although they are reported together in the Hawaii Information Service statistics.)

With a lack of VOG affecting the island for the first time in years, people are seeing the West Hawaii as a desirable place to purchase homes. Many of the single family homes priced within the most competitive $500k-$600k range in North Kona are leaving the market as soon as they come on and there is not much inventory in that price range right now. This factor is driving buyers to the condo market, however, the median price has not inched much over the $325k range for quite awhile.

If you would like to be added to a listing alert so you will get notifications of homes coming on the market in your price range, give us a call at LUVA Real Estate and we can set you up so you can see what is coming on the market and also get more knowledgeable about the various neighborhoods and home styles in West Hawaii.