It’s summer and the Hawaii Island housing market is smoking hot.

A year ago, the condo market produced just $6.5 million in sales volume for North Kona.. Last month, it jumped to $15.2 million and then in June, it jumped up to $30.2 million. The median price a year ago for condos, according to the Hawaii MLS was $247,000 and each listing was fetching about 94.7% of listing price. Last month, the median price jumped to $325,000 and sellers were receiving 99.16% of the listing price. THAT is a hot market. (As a reminder, North Kona includes Kailua-Kona, Keauhou, Palisades and the Kukio/Hulalai Resort Areas)

In comparison, the average sold price was 94.2% of the current list price for single family houses in West Hawaii whose median price for June 2017 was $570,000, a slight dip from $590k a month earlier. The average list vs sold price for single family homes in North Kona was 87.13% a year ago.

As stated in a Big Island News Now post about the Big Island housing prices nearing record high this week, Puna has seen an almost 20% increase number of sales year over year, with a 25% sales price increase from $192,00 to $217,000 driven by people looking for deals on the Big Island.

North Kohala, has seen a 11% increase in sales price year over year from $585,000 in 2016 to $650,000 in 2017, while South Kohala saw a 7.45% increase year over year from $585,000 to $595,000.

In North Kona, the median price of a single family home was $590,000 in 2016, and now the median price is $651,500, a 10.42% increase.

Sara Layne Pedro, LUVA Realtor noted, “I have noticed an increase in escrows for our Brokerage. The first week of the month we had about 7 new contracts. Then we had a slow week, then two more opened. I am seeing a bit more buyer interest for my own clients, lately, as well.

LUVA Realtor, Kurt Carlson added this to the monthly report:

“I did a quick look at the “Months of Supply” for North Kona homes and condos to determine if we are firmly in a seller’s or buyer’s market. Generally, a balanced market is considered to be a 6 month supply of inventory based upon the current buying rate. If there’s less than 6 months of inventory, then it’s considered a seller’s market and if there’s more than 6 months, then it’s considered a buyer’s market.

Months of supply is calculated by using the current Inventory and dividing it by the units sold. You can use the units sold for a single month, or average multiple months to smooth out for seasonality in the market.

Using sales for the past 6 months and averaging it out, we see that In North Kona, there are currently 207 homes on the market and there were 248 sales since Jan 1, 2017. If we take 248 sales and divide by 6 months, we get an average of approximately 41 sales per month (248 sold / 6 months = about 41 sold per month). Then, current inventory of 207 homes divided by 41 homes sold per month, we get a month of supply of about 5 months (207 homes / 41 sold per month = 5 month supply). So, the North Kona Home market is leaning towards a seller’s market”.

Check out the Altos Research Chart showing how fast inventory is declining.

(But, luckily nothing like the Silicon Valley market!)

“I ran the numbers for North Kona Condos and it’s a Seller’s Market there too, with just over a 4 month supply based upon the current buying rate.”
To get a comprehensive analysis on the neighborhoods you may be looking at to purchase a home, give us a call at LUVA Real Estate and we can provide this information to you. As a seller, if you are considering a move, we can help you get the best price for your home.