March 2020 was on par to be just as fast paced as January and February, which were already reflecting some of the best sales West Hawaii has seen in years. However, by mid March, the market slowed due to the corona virus outbreak.
As visitors were asked not to travel to the island until April 30th, many plans were placed on hold to purchase a home. Listings were pulled off the market to halt the continuing days on market and 21 listings saw price adjustments.
Personal anecdote:
In my “365Kona’s I’m Moving to Hawaii And Buying A Home” group, I asked how many people had planned on buying a home this year in Kona and now are they still planning on buying? About five people had planned on coming in April and May to view homes. They are now waiting until late summer/early fall. A few folks who had planned to retire here said that their 401k’s got a beating and they would have to hold off for another year or so.) Overall, from the group, however, people are still seeing if there will be deals to be had in the market.
“We won’t be able to see a clear picture of the impact of the pandemic on the market until we see the April/May statistics”, said Lance Owens, Realtor, Kona Home Team.
According to statistics from the Hawaii Information Service for March 2020, the median price for a single family home in North Kona was $764,000, a year over year increase of 15%, whiile condo prices in North Kona, which jumped 20% in January, were down 13% year over year from $375,000 to $323,000. Sales of single family homes were down 17.5% and condos were down 17.95%.
MLS Sales States-Median Sales Price March 2020. First column is March 1-31, 2019 and second column is March 1-31, 2020. Fourth column gives increase/decrease.
South Kohala was having a banner month, with 23 vacant land sales in 2020 vs just 3 in 2019. 30 homes sold this year compared to 19 last year, a 57% increase year over year. The condo market was strong with 27 sales in both 2019 and 2020. Prices however, for single family homes dropped 13.65%. Condo prices rose 65%, from $440,000 in 2019 to $727,000 in 2020. (The numbers are a little skewed as there were six condo sales near the Mauna Kea that were $1.2 million and above)
Island wide, the median sales price of a single family home increased 8.82% and condos rose 9.33% year over year, and rose 15.44% year to date for single family homes and 6.99% year to date for condos.
If you would like a copy of the housing data, email [email protected].
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