December 11, 2021 at 8:00am | Lori Benkert

A seller’s market has been sweeping the nation in 2021, and Kaua’i is certainly no exception: record-setting numbers have been all the rage so far this year, and with the median sales price continually setting all-time highs across the islands, it’s fair to wonder: just how long will our island – not to mention the entire state of Hawai’i – continue to set such a frantic pace in the real estate marketplace?

Median vs. Average

Before we begin, a quick word on the median sales price: most of our media outlets will report on the median, or the midpoint between the highest and lowest numbers in a given set, because it can be a better indicator of the market’s overall trends than merely using the average, as averages can skew the data when there are extremely high (or low) numbers in the data. For example, if four hypothetical houses sold for $1, $2, $3, and $500, the median sales price would be $2.50; the average sales price would be $126.50! Since there are more homes in this example being sold in the single digits than there are for triple digits, the median can be far more useful in capturing the overall direction and availability of homes being sold in the marketplace.

What Do the Numbers Say?

According to the latest Kaua’i Real Estate Report, the Garden Isle’s median sales price for single-family homes came in at one million dollars on the head for the month of September. While that’s slightly down from September’s median of $1.17 million, it’s still an increase of $15,000 from the median sales price in October of 2020 ($985,000). All in all, 49 single-family homes were sold on Kaua’i last month, spending only 10 days (per the median) on the market before changing hands!

(By way of comparison and to illustrate our point above, the average sales price for the month of October was actually $1.4 million dollars However, the average was heavily influenced by some of the higher-end, luxury real estate that you may have heard a thing or two about changing hands). 

Not to be outdone, condos sported a median sales price of $729,000 for the month of October, jumping over $100k from September’s median of $619k. 41 total units were sold on the island, and available condos were on the market only 9 days per the median -- some of the lowest times we’ve ever seen.

How Long Will Kaua’i Ride the Wave?

Ultimately, there are several factors that all work together to influence the trends in the global and local marketplace, including the current availability of homes and the typical interest rates being seen. Furthermore, the state of Hawai’i has always been more than a bit ‘recession-proof’ when it comes to real estate – after all, they’re not making any more land to build on anytime soon! 

Thus, the ongoing scarcity of properties, combined with the international desire to relocate here to paradise, will always serve as somewhat of a buffer for any severe drops in the real estate market – but that doesn’t mean things won’t cool down from all the record-setting numbers currently being seen at some point. 

For now, we expect Kaua’i to close the year strong in terms of the median sales price for both homes and condos alike – so if you’re looking to break into the Garden Isle’s ultra-competitive marketplace, or hoping to maximize the returns on selling your current home or condo, then give us a call and let our local real estate experts get to work on attending to all of your real estate needs today. Aloha!

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