August 18, 2010

Princeville real estate market update

The Princeville real estate market, a substantial portion of the Kauai real estate housing market, has been trending upwards in recent months following the bursting of the local bubble. Home sales on the Garden Isle increased substantially over the same time period last year, although it’s unclear how much of the market was artificially boosted by the expiring federal tax credit. According to a July 17, 2010 report from the Garden Island, “The housing bubble on Kaua‘i has popped, but not quite like it did in places such as Las Vegas or Phoenix where “they just ate it,” TZ Economics Principal Dr. Paul Brewbaker said at Thursday’s Kaua‘i Board of Realtors general membership meeting and educational forum…Kaua‘i experienced a burst more comparable to California than O‘ahu, according to Brewbaker. The island “does not seem to have an inventory overhang like most distressed Mainland markets,” he said. Home sales increased around 76 percent last month on Kaua‘i compared to June 2009, according to Multiple Listing Service. Meanwhile, median home values fell more than 1 percent, the statistics say…In June, there were 37 residential sales as opposed to 21 last year, according to MLS statistics. And the median value of homes last month was $405,000 compared to $410,000 in June 2009. Similar statistics were reported for the number of sales during the second quarter, according to MLS. A more than 71 percent increase in sales was recorded in 2010 compared to last year and median home values slipped some 10 percent.”

Princeville homes for sale should see improvement upon the recovery of the Hawaii real estate housing market. Although the state is seeing growth overall, the neighbor islands including Kauai are lagging behind somewhat. According to a July 21, 2010 article from the Honolulu Star Advertiser, “June marked the third consecutive decline in the state’s unemployment rate, which peaked at 7 percent last summer. In Hawaii, the statewide average was pulled down by the relative strength of the Oahu job market, where the unemployment rate was 5.8 percent. Hawaii County led the state with a 10.4 percent unemployment rate, followed by Kauai County at 9.1 percent and Maui County at 8.5 percent. The county jobless rates are not seasonally adjusted.”