First-quarter numbers for home sales show that Hawaii Island continues to be a state hot spot for real estate.
First-quarter numbers for home sales show that Hawaii Island continues to be a state hot spot for real estate.
“Especially in the last three months … Realtors are indicating that the market is very busy for both buyers and sellers,” said Kehaulani Costa of Hawaii Island Realtors. “Particularly out in the Puna area.”
Islandwide, sales remain consistent compared to last year’s numbers — 549 home sales to date, as compared to 554 last year. But home prices are on the rise, and new construction in places such as Hawaiian Paradise Park is being snapped up quickly.
“Every single house that I have put on the market went into contract the first two weeks,” said Realtor Shannon Takabayashi of Hilo Bay Realty. “They’re moving fast.”
Takabayashi also is seeing more instances of multiple offers on a home, particularly for the new construction.
“Even on the vacant lands because all of these builders are trying to keep up,” she said.
Vacant land sales have jumped in five districts: Puna, South Hilo, Hamakua, North Kohala and South Kohala.
Puna is the fastest-growing district in the state. It also is home to the largest inventory of affordable real estate on the island, said Realtor Shelley Addison of Pahoa Properties. In Puna, 201 homes have been sold so far, compared with 118 in North Kona, which has the second-highest inventory.
The lava flow of 2014 does not appear to be on buyers’ minds when they decide to invest in Puna.
“People were moving out of their homes (then), and selling them for dirt cheap,” Takabayashi said. “I think now, in today’s market, it doesn’t really concern them. They’re not thinking of that.”
Homes in Hawaiian Paradise Park and Ainaloa are in Lava Zone 3, a designation of the U.S. Geological Survey that indicates likelihood of being affected by a lava flow. Zone 1 is the highest-risk category.
But Zone 3 homes can receive 100 percent financing, Addison said, making them particularly attractive for buyers.
“Ainaloa is the cheapest Lava Zone 3 subdivision on this side of the islands,” she said.
The median sales price for Puna homes is increasing along with demand. The first-quarter median was $210,000, compared to $180,000 in 2016.
In comparison, median prices in North Kohala, South Kohala and North Kona are all more than $560,000.
Demand for East Hawaii homes is high among retirees from the mainland and residents of Neighbor Islands who are “looking for a slower pace and a change in lifestyle,” Takabayashi said.
Addison and Takabayashi also said that many of the homes they were selling were going to first-time homebuyers.
“That’s what I really want to sell to,” Addison said. “I want to get our younger generations out there buying homes.”
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.