Hawaii's "Garden Isle," as it is known, the island of Kauai, like the other Hawaiian islands, has seen a steady drop in home values since 2008, when the U.S. housing and stock markets began their slide and the country entered into a recession. Kauai real estate had high median values before the crash, and thus the prices have had farther to fall than homes in lower markets. By now, however, a year and a half into the market's downfall, real estate in Kauai seems to be nearing its bottom as prices are stabilizing, albeit at much lower levels than before.
August 2009 saw 23 home sales in Kauai, a decrease of 14.8% from sales volume of homes in August 2008. Meanwhile, the median price for a home sale on Kauai was $471,000, a decrease of price by 11% from figures at the same time last year. Condo sales showed a bit more signs of normality. Their sales volume was up to 15 in August 2009 from just seven in August 2008, an increase of more than 50%. Meanwhile, median condo sales prices remained relatively stable, up to $300,000 in August of this year from $299,000 last year.
However, as the local newspaper the Garden Island notes, Kauai real estate figures must be examined closely and percentage increases or decreases not taken to mean too much, as the "real estate market is an insulated one with a relatively small sampling section, therefore a high or low dollar sale, a new condominium project or subdivision can dramatically affect the statistics."
Statewide, Hawaii has been slightly slower to recover than many of its mainland counterparts, the Star Bulletin says, with second-quarter sales volume down 37.8% from the first quarter. Two communities in Kauai, however, were among the top five regions in terms of closed sales on homes for sale in Kauai, in Kekaha and Kalaheo.