(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Real estate sales are booming statewide. Now, homebuyers fleeing high prices are heading down the island chain. Hawaiʻi Island housing inventory is being squeezed up and down the market, and that includes rentals to everyday people.
On Kauaʻi in June, the median home sale price swooped above $1.1 million, up 82% from last year. On the other end of the island chain, Hawaiʻi Island s median home sale price for June was $472,500, up 26%.
Jared Gates is Hawaiʻi Island Board of Realtors president and broker in charge at Big Island Homes and Land Company, based in Hilo. Gates says Puna is the hotspot for sales activity with new homes in the $300,000 to $500,000 range.