Sales down on Neighbor Islands

The Advertiser brings us news that home sales are slipping on the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai in February:

"The market is off and the national trends say we'll be down 4 percent on volume this year — and Hawai'i's reflecting this trend," said James Wright, president and CEO of Century 21 All Islands. His company's sales are nevertheless running 20 percent ahead of last year, Wright said, and "even with the drop off, it's a positive market still."

Condo sales were up in Kauai, but down on Maui and the Big Island. But we're still cheaper than California:

"A lot of the higher-priced condos have been sold to Mainland investors, especially from the West Coast. Especially if you're from California, a two-bedroom condo on the ocean in Kona can go for $800,000, whereas that same condo in California would cost $1.5 million."