Kauai Market Update ~ Q3 2020

Kauai Real Estate Q3 Review

Quite remarkably, the theme you may have been hearing about effecting luxury and suburban real estate markets across the country has been no different on Kauai. The pandemic has undoubtedly catalyzed a surge in activity across almost all market segments on Kauai, and has been particularly driven by North Shore market activity.  Incredibly, the third quarter of 2020 is now outperforming the same period of 2019 by several metrics. Island wide residential sales volume for the period reached $152.9M, up 4.65% from the $146.1M during Q3 2019. North Shore residential sales volume in particular rose an impressive 22.1% from $36.4M to $44.5M. Similarly, vacant land sales volume, both island wide and on the north shore, grew significantly. Though number of residential sales dropped from 166 in 2019 to 133 in Q3 2020, this metric for the north shore was up from 26 to 29. A last key point to highlight is in the way of residential median prices, which were up 25% island wide from $650K in Q3 2019 to $810K in Q3 this year and up at least 15% in each of the five geographical districts on Kauai. There is a strong demand for residential properties on Kauai.

We anticipate this pace to continue for the nearest term as the same forces that put this net effect in place are still at work, and early activity from Q4 suggests such is the case. With Kauai’s reopening sans quarantine (for those who follow state pre-travel testing protocols), we anticipate another wave of Buyer’s coming in over the coming months.  We feel this forecast to particularly be the case for the higher-end segment which has already started to see more activity.  Since October 1, two properties have sold for prices north of $5M and there are another five currently in escrow.

If you’d like to explore the numbers a bit deeper, check out the market snapshots below for Q3, or via the following link for an enlarged version – Kauai Snapshot Q3.

Monthly Sales and Median Price Statistics

The below chart depicts monthly sales and median prices for both the entire island and the North Shore. It is worth highlighting that over the 13 month period represented in this chart, the island wide sales for September 2020 are at the highest level since the onset of the pandemic and the sales for the north shore are at their highest level over the entire period. Additionally, the September median sales price for the island is at its highest level for the period.

Kauai Monthly Residential Sales & Median Sales Prices

Long Term Quarterly Median Sales Price Trends

The surge in activity is well depicted in this quarterly residential median sales price chart that goes back to 2010.  The quarterly residential median prices for these two segments (Kauai and North Shore) are at new records within the time period.

Kauai Quarterly Residential Median Price, 2010-2020.

As we have stated above, we sense this trend to continue in the immediate future.  Market indicators such as our volume currently in escrow, as well as showing and inquiry activity, all continue to be relentlessly elevated.

Explore more of our beautiful listings at www.nealnorman.com.