Big Island’s Waimea 2013 Home Sales Show Small Price Gain

Home sales in Waimea in 2013 reflected a general Big Island trend of higher sales prices. In 2013, there was a total of 99 homes sold in Waimea – this was a slight change from 2012’s sales of 97 homes.

Waimea homes increased slightly in 2013 with an average price of $439,469

The average sales price for Waimea homes in 2013 was $439,469, a small increase over the previous year’s average sales price of just $411,692. This average price increase of around 6% lagged behind the overall Big Island average of 13.5%, and was way behind its South Kohala neighbor, Waikoloa, that had a huge 30% increase in sales average sales price.

Green Side vs. Dry Side

In looking at how the two sides of Waimea fared, the “green side” had about half the number of sales with 48 homes sold. The dry side, or western side of town, had a slightly higher number of sales with 51 dry side sales in 2013.

While the number of sales may have been similar, the overall price of sales shows the big gap in prices from one side of town to the other side. Dry side home sale prices averaged $529,678, while wet side sales were a much weaker average price of $343,416. So, if you’d like to know the difference between buying a home in wet side vs. dry side the current difference is about $200,000.

One reason for the much lower prices on the east side of town was the higher percentage of distressed homes – short sales or REOs (bank owned foreclosures). Wet side Waimea had 12 distressed properties sales – or about 25% of the homes sold. But, on the west side of town, distressed properties were just under 4% with just 2 distressed home sales.

At this point, distressed homes for sale in Waimea are following a general national trend of much lower inventory. At this time, with 64 homes for sale in Waimea, only 8 are distressed properties.

Most Popular Waikoloa Neighborhood in 2013

By far, the most popular neighborhood in 2013 was the Lualai subdivision with total sales of 22 homes – with 2 of these being resales and a whopping 20 developer sales. So far this year, Lualai has sold 3 homes for both developer and resales, and has another 3 in escrow. But, developer sales are coming to an end, so if you want a new home in this area, you will need to act soon.

Lualai’i will close out new sales soon, remaining prices start at $459,789 (MLS# 270701)

What Were the Highs & the Lows for 2013?

Lowest priced home that closed was $158,000 for a short sale in the Puu Nani subdivision. The most expensive home sold was a four-bedroom home on 3 acres in Anekona Estates that sold for $2,100,000.

This Anekona home had luxury resort-style home features throughout – sold at $2,100,000

Where Are Home Prices Headed in 2014?

Based on overall Big Island trends and decreasing inventory of distressed properties, prices will be headed higher in 2014. I will be here to report to you what the year holds for Waimea home sales.

I love the Big Island! Aloha.