Driven by record low inventory and fierce buyer demand, Maui County’s median sales price for single-family homes breached $1 million last month for the first time in history.

Maui County hit a $1,039,000 median for homes in May — a 30 percent increase compared with the same time last year. Realtors Association of Maui data on median sales prices, the point at which half of the sales sold for more and half sold for less in a given month, dates back to 1993.

Condos, though, dropped nearly 10 percent year over year to a median sales price of $615,000 last month.

Inventory plummeted to a new all-time low of 203 single-family homes in May — a nearly 54 percent drop from the same time last year. Association data on inventory, the number of properties available for sale in active status at the end of a given month, dates back to 2010.

Association President Joe Hogin acknowledged the low inventory and the impact it has on the housing market for locals.

“Sellers will list their homes and the seller sets the price,” he said Monday. “Once it sells, it sets the bar and nobody wins when it comes to affordable housing.”

“I understand everyone’s frustration and wish the county would start providing a better way to fast track affordable housing or even build more affordable rentals,” Hogin added. “DHHL would help many local families if they released more Hawaiian home lands or build affordable housing for those that qualify.”

Maui County’s median sales price is the second highest in the state for May.

Kauai’s median sales price for single-family homes last month was $1.125 million, according to Hawaii Information Service, a local MLS and real estate resource. Oahu reached $978,000, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Hawaii island was at $500,000, according to Hawaii Information Service.

Despite Maui’s aggressive housing market, buyers aren’t hesitating to snag what’s listed.

Closed sales, a count of actual sales that closed in a given month, spiked more than 188 percent year over year to 121 for single-family homes in May. Pending sales increased more than 57 percent to 118.

“When a home hits the market for $650,000 — it’s gone in three days,” Hogin said. “Some buyers complain about the area or condition of the home. We as buyers need to start somewhere.”

New listings increased nearly 28 percent to 129 homes. Days on market until sale stayed relatively flat at 135. Percent of list price received ticked up 1 percent to 97.9 percent.

May is the fourth consecutive month of record-setting or near-record single-family median home prices for Maui County. January prices rose to $980,000, February reached $895,000, March spiked to $985,000 and April hit $983,500.

This is the first year single-family home median prices have passed the $900,000 — and now $1 million — threshold.

Before 2021, the previous record of $867,500 was set in October 2020. In April 2019, median sales prices for the first time broke the $800,000 threshold.

All the while, condominium median sales prices dropped 9.6 percent to $615,000 in May, according to the Realtors Association of Maui report. Inventory saw a sharp drop — more than 62 percent — to 224 units. New listings increased more than 12 percent to 155.

Given the low inventory, closed sales skyrocketed more than 346 percent to 241 in May. Pending sales were up 231 percent to 212.

Percent of list price received stayed relatively flat at 98 percent.

Days on market until sale dropped 12 percent to 146.

For single-family homes, the highest median sales prices were found in Kapalua, where five units sold with a median price of $4.15 million; Lahaina, where eight units sold with a median price of $3.05 million; and Molokai, where five units sold with a median of $2.6 million.

The lowest prices were on Lanai, where one sold for $600,000; Pukalani, where six units sold with a median price of $655,000; and Hana, where one unit sold for $700,000.

For condos, the highest median sales prices were found on Lanai, where two units sold for a median price of $2.4 million; Wailea/Makena, where 30 units sold for a median of $1.7 million; and Kapalua, where 13 units sold for a median of $1.3 million.

The lowest median sales prices were on Molokai, where three units sold for a median of $150,000; Kahului, where five units sold for a median of $180,000; and Wailuku, where 11 sold for a median of $400,000.

The Realtors Association of Maui’s May report said inventory remains much lower than it was the same time last year across the nation. As a result, sales prices are surging.

Fueled by low mortgage rates, robust buyer demand continues to outpace supply — and the U.S. housing market is showing no signs of cooling, according to the report.

“With such limited supply of existing homes to purchase, all eyes are on home builders to provide a much-needed boost of inventory to the market to help meet buyer demand,” the report said. “However, increasing material and labor costs, along with supply chain challenges, have contributed to significantly higher construction costs, with builders passing these costs on to homebuyers.”

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.