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The volume of the Waimea real estate market increased in the most recent tracking period, although foreclosure rates remained high and the median price declined slightly. According to a June 7, 2010 article from Pacific Business News, “Sales of condominiums on the Big Island rose by nearly 75 percent last month, and sales of single-family homes were up by 25 percent when compared to May of last year. There were 53 condos sold on the Big Island in May, 71 percent more than the 31 units sold during the same month in 2009, according to statistics from the Hawaii Information Service.” The piece went on to state that “A total of 128 single-family homes were sold in May compared to 102 homes sold during the same month last year. Prices, however, were down for both categories. The median price for a single-family home on the Big Island in May was $279,500, down 7 percent from $300,500 in 2009.”
The foreclosure rate amongst Waimea homes for sale, however, remained well above the state and national average in the month of May. According to a June 10, 2010 article from the Honolulu Star Advertiser, “The number of Hawaii properties caught up in foreclosure in May remained above the 1,000 mark for a third consecutive month, but may be getting close to leveling off. There were 1,055 properties statewide in some stage of foreclosure last month, according to real estate research firm RealtyTrac.” The piece, composed by Andrew Gomes, went on to note that “The Big Island had the worst rate, at one filing per 245 households, or 325 filings in all…Still, there’s no question that local homeowners continue to struggle with mortgage payments amid a tepid economy, an unemployment rate that remains near 7 percent and home values that are still below peaks of a few years ago.”
One particular weak spot in Hawaii real estate that may be affecting the Waimea housing market is the failure of a large development. According to a May 19, 2010 article from the Wall Street Journal, “Bank of Scotland PLC, a British bank that financed a boom-era, 1,500-acre luxury golf-course community in the Hawaiian city of Kailua-Kona, is suffering a steep loss on the stalled project.”


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