Javsnet.com

A census-desginated place of more than 7,000, the community of Waimea, Hawaii, is the largest community on the Big Island’s interior and is known as being home to the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the U.S. The Big Island, like the other Hawaiian islands, saw its residential real estate sector sacked by the U.S. recession and its far-reaching effects. Lately, the Big Island has seen prices continue in a downward trend, with condos around $50,000 and homes around $100,000.

The Waimea real estate market, though, is a quiet one that demands much less attention than its rivals like Hilo and Captain Cook. As of April 2, there were just five Waimea homes for sale, according to local realtor Julie Black.  According to a search on real estate listing site RealtyTrac in mid-April, there were two foreclosure properties listed for sale in Waimea, one at a price of $201,000 and one at a price of more than $625,500. The median price of homes for sale was $429,000.

The median home price throughout all of Hawaii County (the Big Island) was $278,800. Additionally, sales activity was up on the island, according to Pacific Business News. The island as a whole saw an 8% rise in sales volume for single-family homes in February with 94 homes sold in the month versus 87 a year earlier, though at the same time, it also saw median sales prices down 19% to $237,000.

Condo sales on the island were up as well, by a much larger margin. The number of condos sold in February tripled from a year prior, to 39 units sold versus just 13 in 2009. The median sales price for condos, however, was also down and this too was by a much larger margin than homes. The median price in February fell 39% year-over-year to $266,175 from $435,000.