Single-family home sales dropped in November on the Big Island and Kaua'i from the year before while condominium transactions also fell on the Big Island but jumped on the Garden Isle.

While sales slumped, prices still rose.

The median price of a single-family home on the Big Island and Kaua'i increased nearly 20 percent — to $379,500 on the Big Island and $695,000 on Kaua'i. The median price of a condominium rose to $368,750 on Big Island and to $459,000 on Kaua'i.

"Prices are starting to slow down their fast rise," said James W. Wright, whose Century 21 All Islands operates across the state. "They're not done rising. They just won't go up as fast."

Big Island single-family home sales fell more than 20 percent to 184 transactions, according to the Hawaii Information Service. Big Island condominium sales dropped more than 29 percent to just 82 sales.

"There wasn't that much to sell," said Wright, Century 21 All Islands president and CEO. "We've literally been running out of inventory. On the Big Island, in particular, we've had an extraordinarily tight market."

On Kaua'i, the volume of single-family home sales fell more than 23 percent to 39 transactions. But condominium sales rose more than 53 percent to 63 transactions.

Joanna Wheeler, who sells timeshares on Kaua'i, had nearly resorted to buying a condominium in November after months of being outbid on single-family homes for less than $500,000.

So Wheeler was ecstatic when the seller of a three-bedroom, two-bath, 912-square-foot, single-family house in Kapa'a accepted Wheeler's offer of $6,000 over the $429,000 asking price.

"The house fell out of escrow, and I knew there was another offer out there," Wheeler said. "I was looking, looking, looking for something under $500,000, and I was starting to get discouraged. So I knew I had to offer a little bit more."

Her Realtor, Lorren Van Fossen, the CEO of All Star Realty and All Star Lending in Kapa'a, called Wheeler's single-family purchase "kind of rare right now on Kaua'i for the low end."

But condominium sales are booming on Kaua'i — especially among Mainland transplants and Mainland buyers looking to buy a vacation rental, Van Fossen said.

"I've been selling tons of condos," Van Fossen said. "But I can't remember the last time I sold a condo to a resident of Kaua'i."

Even though single-family home sales are down, buyers continue to line up to buy homes for less than $500,000, said Tom Summers, the owner of Summers Realty on Kaua'i.

"Those go real quick," Summers said. "There are a lot more higher-end listings on the market in the $500,000 to $1 million range. Especially compared to January and February, they're staying around longer."

Despite November's sluggish sales, real estate companies like Century 21 All Islands will end the year on record sales.

Last year, Wright's company had nearly $750 million in sales — its best performance. But this year, Century 21 All Islands will see $1 billion in sales.

"Even if we slow down a little bit," Wright said, "we're not frowning much these days."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.