Home sales rose on Maui last month while median prices were flat or slightly lower, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

The sales increase was dramatic for condominiums in November compared with the same month last year, though the move was largely because transactions were extremely low last year.

Condo sales rose 138 percent to 69 last month from 29 a year earlier. Last month's figure was in line with sales throughout the year that have ranged between 41 and 108 per month. By comparison, last November's figure was the lowest for any month since September 1995 when there also were 29 sales.

The median price for condos was $400,000 last month, virtually unchanged from $399,000 a year earlier.

For single-family homes, sales rose 3 percent to 67 last month from 65 a year earlier. The median price edged down 1.5 percent to $465,000 from $472,000.

The median price is a point at which half the sales were for more and half for less.

Terry Tolman, executive director of the Realtors Association of Maui, said a relatively large inventory of homes is on the market that includes many pre-foreclosure and post-foreclosure properties. However, inventory has been shrinking since April, and single-family home sales in November were second-highest of any month this year after October.

"Our market seems to be getting its footing," he said.

Some of the sales activity is due to a federal stimulus program providing qualified first-time home buyers with an $8,000 tax credit. The program, which has an initial expiration date of Dec. 1, likely helped boost purchases.

O'ahu's housing market experienced a rush of November sales, many of which brokers say were due to buyers trying to beat the deadline. Last month, the program was extended through the end of April and expanded with a $6,500 credit available to qualified repeat-home buyers.

For the first 11 months of the year, Maui home sales and prices are still lower. Single-family home sales are down 31 percent to 590 to date from 853 in the same period last year, and the median price is down 14 percent to $500,000 from $579,000.

Year-to-date condo sales are down 1 percent to 744 from 752, and the median price is down 16 percent to $464,500 from $550,000.