Home sales on the Big Island and Kaua'i got off to a slow start this year with reduced or flat sales of previously owned single-family homes and condominiums last month, according to data released yesterday by Hawaii Information Service.

Prices were higher for condos and lower for single-family homes on the two Neighbor Islands, though the small number of transactions tend to make comparisons more about the mix of homes that sold as opposed to changes in broad real estate values.

The biggest market, Big Island single-family homes, had 84 sales in January, down 31 percent from 121 sales in the same month last year. The median price was $324,000, down 20 percent from $405,000 in the same period.

There were 19 Big Island condo sales last month, a 53 percent decline from 40 sales a year earlier. The median price was $444,444, up 11 percent from $399,170 in the same period.

The most active area for Big Island single-family home sales was in Puna with 38 sales. Puna's median single-family home sale price of $236,000 was the lowest on the island. The highest median single-family home price was $1.1 million in North Kohala, a resort area that had two sales. South Kohala recorded the most condo sales on the island at 10, for a median price of $502,500.

On Kaua'i, there were 21 single-family home sales in January, down 40 percent from 35 a year earlier. The median price was $630,000, down 21 percent from $799,000 in the same period.

Kaua'i condo sales in January totaled 20, unchanged from a year earlier. The median price was $586,000, up 29 percent from $455,810 in the same period.

By region on Kaua'i, the highest median single-family home price was $1.5 million in Hanalei, where there were five sales. The lowest median single-family home price was $470,000 in Kawaihau, where there were eight sales. For condos, the high median was $897,485 in Hanalei, where there were eight sales, and the low was $258,000 in Lihu'e, where there were five sales.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.