The median price of previously owned single-family homes on Maui fell in October to its lowest level in more than a year as what was once Hawai'i's hottest and most expensive housing market continued to cool.

Maui's slowing residential property market also was marked by fewer October sales for single-family homes and condominiums, though the median condo price was up from a year earlier, according to the Realtors Association of Maui.

For single-family homes, the median price fell 4 percent to $647,500 last month from $674,500 a year earlier. It was the lowest median price since July 2005.

The median, a point where half the sales were for more and half for less, can be a good indicator of changing market values in larger markets, but tends to fluctuate more widely in markets with relatively few sales like Maui.

For instance, Maui's median price high of $780,000 set in May 2005 was matched 14 months later in July. But experts agree there is a general slowdown in buying that is causing prices to flatten.

There were 84 single-family home sales last month, down 13 percent from 96 a year earlier.

Condo sales totaled 81, down 45 percent from 148 in the same comparable period.

The median condo price of $485,000 in October was up from $429,500 a year earlier, but was the lowest this year since February. The condo median record was set in June at $649,000, but generally has declined since then.

In recent years, Maui has often led the state with the highest single-family home prices. But lately Hawai'i's main housing market has been closing the gap. Last month, O'ahu's median single-family home price was $645,000, just $2,500 less than Maui's.

Calvin Mobbs, Realtors Association of Maui president, said the drop in Maui's median last month has more to do with the mix of low- and high-end properties selling.

Last month, there were just four sales with a median of $1 million or higher generally in resort areas such as Wailea and Ka'anapali. A year earlier, there were 18 such sales.

Mobbs, an agent with Coldwell Banker Island Properties in West Maui, said a lot of buyers are waiting to see if market values decline significantly as sellers reconsider whether it's a good time to sell. But his long-term view is that prices will drop just a little and buyers will become more active.

"The sky's not falling," he said. "It's not."

For the first 10 months of the year, single-family home sales were down 27 percent to 834 from 1,146 a year earlier, and the median price was up 7 percent to $715,000 from $670,000.

For condos year-to-date, sales were down 39 percent to 1,062 from 1,745, and the median price was up 34 percent to $510,000 from $380,000.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.