Recent Signs of A Rebound Continue At The End Of June

The Maui Real Estate market showed another strong week of buyer demand to close out the month of June. Weekly pending sales hit a new pandemic era high. Meanwhile sales levels are continuing to rebound as we move past the influence of low buyer demand in early April. Find out specific numbers and more details in the paragraphs below.

Maui Realtors reported 56 pending sales over the seven day period between June 24th and 30th. That is a 24% increase over last week’s pending sales. It is 14% below the same seven day period of 2019. This was the strongest week for pending sales since the seven day period from February 26th-March 3rd.

Notable Numbers from this Week’s New Pending Sales

• The 56 new pending sales include 28 homes, 22 condos and 6 lots.
• The 28 pending home sales ties the highest weekly number during the Covid-19 era.
• Last week, I noted that it was a particularly slow week for non-vacation rental condos with only 3 new pending sales. I cautioned about reading too much into that number. I feel somewhat vindicated as non-vacation rental condo activity rebounded this week. There were 12 new non-vacation rental pending sales.
• The six pending land sales is the highest seven day total since the period between March 4th and March 10th.

This Week’s Real Estate Sales

Maui Realtors reported 53 sales last week. That is 66% more than the week prior yet 22% below the same seven day period last year. The 53 closed transactions is the highest seven day total since the last week of March. This can be attributed to two things. First and foremost, sales are a lagging indicator. Some of the low sales totals we saw in May and June were due to low buyer demand in April. The current sales total reflects the impact of stronger buyer demand and increased new pending sales in May. The other factor is that the last week of June is traditionally a strong week for sales with the 30th being particularly strong. That was true of the last day of June this year with 18 transactions closing in just that one day.

This Week’s New Inventory Numbers

A little less new inventory came on the market compared to recent weeks. Maui Realtors listed 65 properties this week. That is 8% below last week and 7% below the same week last year. There was more new condo inventory than other property types with 33 new listings. The 27 new home listings was slightly lower than the 28 homes that went under contract last week. The 5 new land listings are a little below the 6 pending transactions that happened last week.

Overall, inventory remains relatively low on island. Home inventory is below the same period last year. Demand for homes is higher than other property types. This is sustaining and even increasing home prices modestly depending on where you are on island and price point. The condo inventory is gradually increasing. Inventory levels are actually higher than the same time last year. While demand isn’t quite as strong for condos, as of now the balance of inventory vs demand is supporting market prices.

That balance between supply and demand in the condo market will be something I will be watching as the summer progresses. Will we see a continued growth in supply? What about demand? While a number of off island buyers are using tools such as video and 3D tours to purchase sight unseen, does the chance to see property first hand cause more buyers to pull the trigger? The extent to which the local economy is revived by the return of tourism is also likely to impact both the number of local buyers and the supply of inventory for the non-vacation rental condo market.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

The Maui Real Estate market is pretty diverse. While this post speaks to the overall market conditions, supply and demand vary by community, neighborhood and price point. Contact the Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to listen and learn about your real estate needs. We would also be happy to brief you on market conditions specific to your interests.