Needless to say, this month’s stats post isn’t a sneak peek. We are over halfway through the month and just getting around to our May stats. Sometimes blogging has to take a back seat to other parts of the business. The good news is that I have been having a tough time carving out time to blog due to obligations with buyers and sellers. Enough about me and on to the stats. This post includes information on sales volume, median prices, notable sales and pending sales. I also give a few thoughts on what it all means for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the May 2015 Maui Real Estate Statistics.
May Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices
There were 88 home sales reported in Maui County last month with a median price of $607,097. Last May, there were 86 sales reported with a median price of $537,500. That is roughly a 2% increase in sales volume and a 13% increase in median price when comparing this May to last May.
There were 108 condos reported to have been sold in May of 2015 with a median sales price of $469,500. In May of 2014, there were 117 sales reported with a median sales price of $472,000. That calculates to an 8% decrease in sales volume and just under a 1% decrease in median price.
There were 12 land transaction reported by Realtors in Maui County during the month of May with a median sales price of $563,750. By comparison, there 20 sold last may with a median price of $575,000. Those numbers calculate to a 40% drop in sales activity and a 2% drop in median price.
Other Notable Numbers from The May Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across some more notable numbers that I thought were worth sharing.
- The highest priced home sale last month was $5,695,000 for a 26.8 acre property in Haiku on Maui’s North Shore. The Haiku Farms property included 7 dwellings and 6 county water meters.
- The Haiku Farms Sale was one of 6 home sales on island over $2,000,000 in May. The other sales included 3 Kapalua homes, a home in Hana and a home in Wailea.
- The highest price condo transaction in May was for a unit at Wailea Point. The three bedroom, four bathroom oceanfront condo sold for $5,000,000.
- The Wailea Point Sales was one of twelve total condo transactions over $1,500,000. The other big sales included 6 at Honua Kai, 2 at Kai Malu, a Montage Kapalua, a Puamana and a Papali Wailea.
- The highest priced land sale in May was $1,425,000 for a 10.2 oceanfront acres in Haiku.
- There were 12 bank owned or REO sales last month. By comparison, there were 8 REO sales last May.
- There were only 3 successful short sales completed last month. There were 10 short sales last month. Short sales continue to decrease as appreciation continues.
Some Quick Thoughts on the Maui May Real Estate Sales Numbers
The May Maui Sales numbers stuck pretty close to the script for what we have seen thus far in 2015. Home sales were slightly above last year’s numbers. That is now four months out of five where sales have outperformed the same month from the previous year. Condo and land sales were both down. That makes four out of five months that condo sales have been below the same month the year prior. Land sales have been down three out of five months compared to the same month from the year before.
We typically, don’t spend a whole lot of time discussing change in median prices on the blog. It’s a bit of frustrating subject. All too often, I see discussions of the Maui Real Estate statistics where changes in median are depicted as a reflection of changes in property values. While appreciation can play a part, the biggest shifts in median are driven by the change in composition of sales. I thought this was worth bringing up as home medians pushed above $600,000 for the second time this year. We are seeing modest appreciation, but we are also seeing more activity at higher price points and fewer properties available in the lower price ranges.
Pending Sales in May
The majority of real estate transactions on Maui take 30-60 days to close. With a few exceptions, the sales in May were based on contracts penned in March and April. With that in mind, we wanted to look at buyer demand in May. The following offers a comparison of Pending Sales in May of 2015 and May of 2014.
May 2014 and May 2015 were very close to each other in terms of pending sales activity. There was one more home, four fewer condos and three more parcels of land that went pending. This would suggest that we shouldn’t see too big of a difference in between the June 2015 and June 2014 sales.
What Does This All Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
Market conditions remain unchanged on Maui. Buyers interested in the market will find varying market conditions depending upon geography and price point. Homes priced at or below the market medium tend to be scarce and have the highest demand. Well priced, clean properties below the median sales price can attract multiple offers and over asking bids. As you move up in price, demand will tend to go down, but well priced properties can still sell quickly. Before sellers begin to pop the champagne corks, this isn’t an out and out frenzied sellers market. Over priced properties are tending to sit and not all areas of the island are seeing the same levels of demand. Sellers will need to take into account market conditions specific to their town and neighborhood when developing go to market pricing. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering entering the Maui Real Estate Market. We would be happy to sit down with you to listen to your needs and give you an update on market conditions specific to your interests.
