It has been a while since we checked in on the Paia Real Estate Market. Paia town on Maui’s North Shore is where The Maui Real Estate Team office is located. It is one of our office’s core markets. This town has consistently seen strong demand and limited supply. The combination creates steady upward pressure on pricing. This post looks at market activity in the community during the second half of 2018 and the first four months of 2019.
One thing to note. Our local MLS groups Paia, Spreckelsville and Kuau together. We have always thought that Spreckelsville is its own market. As a result, this post looks at Paia and Kuau only. We provided a market update on Spreckelsville in February.
The map above shows sales market activity in Paia and Kuau between July 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019. The red pins represent sales. The yellow pins represent pending sales. The green sales represent active inventory. You can click on individual pins for more details on sales.
Paia Sales Summary
- There were 11 homes and 3 condos sold during the last six months of 2018. By comparison, there were 8 homes and one condo sold in the second half of 2017.
- The median price of the homes sold in the second half of 2018 was $878,000. The median price of homes sold in the same period of 2017 was $747,000.
- During the first four months of 2019, six homes and two condos sold. During the first four months of 2018, there were eight homes sold.
- The median price of the homes sold during the first four months of 2019 is $1,079,062. The median prices for the homes sold in the first third of 2018 was $800,000.
- The high sale for the first four months of 2019 is 50 Kai Place. This home and ohana is located on a 12,166 square foot lot on the ocean side of Hana Highway. The value may have been higher to the purchaser than the general market as it provides a potential second access point to the buyer’s oceanfront property. It closed for $2,150,000.
- The high sale for the last six months of 2018 is 116 Kuau Beach place. This oceanfront property consists of two homes on a lot of approximately 16,335 square feet. It sold for $3,500,000.
- The lowest priced home to sell during the first four months of 2019 is 514 Pahi Ka Street in Skill Village. This four bedroom, two and a half bath home with 1,670 square feet of living space sold for $649,000.
- The lowest priced home to sell in the last 6 months of 2018 sold for $350,000. This home, located located behind Cafe Des Amis, was in very poor condition. It was recently renovated and went under contract for $575,000 before it went to market.
Sales Activity in Specific Paia Neighborhoods
Kuau Bayview
Three sales closed in Kuau Bayview between July 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019. More accurately, all three sales closed in the second half of 2018. That is a slight uptick over the two sales that occurred over the same period between 2017 and 2018. While we haven’t seen any sales in the $900,000 plus range as we have in the previous couple of years, that is more due to the size and location of the units that have sold. This neighborhood continues to see strong buyer demand due to its location and general pride of ownership.
Skill Village
Sales activity has been higher in Skill Village than any other neighborhood in Paia over the last five years. Some of that is due to the size of the neighborhood. It is also due to relative affordability. It typically offers some of the lower priced homes in Paia. Four homes sold in the neighborhood between July 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019. That is a slight dip from the five homes that sold in the year prior. Sales seem to be slowing due to a limited supply of inventory. The decreased inventory is helping to push prices up further.
Kuau Plaza
Kuau Plaza, the thirty unit condo in Paia, saw a fair amount of sales activity with three sales in the last half of 2018 and two sales in the first four months of 2019. There is one additional condo in Kuau Plaza that is currently under contract. Units in the building tend to sell quickly when they come on market. The fact that you can vacation rent these condos legally helps boost demand for the property. That is particularly the case with the recent additional restrictions on vacation renting single family homes on island.
Paia Oceanfront
Only one oceanfront home sold in Paia since July 1, 2018. That is down quite a bit from the five sales over the same period of 2017-2018. Some of that stems from lack of inventory. There are only three oceanfront homes on the market at this time. Two of those homes came to market after January first. Oceanfront homes tend to spend more time on the market.
Overall Thoughts on the Statistics and the Paia Market Outlook
Looking at all of the numbers above, the median sales price for the first four months of 2019 is the most striking. Paia broke the million dollar median barrier. The median is driven in part by an increase in values, but also due to a lack of lower priced inventory. At this point, the lowest priced sale for the year is $649,000. I would anticipate that homes priced under $700,000 will remain scarce through the year which will continue the trend of high median sales prices.
If the overall economy continues on its current trajectory, values will continue to push upward. That said, I would not be surprised to see the rate of increase moderate. Homes in Paia are becoming increasingly inaccessible for the average island resident. If prices push up much further, I surmise it will be due to off island vs. local buyers.
Contact the Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in Paia Property. We know the community and its neighborhoods well. You can browse the current inventory of Paia Real Estate on our website.
