June is always a fun month on Maui. With events like the Maui Film Festival, The Kapalua Food and Wine Festival and the Slack Key Guitar Festival, it is little wonder why the month always seems to pass by in a blink of the eye. The end of the month also means another opportunity to take the pulse of the Maui Real Estate market. This Sneak Peek at the Maui Real Estate stats takes a look at June’s median prices and sales volumes compared to June of 2013. I also want to share some of the other interesting numbers that I came across while compiling the June sales volumes. I give my thoughts on the state of the market, and I give a sense of what the sales might look like in the coming months as we document the number of properties that went under contract over the last month. Without further ado, here are the numbers for June.
June 2014 Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices
There were 90 homes sold in June with a median sales price of $535,000. Last June there were 92 homes sold with a median price of $579,500. That is a 2% dip in sales volumes and an 8% dip in median price.
There were 94 condos sold last month with a median price of $444,500. In June of 2013, there were 125 condos sold with a median of $400,000. That equates to a 25% drop in volume and an 11% jump in median price.
There were 18 lots sold on Maui in June of 2014 with a median of $545,500. Last June there were 19 sales reported with a median of $469,260. That is a modest dip in volume of 5% and a 16% increase in median price.
Other Noteworthy Numbers from the June 2014 Real Estate Sales Activity in Maui County
While compiling the numbers above, I came across a few other numbers that I think are worth sharing.
- The high home sale for the month was $5,700,000 for a cottage on 4.55 oceanfront acres in Olowalu.
- That was one of six total home sales over $2,000,000 for the month of June. There were 2 home sold in Ka’anapali, 2 in Wailea, and one in Launiupoko.
- The first six months of the year proved to be strong for luxury home sales. There were 37 homes sold for over $2,000,000 during the first half of 2014. There were 26 sold in the first half of 2013. That is a 42% jump in activity over the first six months of 2013.
- The highest priced condo sale last month was a 3 bedroom unit at Hoolei that closed for $3,250,000.
- The Hoolei sale was one of 7 sales over $1,500,000 last month. Hoolei was a hotbed of high end activity with two other sales over $1,500,000. The other condo complexes with big transactions included Ka’anapali Ali’i, The Terraces at Manele Bay on Lanai and Honua Kai (two sales).
- This was also the end of a strong first half of 2014 for luxury condo sales. There 51 condos sold for over $1,500,000 during the first six months of the year. Last year there were 31 condos sold for over $1,500,000. That is a 65% jump in activity.
- There were 12 REO or bank owned sales in June. That is up over last June’s 5 sales. There appears to be a little bit of an uptick in bank owned properties coming on the market. I will have a few more thoughts on the bank owned numbers below.
The Numbers That Really Stood Out and What They Mean
The condo numbers stood out to me the most of any part of the June stats. This is two months in a row where condo sales have been significantly lower compared to last year. As mentioned above, the luxury side of the market is outperforming 2013 so that means other parts of the market are under performing. Over the last two months, the primary culprit appears to be condos priced under $500,000. There were 120 sales priced under $500,000 in May and June of this year compared to 181 during May and June of 2013. That’s a 33% drop in activity. Why the big drop in sales? Shrinking inventory and price increases are playing a part. The inventory of condos under $200,000 that prohibit vacation rentals has seen a big dip. Many of those condos that were in that range last year are well into the $200,000s this year. We have also seen a pretty big drop in the number of vacation rental condos available under $400,000.
Home sales experienced a much smaller drop in activity in June compared to last year. Why are home sales doing a little better than condo sales? Anecdotally, it also appears as if we are seeing an uptick in inventory in the $600,000 and under range. My clients looking at entry level homes and properties just above that level have seen more options lately. Local buyers are feeling pressure to snatch up the new inventory as entry level homes have seen strong appreciation and interest rates threaten to rise on better economic news.
Some of the increased inventory we are seeing on the market is bank owned. This was one of the first months in a while where bank owned sales outpaced sales from the same month a year ago. This looks like it might sustain itself for at least a couple of months, and it is worth watching over the longer term. There were 19 bank owned listings that came on the market in June. That is the highest number of bank owned listings we have seen in a month since May of 2012. We are 3 days into July and there are already 3 new REO listings. Hawaii has a big backlog of properties facing judicial foreclosure moving through the court system. It appears as if some of the backlog might be starting to move through the courts. This bank owned inventory may help satiate some of the pent up demand from buyers.
Bargain hunters who are looking to find a bank owned home for a steal of a price may be disappointed. Most banks seem to have a different pricing strategy in a rising market vs. a falling market. While many banks were dumping their assets below comparable sales as the market was falling, they are seeking market prices in the rising market. In some cases, they are pricing above the market and having to adjust pricing downward. While there may be a few bargains here or there, REOs won’t provide the same opportunities that they did 3-4 years ago.
June Pending Sales
As mentioned previously on the blog, property sales can be a lagging indicator for the market due to transaction times. As a result, we have been keeping track of the pending sales on our blog. These numbers should also give you some sense of what we might expect for sales volumes in July and August.
The number of homes that went under contract in June was up 28% over the number that went under contract in June of 2013. Combined with the fact that there were more homes going under contract in May, I would anticipate stronger home sales for July. The number of condos that went under contract was down 24% compared to last year. That is a continuation of recent trends where condo pendings have been lower compared to last year. The one outlier is land sales. Land sales activity appears to be way down in June with a 74% drop in the number of properties going under contract.
Thoughts for Prospective Maui Home Buyers and Sellers
What does all of this mean for buyers and sellers. While there may be some new inventory out on the market for home buyers, there has been some pent up demand as well. A couple of the more intriguing new listings that I saw hit the market this week are already in multiple offer situations. That means buyers looking at the middle and the lower price points in the market will need to have their ducks in a row when looking. Buyers who need financing assistance should be pre-approved prior to looking. If you see a well priced property that fits your needs, you will need to act quickly or another buyer will beat you to the punch. Sellers have a bit more of a mixed bag. There are still some pockets of the market with higher inventory. Sellers in those market that want to sell quickly may need to lower their pricing expectations to stand out from the competition. Over priced properties are sitting even in some of the busier segments of the market. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling a home on Maui. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation.