While we have taken a look at the overall Maui Midyear Maui Real Estate Statistics, I wanted to hone in on some of the individual communities across the island. We are going to start with the North Shore community of Haiku. Haiku encompasses a broad geographic area along the Northern slope of Haleakala Volcano. It ranges in elevation from a few dozen feet above sea level all the way to almost 1,400 feet above the Pacific. While known to receive more rainfall than most parts of the island, there are a pretty wide variety of micro climates. Some areas receive approximately 40 inches of rain a year and while other areas of true rainforest receive over 100 inches of rain a year. The area’s agricultural roots still have an impact on local real estate. Many of the properties are agriculturally zoned meaning they are on lots of two acres or greater. The community is popular with residents due to a variety of factors including the sense of community, natural beauty, tropical climate, bohemian vibe and access to wind and water sports. Those same reasons also attract some second home owners.

The first half of 2013 proved to be strong for Haiku Property Sales. There were both increases in the number of homes sold and land sold when compared to the first half of 2012. That being said, there are some interesting dynamics when you drill down into various price points of the Haiku Real Estate Market. In this update, I will provide specific numbers on median and sales volumes, point at a few additional numbers that I thought were noteworthy, give my take on the numbers and the state of the Haiku Real Estate market and give some additional thoughts on what we may expect to see in the second half of 2013.

During the first six months of 2013, there were 44 homes sold in Haiku with a median sales price of $588,975. During the first half of 2012, there were 33 homes sold with a median price of $620,000. That calculates to a 33% increase in sales activity this year with median prices dipping approximately 5%.

There were 14 land sales reported during the first half of 2013 in Haiku with a median sales price of $454,500. During the first six months of 2012, there were 12 land sales in Haiku with a median price of $393,750. That is approximately a 17% bump in activity and approximately a 15% bump in median price.

Here were a few other numbers that were noteworthy from the first six months of Haiku Real Estate Sales:

• The high sale for a home was $1,600,000 for a 4,259 square foot home on approximately two acres of land. This house is situated on the ocean side of Hana Highway.
• That was one of 7 sales over $1,000,000 in Haiku during the first six months of the year. That is a modest increase in sales activity over last year when there were 5 sales over $1,000,000.
• The lowest sales price for a home was $150,000 for a serious fixer upper out in the Huelo area of Haiku.
• The highest priced land sale for the first six months of the year was $1,000,000 for 2 acres on the ocean in Western Haiku.
• There were 6 bank owned or REO sales that closed in the first six months of 2013. There were 3 REO that closed in the first six months of 2012. This makes Haiku something of an anomaly as most areas of the island showed a sharp drop in foreclosure transactions. I would not take this as a harbinger of things to come in the second half of 2013.
• There were four short sales that closed in the first six months of 2013.

The Haiku market saw some clear signs of improvement during the first six months of 2013. The 33% increase in home sales was strong. While median price decreased, that is a reflection of the distribution of sales rather than a decrease in values. Homes priced below $1,000,000 generally saw pretty clear appreciation. The increase in land sales volume was not quite as robust, but I think some of that may stem from a lack of inventory that fit buyer demand. I will delve into my thoughts on that a little later in the blog post. While there was improvement in the market, it would be a stretch to say all elements of the Haiku market improved. The chart below shows the distribution of sales by price point.

The biggest bump in sales activity occurred at or near the median price points of the market. The lower price ranges saw a little bit of improvement. If there were more inventory at the low end of the Haiku market, I think it is safe to say it would have sold. The high end of the Haiku market is another story altogether. There was a modest increase in sales over $1,000,000 with seven sales reported vs. the five last year. That being said, there is lots of inventory that has yet to be absorbed on the high end.

This chart gives a sense of the abundance of high end inventory on the market in Haiku. Once you get above $1,000,000, there is lots of red representing active listings. There are a handful of blue bars representing sales in the first half of the year and there is just one green bar representing the lone pending sale. This should limit the potential for any appreciation in the near future at the high end of the market. The middle of the market has fairly limited inventory between $500,000-$1,000,000. Most price points are under six months of inventory. This has led to modest appreciation in values in these price ranges. When you get below $500,000, the pickings are particularly slim. There are properties under contract, but nothing active. When properties do come on the market, they tend to go very quickly if they are priced well. This is the segment of the market that has seen the most appreciation. I will provides some thoughts on the outlook for the rest of the year a little later in our video portion of the blog.

Shifting to the Haiku land market, the chart below shows a comparison of the distribution of sales by price point between the first half of 2012 and 2013.

This chart didn’t provide me with any great revelations. The pool of land for sale in Haiku is pretty heterogeneous. Value is driven by acreage, views, location, the presence or absence of infrastructure and utilities, micro-climates and exposure to the elements. Due to those factors, the shift in distribution of sales can be just as much a factor of the variability of properties sold as it is a shift in market dynamics. That being said, I can say I have seen anecdotal signs of a market shift. Land sales in Haiku started to pick up in the second half of 2012. Buyers were drawn to the land market as home inventory started to shrink. Two acre lots with infrastructure and ocean views have been in particular demand. As supplies shrink, we have seen some price increases. At this time last year, a two acre lot with water and ocean views started around the low to mid $300,000s. Most of these properties are now starting in the $400,000s.

While the chart with the comparison of 2012 and 2013 sales didn’t show much, the chart below offers a little more insight into the current market. This chart compares the active inventory, the properties that are pending and the properties that sold in the first six months of 2013.

There are two things that stand out in this chart. The first is the big number of pending sales in the $300,000-$400,000 range. Almost all of these are from the Peahi Hui subdivision. This is a new agricultural subdivision boasting views and all utilities. It never officially went on the MLS and sold out within a couple of weeks of being announced in the real estate community. The lots were priced at or below recent comparable sales and buyer demand was strong. The second thing that stands out in the chart is the abundance of active inventory above $1,000,000 with only one recent sale in that range and no pending properties. It is setting up as a tale of two markets with upward price pressure near the top of the market and downward price pressure on many of these higher end Haiku land listings.

Now that you have a little better sense of what happened in the first half of the year and how things look currently, I wanted to give a few thoughts on what we may see the rest of the year in the Haiku Real Estate market via this video commentary.

Just a quick note on the video above, there was one home listing below $500,000 that came back on the market after I completed filming. If you have any questions about Haiku property, don’t hesitate to contact the Maui Real Estate Team. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the market and your real estate needs. You can also search the current inventory of Haiku Real Estate listings on MauiRealEstate.com.