Tag: Haiku Town Acres
Welcome to Maui Real Estate Musings Volume XIV! The fourteenth edition of the musings looks back at some of the notable numbers from the June 2022 Maui Real Estate Statistics. There is also an in-depth look at the land market during the first half of 2022. Without further ado…
Notable Numbers from the June Maui Real Estate Statistics
The numbers below are from just the island of Maui. They do not include sales from the islands of Lanai or Molokai. For that reason, they are a little different than the Realtor’s Association of Maui Statistics. It is also worth keeping in mind that these numbers look backwards in terms of market demand. The sales are based primarily on contracts written earlier in the spring from March through May.
June Home Sales
- Maui Realtors reported 83 homes sold in June of 2022. That is down 25% from the 110 homes sold in June of 2021.
- Sales numbers continue to decrease due to both decreased demand and limited inventory throughout the spring.
- While demand may be down, the limited inventory still created a competitive environment for prospective buyers. Of all the homes sold in June on Maui, 33.78% sold for over asking price and 54.22% sold for asking price or above.
- The lower price points of the market remained the most competitive. Of the homes sold for under $1,000,000, 61% sold for over asking price and 84% sold for asking price or above.
- Competition eased a little from May when 35.48% of all homes sold for over asking price and 61.29% sold for asking price or above. It is also the first month this year where the percentages are lower than the year before. The June 2021 numbers were 36.36% above asking and 54.55% asking price or above. For a little context, June 2019 “pre-covid” numbers were 3.45% sold over asking price and 27.59% sold for asking price or above.
- The Median Sales price for the homes that closed in June came in at $1,275,000. That is 14% higher than June 2021’s median of $1,117,500.
- The Average sales price of homes sold in June came in at $1,837,250. That compares to last June’s average of $1,734,816.
- Average sales price continues to be boosted by strong luxury market activity. That includes one sale over $10,000,000, two additional sales over $5,000,000 and a total of 16 homes sold over $2,000,000.
- The highest priced transaction in June closed for $16,013,250. The five bedroom/ 3 bath oceanfront home in Makena is one of the very limited number of homes on island with zoning that allows vacation rentals.
June Condo Sales
- Maui Realtors reported 147 condos sold in June. That is 38% lower than the 239 sold in June of 2021.
- As with the home market, decreased volume reflects both a decrease in demand and constrained inventory.
- Demand for the limited inventory remained sufficient throughout the spring to keep the market competitive among buyers. Of the June condo sales, 33.33% sold for above asking price and 60.54% sold for asking price or above.
- That is pretty comparable to May when 31.94% sold for over asking price an 66.67% sold for asking or above. Again for some pre-Covid context, in June 2019 only 12.2% of sales closed for over asking and 37.4% sold for asking price or above.
- The median price of the condos sold in June is $840,000. That is 29% higher than last June’s median of $650,000.
- The average price of the condos sold in June is $1,240,840. That 26.14% higher than the average of $983,638 in June of 2021.
- Luxury condo market activity is helping to push up that average sales price. Twenty-nine condos closed for more than $1,500,000 including 3 condos over $5,000,000 and 1 over $10,000,000.
- The highest priced condo to sell in June is located in the Makena Golf and Beach Club. The Molokini Residence floor plan with 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms and 4,430 square feet of living space closed for $11,256,000.
Looking at the Maui Land Market
The Maui land market is something of a forgotten stepchild of Market Musings. We typically focus on the far busier home and condo markets. In an attempt to make up for past oversight, I thought I would take a deeper dive into the land market for the year to date.
Year to Date Sales Volumes
| Sales | New Pending Sales | New Inventory | Cancelled Listings | |
| January | 19 | 25 | 28 | 4 |
| February | 27 | 16 | 15 | 7 |
| March | 20 | 21 | 23 | 5 |
| April | 20 | 17 | 34 | 10 |
| May | 16 | 9 | 20 | 11 |
| June | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
Looking at the numbers in the chart above, the data that stands out the most is the decrease in sales in June. The decline in new pending sales in May and June suggest that we are likely to see lower sales number in the next month or two as well.
The chart above gives some context on how monthly land transactions in 2022 compare to the previous four years. If you are looking at the chart on a smaller device and you can’t read the key, the darker blue line is 2022, the orange 2021, the grey 2020, the yellow 2019 and the light blue 2018. Needless to say, 2022 sales volume is well below the first half of 2021. While 2022 sales started stronger than 2018-2020, sales appear to be trending below the pre-covid numbers in 2019 and 2018.
The other thing that the chart speaks to is the variability in the market. Year to year patterns in market activity are a little harder to distinguish. You can see some signs of seasonality with the first halves of the year typically busier than the second. Unsurprisingly, 2020 is a clear outlier with a much stronger second half of the year. Sales during the first half of 2019 are quiet for a “normal” year. Month to month fluctuations make the chart a little noisier.
A lot of the noise stems from the limited volume of land sales on a monthly basis. A few more or a few less buyers in any one month can make a big difference in the chart. While the island hasn’t had a lot of new land developments over the last five years, sales in these developments can provide a pretty health boost to the monthly numbers. Sales in places like Mahana Estates in Kapalua and Haiku Town Acres helped boost sales volume in late 2020 and spring of 2018 respectively. Otherwise, the market is largely driven by resales, small subdivisions and condominiumized lots.
Year to Date Pricing
The median price of the lots sold in the first half of the year came in at $845,000. That is 20.71% higher than the median during the first half of 2021. The average sales price for lots during the first half of the year came in at $1,355,768. That is a whopping 55.60% higher than January to June 2021 average of $871,266.
The high average price this year stems both from an increase in the proportion of sales over $1,000,000 and a decrease in the proportion of sales below $500,000. A whopping 39.82% of all sales in the first half of 2022 closed for $1,000,000 or higher. That compares to 29.21% of the sales during the first half of 2021. The percentage of lots sold for $500,000 or under came in at 20.35% in the first half of 2022. That compares to 25.84% selling for $500,000 or less in the first half of 2021.
Inventory
While inventory grew this spring, the rate of growth slowed in June, and new inventory is limited to date in July. The price distribution of the inventory is notable as well. Of the 79 active lots on the market as of July 14th, only 15.9% are listed for under $500,000 while 63.29% of the inventory is priced for $1,000,000 or higher. A whopping 21.52% of the inventory is priced for $3,000,000 or higher.
Maui Land Market Outlook
As mentioned above, the decrease in pending sales suggest slowing sales volume will continue in the near future. That shouldn’t be too big of a surprise with the overall volume of sales slowing on island. The question is whether the decrease is a blip or a trend?
I can’t speak with any sense of certainty, but it is worth noting that the land market faces headwinds going forward. Lower priced inventory is scarce. Higher interest rates and uncertainty over the direction of future interest rates is a barrier for those who want to build and refinance into a conventional home loan going forward. My understanding is that building material costs remain pretty high although there may be some relief in the future as commodity prices come down. That said, construction labor is likely to remain high on island. When talking to a contractor earlier this year, he indicated he had to keep raising the hourly wage of his employees. Otherwise, employees struggled to afford rentals under his older wage structures. It will likely require a decrease in local rents or a big construction slow down for labor costs to adjust.
The other question is to whether we will continue to see higher demand in the $1,000,000 plus inventory. Only 13-16% of all sales closed for over $1,000,000 during 2018-2019. Will we continue to see elevated demand for higher priced lots as the market normalizes?
The one thing likely to bolster the land market moving forward is continued scarcity. There aren’t a lot of land projects on the horizon. Resales, condominiumized lots and the occasional small subdivision are the likely source for inventory in the future. This is an island so areas with sufficient water, infrastructure and zoning for future development remain finite.
A Little Maui Beauty to Brighten Your Day
Contact The Maui Real Estate Team
Questions about this post? Interested in buying or selling property on Maui? Contact The Maui Real Estate Team. One of our agents would welcome the chance to sit down with you to answer questions and to learn more about your Maui Real Estate needs.
This is the third installment of our summer community real estate market updates. Today’s post focuses on the North Shore community of Haiku. It follows recent posts on Spreckelsville and Paia and Kuau. Haiku spans a large geographic area along the north side of Haleakala. It ranges in elevation from sea level to about 1,500 feet in elevation. Located on the windward side of the island, Haiku’s landscape is more lush due to more frequent trade showers.
The area was a focal point of agriculture pre-western contact. In the more recent historical period, it was an area of plantation agriculture with both pineapple and sugar cane serving as the primary crops. The agricultural legacy is evident in the zoning. The bulk of the properties in the area are zoned agricultural. Most agricultural lots include 2 or more acres. Acreage is one of the biggest appeals to this area of Maui. There is still smaller scale farming in the area. Many homeowners have orchards and/or gardens. Other draws to Haiku include the area’s natural beauty, access to nearby water sports and proximity to a variety of schools.
Notable Numbers from This Year’s Haiku Home Sales
- Maui Realtors reported 66 sales in Haiku for the year to date as of August 17th. That is a 27% increase over the same period of 2020.
- The median sales price of the homes sold is $1,177,500. The average sales price is $1,440,507. This is also up significantly over the same period of last year when the median and average were $870,000 and $1,104,884 respectively.
- The lowest priced property sale for the year to date closed for $600,000. This 977 square foot house and cottage on a 12,284 square foot lot sold prior to going on the MLS. I venture that it likely would have sold above this price if it went to market.
- The highest priced sale closed for $6,650,000. That property includes a 4,500 square foot home with a pool and a large barn on 38.91 acres.
- That sale is one of nine properties to close over $2,000,000 and one of four that closed over $3,000,000.
- There are currently 16 homes under contract in Haiku with 4 of those listed for more than $2,000,000.
Thoughts on the Haiku Market for the Year to Date
Like the rest of the island, the Haiku area is seeing strong demand and limited supply. This is reflected in both the higher than average sales activity, and the increase in prices. Sales volume for this period is higher than not just the same period of 2020, but also the same period of any of the last five years. Both median and average price increased significantly over 2020. The increase in average price reflects not just rising prices, but also additional activity in the higher price points of the Haiku market. This is part of a two year trend for higher priced sales in Haiku. There are 21 homes that closed for $2,000,000 or more in Haiku since January 1, 2020. That is 27% of the sales for $2,000,000 or more in the last 20 years!
The Outlook for Haiku Homes for the Rest of 2021
While buyer demand remains strong, inventory is incredibly limited in Haiku. As of this moment, there are only 17 active home listings. That’s a fraction of what we typically see in Haiku. Inventory is particularly scarce below $1,000,000 with only 4 active listings. By comparison, there are 7 listings over $2,000,000. While some markets on the continent are seeing inventory rebound, we aren’t seeing it in Haiku. Sales volume for the rest of the year will be hard pressed to keep pace with the first seven plus months of 2021 unless more listings come to market. It will also likely mean continued upward pricing pressure.
The Haiku Land Market
Haiku sees more land sales than most parts of the island. It typically has more land inventory available. Haiku Town Acres and Kauhikoa Farms are two newer subdivisions created in the last five years that drove recent activity. The rest of the inventory consists of resales from older subdivisions or lots created from smaller scale subdivisions. CPR lots are increasingly common.
Notable numbers from the Haiku Land Sales in 2021
- Maui Realtors reported 29 lots sold for the year as of August 17th. The median price of the lots sold is $585,000. The average price of the lots sold is $813,190.
- The highest price lot closed for $2,499,000. It is a 20.5 acre oceanfront lot located to the East of the Peahi surf break.
- The 20.5 acre oceanfront parcel was the only sale over $2,000,000, but it was one of eight sales for $1,000,000 or more.
- The eight sales equals the total for all of 2020. The last two years are now tied for the busiest year ever for $1,000,000 or more land sales in Haiku.
Haiku Land Sale Overview and Outlook
Strong demand helped push pricing up in the Haiku land market in 2021. As the overall real estate market on Maui hit another gear in the first quarter of 2021, buyers quickly snatched up much of the remaining land inventory in Haiku. I remember clearly in January and February when a number of the properties that sat on the market in the fall went under contract in close succession. Replacement inventory has yet to come to market. As it stands, there are only 9 active land listings in Haiku. The lowest priced listing is currently $1,300,00! When lower priced lots come on the market, it feels more like an auction than a conventional real estate listing.
Barring a substantive increase in inventory, I would surmise that we will see really limited sales volume and continued price appreciation. That said, land pricing does not operate in a vacuum. Construction costs are high due to increased material and labor costs. If the cost to build plus the cost of land far exceeds the price of existing homes, buyers won’t support the higher land prices. Land buyers should evaluate potential construction costs and create an overall budget prior to hopping into a frothy land market.
Contact The Maui Real Estate Team
The Maui Real Estate Team keeps close tabs on the Haiku market. A number of our office’s agent call the community home. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are looking for property in Haiku. We would welcome the chance to learn more about your real estate interests and needs. You can view active Haiku home listings and Haiku land listings on MauiRealEstate.com.