Tag: Halama Street

It’s time for our monthly look at the pulse of the Maui Real Estate market. Our sneak peek at the Maui Stats gives a look at median prices, sales volume, pending sales and a few other notable numbers from the October Maui Real Estate Sales activity. We also give our thoughts on some of the more eye catching numbers and what it all means for prospective buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the October numbers.

October Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Medians

By my count there were 83 homes sold in October at a median price of $566,000. Last October, there were 82 homes sold at a median price of $540,000. That calculates to a 1% increase in sales activity and a 5% increase in median prices.

Maui Realtors have reported 94 condo sales for October with a median price of $407,000. By comparison, there were 104 condos sold in October of 2013 with a median price of $360,000. That means that October 2014 was 10% lower in sales volume and 13% higher on price.

By my count, there were 14 land sales reported in Maui during October with a median price of $467,500. Last October, there were 23 sales with a median price of $370,000. That is a 39% drop in sales activity and a 26% increase in median price when comparing October 2014 to October 2013.

Notable Numbers from The October Maui Real Estate Sales

While compiling this month’s medians and sales volumes, I came across some other numbers that I thought were worth sharing. Here are some of the high sales and other notable closes from the October real estate transactions.

• The highest priced home to sell in October was located in Kihei. The 4,800 square foot oceanfront home on Halama Street closed for $5,750,000.
• That was one of four home sales over $2,000,000 in October. The other high dollar closes were in Wailea, Makena and Paia.
• The highest priced condo sale in October was at the Andaz Residences in Wailea. The three bedroom condo closed for $5,495,000. That is the third condo to close at Andaz and the first sale in eleven months. There are nine units still for sale in Wailea’s newest luxury beachfront condo development.
• There were 9 total condo sales over $1,500,000 last month including the Andaz transaction. Honua Kai had the most activity with five closes. There were also sales at Wailea Ekahi, Wailea Elua and Hoolei.
• The highest priced piece of land was a lot on the beach in Ka’anapali. The 1.16 acre parcel sold for $5,600,000.
• There were 11 bank owned transactions that closed in October. That is up from the seven that closed in October of 2013.
• Short sale transactions continue to be slow with 4 successful transactions closing last month. There were 24 short sales in October of 2013. This 83% drop in short sale transactions stems from improved equity positions for sellers.

The October Maui Real Estate Market saw the continuation of recent trends. Home sales are roughly keeping pace with last year, while condo and land sales are down. As discussed in the September stats, it appears as if a decrease in inventory for entry level condos is driving the decrease in condo activity. I did not delve into the land market in quite the same level of detail, but anecdotal evidence would also suggest that a shrinking inventory of lower priced lots may be contributing to the lower sales volume. Looking at the October 2013 sales, the totals from that month were buoyed by a large number of new development sales in Haiku. The lots in that subdivision were priced lower than other sales of comparable properties.

The one other number from this month’s stats that I found noteworthy was the high number of luxury condo sales. There had been a decrease in the sale of condos priced over $1,500,000 over the last couple of months including zero sales in that price range during September. I had a close eye on the October sales to see if this might be a trend or just variability in the market. It appears to be the latter. The nine total sales was buoyed by the continued strong interest in Honua Kai. There have now been 22 sales at Honua Kai over $1,500,000 since the start of the year.

October Pending Sales

For the most part, October sales stem from contracts that were agreed upon one to two months prior to closing. To get a better sense of more current buyer demand, we also documented the pending sales from last month.

It is interesting to see that home pendings are up significantly compared to last year. Condo sales continue to under perform compared to last year. Land pending appear to be down significantly, but a little digging helps explain the discrepancy. The October 2013 numbers were inflated by 14 contracts at the Peahi Hui development in Haiku. Buyers actually signed reservation agreements for that community dating back to June of 2013. Formal contracts weren’t penned until October when final subdivision approval was granted.

What Does This Mean for Buyers and Sellers who Are Interested in The Maui Real Estate Market?

Now that it is November, we only have about one month left until the start of our peak real estate season. As peak season approaches, what do the current conditions tell us about what buyers and sellers might expect? For buyers, it will depend in part on where you are searching in the market. There is quite a bit of variability in market conditions depending on price and location. In general, lower priced home and condo buyers are going to find limited inventory and a competitive market. Really well priced homes and condos in most market segments have the potential to attract multiple offers. There is typically more inventory to choose from and less competition at the high end of the market, but you may also find some more resolute sellers with the means to wait for pricing that fits their needs. Sellers will need to take into account market conditions in their particular neighborhood and price point when considering a go to market strategy. Overpriced properties are sitting in this market. If a seller needs to or wants to sell quickly, they need to price as close as they can to recent comparable sales. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui, we would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation to discuss your real estate needs.

Fall is just around the corner in Maui. We are starting to go into the slow season for tourism on the island. Surfers are eagerly anticipating the return of winter waves. There was even an extremely early whale sighting off of Kona on the Big Island last week. The end of August also means that it is time to chime in with our monthly unofficial Maui Real Estate statistics. It has been a busy start to September for the Maui Real Estate Team with a number of new listings in the works. That means I am a little late to the presses with these stats. It also means my commentary will be abbreviated this month. Without further ado, here are the numbers that I came up with while sorting through the Maui MLS database.

There were 74 homes sold in Maui last month with a median sales price of $521,000. Last August, there were a total of 81 sales at a median price of $410,000. That is a 9% reduction in sales volume and a 27% increase in median prices.

There were 97 condos sold on Maui in August 2012 with a median sales price of $344,900. In August 2011, the numbers were 86 condos sold at a median price of $266,000. That calculates to a 13% increase in activity and a 30% increase in medians.

There were 13 land sales last month with a median price of $350,000. Last year, there were 11 sales with a median price $180,000.

Here were a few other notes from the monthly sales numbers.

• There were fifty-five REO closes and Short sale transactions this month. Forty-one percent of all the home sales were REOs or Short sales. Twenty-six percent of all of the condo sales were REOs or short sales. While still a substantial part of the transaction volume, they are below the fifty-two percent and thirty-five percent of last August’s home and condominium transactions.
• It is also notable that short sales constituted the majority of these sales. Last year, REO activity was higher than short sales. While this has been fluctuating over the last few months, it appears as if the banks are trying to do more to complete successful short sales. Our brokerage has experienced faster decision cycles in a few of the short sales we have been involved with lately.
• The highest priced home sale last month was $5,999,999 for a beautiful oceanfront estate on Halama Street in Kihei. The highest sales price for a condos was $3,150,000 for a three bedroom condo at Papali Wailea.
• Luxury activity was down compared to last year. There were only two homes sold over $2,000,000 and two condos sold over $1,500,000. Last August, there were four homes sold over $2,000,000 and four condo sales over $1,500,000.

There was nothing else too ground breaking to report from this month’s statistics. I think it is worth mentioning that one shouldn’t read too much into the sharp increase in median prices across the board. As is often the case on Maui, changes in medians are driven more by shifts in where sales activity is occurring than changes in value. There were a lot of foreclosure sales at the low end of the market in August 2011. That increased low end activity depressed median sales prices. This August, the lower foreclosure activity and overall lower inventory of entry-level priced properties means less activity at the low end, and a higher median sales price as a result.

What does this all of this mean for prospective Maui Real Estate Buyers and Sellers? Our advice remains the same. Buyers will find opportunities in this market, but for many market segments the best opportunities require vigilance and quick action. Parts of the Maui market are experiencing scarce inventory. Well priced properties in those segments are going under contract shortly after hitting the market. Buyers that require financing should be pre-approved before they start their search so they can determine their accurate budget and be able to submit a pre-approval letter with their offer. Sellers will have to adjust their strategy by motivation and market segment. Motivated sellers need to price close to comparable sales to generate market activity. While some market segments lack inventory, other segments still have an abundance of properties for sale. In those market segments, motivated sellers will need to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market. This is a challenging market for buyers and sellers of Maui Real Estate to navigate. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team to discuss how we may be assistance if you are considering buying or selling Maui property.