Tag: Ironwoods

It is hard to believe we are already midway through 2015. It seems like time moves faster and faster. I think my own personal time space continuum has ramped up with a 19 month old running around the house. Since we are midway through the year, our “Sneak Peek” at the June Maui Real Estate Stats is going to be somewhat abbreviated. This month’s edition is going to be more limited on the analysis. I have some additional posts scheduled for later in the month that will look at the mid year numbers for a number of communities around the island. Those stats posts will have a little more analysis specific to individual communities. In the interim, here are the June 2015 stats.

June Maui Real Estate Sales Volume and Median Prices

By my count, Maui Realtors reported 99 homes sold last month with a median price of $650,000. That compares to 93 homes sold at a median price of $530,000. That calculates to a 6% increase in volume and almost a 23% increase in median price when comparing the two Junes.

I counted 98 condos sold with a median price of $528,184 in June of 2015. The previous June, there were 94 condos reported sold with a median price of $444,500. That is a 4% increase in sales volume and roughly a 19% increase in median.

There were 13 parcels of land sold in June with a median sales price of $395,000. Last June, there were 18 lots sold with a median sales price of $545,500. That is a 28% decrease in sales volume and a 28% decrease in median price.

I have just one quick comment on the numbers above. If you are a regular reader of our stats posts, you have heard this before. That said, it is worth repeating. The change in medians above are not a direct reflection of the change in property values. The increase in median in sales price for homes and condos is influenced in large part to the decrease in inventory on the low end of the market and an increase in activity at higher price points in the market.

Other Notable Numbers From the June Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the sales volumes and medians, I came across a few more notable numbers worth sharing.

• The highest price home to sell last month was 102 Honolua Place in Kapalua. The four bedroom, five and a half bath home in the Plantation Estates Subdivision has over 6,500 square feet of living space on 2.8 acres of land overlooking Honolua Bay.
• This was a pretty strong month for luxury home sales with Honolua Place just one of 12 total sales over $2,000,000 last month. There were 2 other sales in Kapalua, 3 homes in Lahaina, 3 in Wailea, and 1 each in Kula, Kihei, Molokai and Ka’anapali.

 

• It is pretty rare to see high end Molokai sales. This is the first Molokai sale over $2,000,000 reported on the Maui MLS since 2006.
• While I am not sure it is significant in the scheme of things, I thought it was interesting that the sales over $2,000,000 included one bank owned property and one short sale.
• The highest priced condo transaction last month was $3,000,000 for a three bedroom, three and a half bath unit in Ho’olei. This particular unit was on the top row of the development. Due to superior views, the top row units sell at a premium.
• While the luxury home market was particularly busy, the luxury condo market was comparatively quiet. There were only two other sales over $1,500,000 in addition to the Ho’olei close. Those sales were at the Royal Mauian in Kihei and the Ironwoods in Kapalua.
• There were two lots that sold for over $1,000,000 last month. Both of those sales were in Kapalua.
• There were 13 bank owned or REO sales reported on the MLS last month. In June of 2014, there were 13 REO sales.
• There were 8 short sale transactions that closed successfully in June of 2015. By comparison, there were 13 short sales that closed in June of 2014.

 

Pending Sales in June
The June sales are a reflection of buyer demand largely in March, April and May. We like to track the pending sales so that we have a better sense of more recent market demand.

June was a good month for pending sales with homes, condos and land all performing better than last June. The condo pending numbers were somewhat striking as condo sales for the first half of the year have lagged behind what we saw in 2014.

June Wrap Up
The June sales numbers suggest that market conditions have been fairly consistent throughout 2015. Buyers will find that the lower price points of the market have limited inventory and well priced properties can be particularly competitive. As you go higher in price in the market, there is more inventory to choose from. That said, well priced properties can still go quickly. Sellers will find that market conditions vary depending on town, price point and neighborhood levels. Well priced and well cared for homes are generally selling quickly. If you want to sell quickly, look closely at recent sales in your neighborhood. Sellers who are priced well above comparable sales will find that buyers are being more discerning and looking for value. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions on the stats or if you are interested in buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to sit down and learn about your needs. Stay tuned for more posts looking at the mid-year sales numbers around the island.

This is a continuation of our mid year market update series. After looking at the North Shore communities of Paia and Haiku and the South Maui resort community of Wailea/Makena, we decided to turn our attention to the beautiful resort community of Kapalua in West Maui. Kapalua is a renowned destination resort known for championship golf, stunning scenery and beautiful beaches. We took a look at the sales volume and median sales prices for the first six months of 2012 and compared them to the first six months of 2011. You can see the numbers below followed by some thoughts on what they mean, and what we might expect for the Kapalua Real Estate market for the rest of the year.

There were 3 homes sold in Kapalua Resort during the first half of 2012 with a median price of $2,760,000. During the first half of 2011, there were seven homes sold with a median price of $2,220,000. That is a 57% decrease in volume and a 25% increase in medians. There were 24 condo sales in the first six months of 2012 with a median sales price of $565,000. By comparison, the first six months of 2011 saw 11 sales at a median price of $830,000. That is an 118% increase in sales volume and a 32% decrease in median prices. There were three land sales during January through June of 2012 with a median price of $870,000. The numbers for the same period of 2011 were four sales with a median sales price of $975,000.

Here are a few other notes and numbers from sorting through this year’s Kapalua real estate sales.

• The high sales price for a home was $3,000,000 for a 5,123 square foot home on a 2.35 acre lot in Plantation Estates. Last year’s high was $14,000,000 for an 11,399 square foot home on 2.48 acres in Plantation Estates.
• The high condo sales price was $3,425,000 for a 3 bed/four bath oceanfront condo at the Ironwoods. The high sale during the first six months of 2011 was 3,300,000 for a three bedroom unit at The Residences on Kapalua Bay.
• The Kapalua Real Estate market didn’t provide many opportunities for mortgage professionals during the first six months of the year. All of the home and land transactions were cash. Only five of the 24 condo sales were financed. The other 19 condo sales were cash purchases.
• Six of the condo sales were bank owned properties. Four of the six were at Golf Villas. One of the home sales was a short sale.

I have quite a few thoughts running through my head after compiling the numbers above. One of the more interesting components of these numbers was the contrast with the Wailea mid year real estate update. During the first half of 2012, the Wailea/Makena Real Estate market saw a pretty healthy increase on home transactions over the same period of 2011. On the other hand, Wailea Condo sales slumped from the levels seen in the first half of 2011. This is of course, the exact opposite of the numbers reported above for Kapalua. Why such a discrepancy between the two major luxury resort communities on Maui?

I am not sure there is an easy answer to that question. This isn’t a case where the same pool of buyers are choosing Wailea Homes at the expense of Kapalua Homes. Seldom, do we have buyers looking closely at both markets. More often our luxury buyers looking at resort communities are focusing their search on one of the two communities. While both markets attract affluent buyers, the performance of the two markets are not tied to each other. Real Estate can be local even on our relatively small island.

If there is a common element between the luxury buyers of Kapalua and Wailea, it could be argued that both pools of buyers are putting a premium on values. If you look at the home sales in Kapalua during the first six months of the year, all appear to be pretty good values. The sales in Plantation Estates and Honolua Ridge were the two lowest sales for homes on more than two acres since January 1, 2000. The home in Pineapple Hill isn’t quite the standout in value, but it was still sold for almost 20% below original asking price.

You can see the search for value on the condo side as well. Twenty-five percent of the condo sales were bank owned. Fifty percent of the sales were in Kapalua Golf Villas. This complex has seen some turmoil over the last six months as the association had to levy a big assessment on all of the condo owners. A moderate sized project that was upgrading the physical plant uncovered much bigger issues that needed to be addressed. With a minimum assessment of $30,000, there was a flood of new inventory to hit the market with many of the sellers quite motivated. Buyers with the cash to cover the assessments were happy to snatch up condos priced at 2002/2003 price points.

One quick thing to note, the condo market saw a big drop in median values between this year and last year. I think it is safe to say that property values decreased for Kapalua condos. That being said, the big drop in median was also driven by a shift in where buying occurred. While there was a big upswing in activity at the lower priced Golf Villas, there was also a substantial decrease in activity among the higher priced Bay Villas.

What can we expect for the Kapalua Market in the second half of 2012? I would imagine that buyers will continue to gravitate towards value and quality in the Kapalua Market. While some segments of the Maui market are suffering from a lack of inventory, the same can not be said for Kapalua. Based on current absorption rates, there are more than four years worth of inventory in the home market and more than two years of land inventory. The condo market has a little over a year’s supply, but there are some complexes that have a surplus of condos for sale. There was only one Kapalua Bay Villa sold during the first six months of 2012, yet there are 24 current listings with only one under contract. While Golf Villas has shown healthy activity, there are still seventeen listings active. If there are motivated sellers in either complex, they may need to sharpen their pencils to stand out from the competition. There is potential for more luxury condo inventory when the Residences on Kapalua Bay emerge from their current foreclosure situation. There are rumors that it may be settled soon. Kapalua area residents and Realtors are all looking forward to a fresh start up at the Residences.

You can check out the inventory of Kapalua Homes for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com. We also have all of the current active Kapalua Condos for Sale. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team today with questions or for assistance buying or selling Kapalua Properties.