Why is the Maui condo market showing signs of improvement in 2016? That is one of the questions, I asked myself in this post and did my best to answer by taking a deeper dig into this year’s condo sales. You will find all of those thoughts and a rundown on the overall July 2016 Maui Real Estate Stats. Without further ado, here are the July numbers and some thoughts and context on the market.

July 2016 Median Prices and Sales Volumes

There were 93 home sales with a median price of $600,000. In July of 2015, there were 129 sales with a median price of $590,000. That is a 28% decrease in volume and approximately a 2% increase in median price.

There were 110 condos sold for a median price of $440,000. Last July, there were 94 sales with a median sales price of $394,000. That is a 17% increase in median price and a 12% increase in median price.

There were 7 land sales with a median price of $490,000. There were 13 sales in July of 2015 with a median price of $250,000. This is a 46% decrease in volume and a 96% increase in median price.

Notable Numbers from the July Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across some other noteworthy numbers.

• The highest priced home sale in July closed for $18,000,000. The Beachfront Oli Oli Kai Property on Stable Road in Spreckelsville closed for a new North Shore record. That said, it could of or maybe should have been classified as three separate sales. The property was condominiumized into three separate units. The three units included a total of three homes and approximately 3.6 acres.
• This was one of 7 home sales over $2,000,000. The six other sales included three properties in Lahaina and one sale each in Wailea, Kula and Ka’anapali.
• The highest priced condo sale closed for $3,850,000. The 3 bed, 3.5 bath unit at Montage Kapalua has 2,789 square feet of living space.
• That was one of 10 sales over $1,500,000 to close in July. The other sales included 2 closes at Ho’olei and one each at Ka’anapali Ali’i, Sugar Cove, Wailea Elua, Makena Surf, Honua Kai, The Whaler and The Palms at Manele.
• The high land sale for the month closed for $1,800,000. The four acre lot is located in Kapalua Plantation Estates. There was one other $1,000,000 plus land sale this month. That 17.47 acre lot is located in the Makila Ranch Area of Launiupoko.
• There were 13 bank owned properties that closed in July. That is down from the 20 that closed in July of 2015. There was only one successful short sale completed last month compared to the 8 completed in July of 2015.

New July Pending Sales Contracts
We track the number of properties that go pending in a particular month. It gives us a more recent data point on buyer demand and it also helps us to better suss out whether the prior month’s sales activity is something of a one off event or part of a broader trend. I will spell that out a little better as we review last month’s pending data.

Looking at the pending sales activity, the number of homes that went under contract in July was down compared to last year. The number of condos that went under contract was the same as last year and land pending sales were up ever so slightly. The decrease in home sales is part of what appears to be a continuing trend that we have seen over the last few months. Shrinking home inventory, particularly at lower price points, has led to a reduction in sales activity. The condo market appears to be continuing a recent trend of sales at or above last year’s totals. I will delve into that in more detail below. While land sales aren’t exactly booming, it was good to see that they were up slightly from last year. That would suggest that the low July land sales numbers were more of an outlier than the start of any sort of trend.

Thoughts on the Market
We have discussed the decreases in home sales volumes over the last few posts, but I haven’t talked a whole lot about the increase in condo sales activity. Of the 7 months of sales this year, one month had the same sales volume as the same month from 2015, and one month was down from the same month last year. Five of the months have experienced greater sales volume than the same month of 2015. The last four months have all seen an increase over the same month of 2015. Over that period from April-July, sales volumes are up 14% compared to the same period of 2015. That raised the question of why we may be seeing an increase in activity. I dug into the sales data a few different ways to try to see if I could come to any conclusions as to what is driving the increase in sales activity.

The first thing I did was break down the sales volume over the last four months by price point.

I can’t say that this breakdown provided me with a clear picture of the driving force behind price increases. We can see an increase in sales below $300,000 and an increase in the $1,500,000 and higher range. The middle price ranges tend to be a mixed bag. The biggest increase in activity of any price range occurred between $500,000-$749,999. I can’t say off the top of my head why that would have occurred. The middle of the market, so to speak, also included the only two price points where sales were down compared to last year. The remaining price ranges saw relatively limited increases over 2016.

Not feeling like I had a clear answer, I took a look at two other data points. The first data point is is whether or not the property allows short term rentals. This data is somewhat flawed as it is not a mandatory field in our multiple listing service. In other words, not every condo sale that occurred over the last month reported whether or not the condo allowed vacation rentals.

It is pretty clear that there was an increase in sales for properties that are reported to be vacation rentals. I calculated a 26% increase over the period between April 1, 2015 and July 31, 2015. It was interesting to note that the increase in vacation rental condo sales was particularly evident in the $500,000-$749,999 price range. That appears to point to a significant driver for sales activity in that price range.

The one other data point I wanted to look at was new developer sales. New developments can be market drivers that boost the overall sales activity. In some cases, the boost can mask other market trends. An example of this is when Honua Kai started to close a lot of condos while we were still in the thick of the downturn. Overall condo demand was low, but sales numbers were relatively high as buyers were closing on contracts that were originally written pre-construction during the peak of the real estate boom. From what I could glean, we haven’t seen a similar phenomenon over the last four months. There was an uptick in new development sales. I counted 29 new development sales from April 1, 2016-July 31, 2016. That is up from 23 sales during that same period last year. However, the vast majority of these contracts were written recently.

While I can’t say I have definitive answers on what is driving the recent uptick in condo sales, the data above points to three price ranges where the improvement was most prevalent and a type of condo that saw more activity. Based on anecdotal evidence and the quantitative evidence, I am going to postulate a few reasons for the increases in each of these segments. The increase in sales at the low end is a reflection of the continued strength of the buy over renting argument on Maui. Maui rental rates have soared. Low borrowing costs make owning a number of Maui condo less expensive than renting. As long as rents remain high and rates remain low and inventory is sufficient, that part of the market should continue to be busy. I can’t say definitively why the high end market is outperforming last year in terms of sales. When I look at the luxury home market, sales totals between 2015 and 2016 have been almost identical. It just seems as if high end buyers are gravitating more towards condos this year. I believe the increase in vacation rental condo sales, and in the $500,000-$749,999 range in particular, is a reflection of pretty strong consumer confidence among some mainland buyers. West Coast real estate markets have been strong and the stock market has performed well. This means more cash for discretionary purchases like a vacation rental condo on Maui.

A Few Closing Thoughts for Maui Buyers and Sellers
I think there are some things to be learned for the overall Maui market from my review of the condo numbers. The biggest is that there is variability in the strength of the market by price point. I think you can also add geographic variability as another factor. Not all communities are seeing equal levels of buyer demand. While these stats tend to paint the market in broad brushes, how buyers and sellers approach the Maui market is going to be a reflection of their specific segment of the market. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in buying or selling a property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to hear about your needs and to discuss market conditions that are most relevant to you.

It’s almost the end of the month so I wanted to make sure I squeezed in a June stats post.This is something of an abbreviated post with more numbers and less analysis. I will give a few more thoughts on the state of the market in the July stats. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

June Real Estate Sales Volumes

There were 98 homes sold in June with a median home price of $657,000. Last June there were 101 homes sold with a median price of $650,000. That is a 3% drop in sales volume and a 1% increase in median price when comparing this June to last June.

There were 110 condos sold in June with a median price of $384,000. In June of 2015, there were 99 condos sold with a median price of $355,000. That is an 11% increase in sales volume and an 8% increase in median price.

There were 13 lots sold in June with a whopping median price of $1,200,000. Last June, there were 14 sales with a median price of $420,000. That is a 7% decrease in volume and a 285% increase in median price.

Notable numbers from the June Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the stats above, I came across some other notable numbers worth sharing from the June sales activity.

• The highest home sale price in June was $7,000,000. This Makena property includes almost 10 acres of land and two pole homes. It is close to Big Beach.
• That was one of 5 home sales over $2,000,000. The other sales were for properties in Kihei, Kapalua, Launiupoko (Lahaina), and Hana.
• The highest price condo to close in June is located in Wailea. The 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath condo Ho’olei in Wailea sold for $2,850,000.
• That was one of 8 condo sales in June sold for $1,500,000 or more. There was one more Ho’olei sale and two sales in Wailea Elua. There were individual sales of $1,500,000 or higher at Ka’anapali Ali’i, Maui Ka’anapali Villas, Honua Kai and Makena Surf.
• The highest priced land transaction closed for $2,950,000. This oceanfront lot in the Kuau area of Paia consists of 18,861 square feet of land.
• This was one of 7 land sales over $1,000,000 in June. That is a pretty extraordinary number. Five of these sales were in Launiupoko. They were part of the new Makila Ranch subdivision of Launiupoko. The one other sale was in Haiku.
• There were 12 bank owned sales that closed in June. That was down just a little from the 13 REO sales in June of 2015.
• There were 2 short sales that closed in June. That is down significantly from the 8 short sale transactions that closed in June of 2015.

June Pending Sales
All of the numbers discussed prior to this point were from properties that sold in June. We also wanted to take a look at the properties that went under contract with buyers in June. This will give us a little better sense of more recent market activity and demand.

June marked the second month in a row where pending home sales were down. I don’t believe this is a reflection of decreased demand as it is a reflection of limited inventory for first time home buyers. I expect this trend to continue with lower sales volumes and higher median prices due the decreased number of entry level homes available for sale. The condo market continues to follow recent trends of outperforming 2015. The land market pending sales are skewed a little by new development sales that showed 0 days on market. These were contracts that were likely written before this month.

Wrapping it all up
I don’t have a whole lot of in depth analysis to offer this month. We have seen fairly steady market demand overall with pockets of greater activity based on geography and price point around the island. As mentioned directly above, I believe the lack of lower priced home inventory will continue to impact the total numbers of homes sold. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of sticking your toes into the waters of the Maui Real Estate market. We would welcome the chance to sit down and learn about your real estate needs and give our thoughts on market conditions specific to the properties that might fit your needs.

Earlier this month, we took a look at Maui’s Luxury Home Market. Today, I wanted to turn my sights towards the high end condominium market. This post will include totals on all of the condos sold for the year to date (as of September 20), notable numbers from this year’s sales, and market conditions specific to the three resort areas of Wailea/Makena, Ka’anapali and Kapalua.

When we have discussed luxury condos on our blog, we have used the $1,500,000 and above price point as the threshold for pricing. When we first started to look at the luxury condo market, that was something of a starting point for some of the really high end condos. To be clear, there are some very nice condos below this price point. That said, we want to be consistent with our methodology. So all properties discussed in this particular blog sold for $1,500,000 or more.

Maui Luxury Condo Sales Volume and Median Price
There were 69 condos sold thus far this year as of September 23, 2015. The median price for those sales was $2,250,000. Between January 1, 2014 and September 23, 2014, there were 63 sales at a median price of $2,575,000. That is roughly a 10% increase in volume and a 13% decrease in median price.

Notable Luxury Condo Sales Numbers for the Year to Date.
Here are some of the most noteworthy numbers from the luxury condo sales this year.

• The highest priced condo to sell thus far this year closed for $8,500,000. This is a three bedroom, three and a half bath, beachfront unit with 2,919 square feet of living space at Wailea Beach Villas.
• Including the sale at Wailea Beach Villas, there were a total of 12 condos sold over $4,000,000.
• Honua Kai saw the most sales activity of any condo complex on the island. There were a total of 20 sales at Honua Kai over $1,500,000 including 11 new developer sales.
• The Wailea and Makena Market saw the most sales activity over $1,500,000 with a total of 28 sales. Kaanapali saw the second most activity and Kapalua was third.
• In addition to the sales activity in the major resort markets, there was one sale in Lahaina, one in Kihei, one in Spreckelsville and two on Lanai.
• There were no bank owned condos or short sale transactions among this year’s sales

Wailea and Makena Condos
Wailea and Makena have had a good year for sales to date. The 28 sales reported exceeded last year’s total of 20. That is a 40% increase in activity. Much of that increase in activity occurred in Makena. While there was only one sale in Makena during the same period last year, this year there were 6 sales. Five of the six Makena sales were at Makena Surf. The remaining sale was at Na Hale O Makena. This was a particularly busy year for Makena Surf with the five sales reported thus far more than any year since 2004.

The Wailea sales over $1,500,000 were spread out among a variety of complexes. There were 7 sales at Hoolei, 1 at Andaz, 2 at Kai Malu, 1 at Papali, 1 at Wailea Ekahi, 3 at Wailea Elua, 3 at Wailea Beach Villas and 3 at Wailea Point. Hoolei continues to lead the way in high end sales in Wailea. The size of the condos combined with their price point and the potential to access amenities at the Grand Wailea continues to be an attractive option to buyers. While Wailea Beach Villas did not have the same sales volume, it was noteworthy for the fact that it had the top two highest priced condo sales on the island thus far this year.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the Wailea and Makena market for the rest of the year and into 2016. There is still a good selection of variety to choose from on the MLS. There is plenty of active inventory on the MLS with 40 condos on the market. There are unlisted properties available at Andaz and the new Keala O Wailea development. There is also a chance that we might see pre-construction sales at Makali’i at Wailea before the end of the year. You can see all of the current Wailea and Makena Condos listed on the MLS on MauiRealEstate.com. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions on any of the unlisted properties.

Kaanapali Condos
The Ka’anapali Condo market has also had a fairly strong year with 26 sales reported to date. That is down 7% from the 28 units sold during the same period last year. The Ka’anapali market has been buoyed over the last several years by activity at the Honua Kai Resort. Honua Kai has been a big draw as the first fee simple whole ownership new development along this stretch of coast for over 20 years. Of the 26 condos sold in Ka’anapali for $1,500,000 or more, 20 were at Honua Kai. Ka’anapali Ali’i has had 5 sales thus far this year. There was also one sale at the Masters.

The Ka’anapali luxury condo market is starting to see shrinking inventory with only 20 active listings over $1,500,000. A big part of that stems from Honua Kai. The developer is getting close to selling out their remaining units. There are only 3 new developer listings left on the MLS. I believe there are still a handful of additional new developer units in addition to those posted on the MLS. There are only three units active at Ka’anapali Ali’i with the remaining listings located at Ka’anapali Shores and the Whaler. It will be interesting to see if the dwindling inventory at Honua Kai will have an impact on places like the Whaler and Ka’anapali Shores. Buyers have shown a preference for the newer Honua Kai Condos leading to depressed sales at the other places. Will some of the older condos nearby start to see an uptick in activity? You can see the full inventory of Kaanapali Condos listed on the MLS via MauiRealEstate.com.

Kapalua Condos
The Kapalua Market has seen pretty similar activity levels to what we saw last year. There have been 10 sales reported in the year to date this year. There were 9 sales reported over the same period last year. The focal point for luxury condo sales in Kapalua has been the Montage Residences on Kapalua Bay. Montage came on the market last June. This property was formerly the Ritz Carlton Residences. The Ritz Residences went into foreclosure and the property was purchased by Lantern Capital. Lantern appointed Montage to manage and revamp the property. Montage has seen steady sales since it has come on the market despite pricing that starts in the mid three million dollar range. There have been 8 sales reported at Montage thus far this year.

The other notable sale was at Ritz Carlton Residences. To be clear, this is a different animal from the Ritz Residences Kapalua Bay that was previously foreclosed upon. These condos are part of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Ritz condos had been on the market closer to the downturn and weren’t getting as much traction. They are back under the market with a new sales team. It will be interesting to see how these condos are received by the market going forward. From what I have heard, they are getting a pretty good response.

While the two new developments have been relatively well received, some of the older complexes have seen slower activity. High end Kapalua condos like Coconut Grove and the Ironwoods are traditionally condos that see limited inventory and limited sales volume. There was one sale in the Ironwoods this year. Kapalua Bay Villas is a condo that seems to be getting poor market feedback by luxury buyers. There have been 4 sales over $1,500,000 at Bay Villas since 2009. There are currently 7 active listings in the complex with none pending. It appears as if sellers in this complex may need to adjust pricing if they are going to generate interest from buyers.

For the rest of the year, I would anticipate that we will continue to see activity at Montage and the Ritz. Buyers in Kapalua have a good selection of inventory to choose from. You can see the full inventory of Kapalua Condos on the MLS on MauiRealEstate.com. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team directly if you would like us to assist you with buyer representation at either the Montage or the Ritz. There is more inventory available at both of those condos than what is showing on the MLS.

Other Condo Sales Around the Island
In addition to the activity at the resort communities, there have been a handful of sales from other communities around the island. There was one sale in Spreckelsville at Sugar Cove, one in Lahaina at Puamana and one at the Royal Mauian in Kihei. There were also two sales over on Lanai including one at the Terraces at Manele and the other was at the Palms at Manele. The two Lanai purchases were both Larry Ellison buys as he continues to expand his holdings on the island. We tend to see limited activity on higher priced condos outside the main resort areas not so much due to lack of demand as it is a lack of inventory. There are only a handful of condos outside the resorts that can sustain prices of $1,500,000 or greater and they tend not to have a ton of inventory.

Overall Thoughts on the Maui Luxury Condo Market
Buyers still have a great collection of condos to choose from around the island. There are both new development opportunities and condo resales in more established condominiums. While the depth of the inventory may provide options, sellers in this price range tend to have more staying power. The challenge is finding potentially motivated sellers who might want or need to redeploy their money elsewhere.

I would expect that the luxury condo market will continue to be perform at or near the levels we have seen for the year to date. While interest rate increases have been postponed, this isn’t a part of the market that is as interest rate sensitive. The bulk of the buyers are using cash or private banking. The biggest potential impacts to the market come from the greater global economy. Poor performance in the stock market is a potential threat. There seems to be something of a correlation between the DOW and high end sales on the island. We have not seen any significant influxes of buyers from China like some cities in the Western U.S. and Canada. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in buying or selling a luxury condo on Maui. We would welcome the chance to sit down with you for a free consultation and to discuss your interests and needs.

Friday was Lei Day in Hawaii. The first of May is a celebration of the Hawaiian Lei and Hawaiian culture in general. The passing of the first of the month also means that it is time to take a look back on the April Maui Real Estate Statistics. Our sneak peek at the April Maui Real Estate stats includes information on sales volumes, median prices, notable sales numbers, pending sales activity as well as a few thoughts on the stats and what they mean for buyers and sellers. These numbers were compiled on May 2nd so there may be a few sales reported after we publish this post. If there are any substantial changes, we will make note in the comments. Without further ado, here are the April numbers.

April Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

By my count, there were 84 home sales that have been reported thus far for April of 2015 with a median sales price of $574,625. In April of 2014, there were also 84 homes sold at a median price of $583,000. That is a 1.5% decrease in median prices with volume unchanged when comparing the two Aprils.

There have been 103 condo sales reported to date for April of 2015 with a median sales price of $405,000. That is significant decrease in volume from April 2014 when there were 136 sales with a median sales price $403,500. That calculates to a 24% decrease in activity and a less than 1% increase in median price.

There were 12 land sales last month with a median price of $417,500. Last April, there were 19 sales with a median price of $510,000. That represents a 37% decrease in sales activity and an 18% decrease in median price.

Other Notable Numbers from The April Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the numbers above, there were a few other notable numbers from the April Sales activity that are worth sharing.

• The highest priced home sale last month was $9,750,000 for a 39.7 acre estate in Haiku. The home is known in the community as the Baldwin Estate after one of its previous owners. The property includes two parcels of land and a main house with 10 bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms and over 9,600 square feet of living space. In addition to the main house, there are multiple outbuildings, a pool area, tennis court and sumptuously landscaped grounds. This was the highest ever sales price for a home in the community of Haiku.
• The Baldwin House was one of five home sales over $2,000,000 in April. There were 2 sales in Ka’anapali, a sale in Wailea and a home on Keawakapu Beach in Kihei. The value of the $7,700,000 Keawakapu sale was almost exclusively in the land.
• In addition to the sales reported above, there are rumors of a sale in the Makena area for $41,750,000. That would be a new record high for Maui. This has not been published on the MLS and the details are sketchy. We will provide updates if we learn anything new.
• The highest priced condo transaction in April was for a 3 bed, 3.5 bath unit at Wailea Beach Villas. It closed for $6,100,000.
• While overall condo sales were down, the market over $1,500,000 remained strong. The Wailea Beach Villas transaction was one of 9 sales over $1,500,000 in April. The other transactions included 2 at Honua Kai, 2 at Makena Surf, a Hoolei, a Montage, a Palms at Manele, and a Ka’anapali Ali’i.
• It was notable that there were no land sales over $1,000,000 last month. The high sale was $718,291 for 4.54 acres on the ocean in the Paukukalo area of Wailuku.
• There were 9 bank owned (REO) sales on Maui sold via Realtors last month. That is the same number as April of 2014.
• There were 4 successful short sale transactions last month. Last April, there were 10 short sale transactions that were completed successfully.

Some Quick Thoughts on the April Sales Activity
Looking at the numbers above, this was a stinker of a month for condo sales activity. This was the slowest April for condos sales since April of 2009. It clearly wasn’t due to the top of the market. The 9 sales above $1,500,000 was higher than the 6 sales in that price range during 2014. Below, $1,500,000, there was a decrease in activity at all price points. Condo sales under $300,000 were down from last April by 27.5%. Condo sales between $300,000 and $800,000 were down from last April by 28%. Sales between $800,000 and $1,500,000 were down from last April by 24%.

I don’t have any great quantitative data that points out why these different market segments were down. My guess is that the under $300,000 market is driven in part by decreased inventory. There are fewer condos under $200,000 available and fewer vacation rental condos available under $300,000. As you get up into the next price brackets, I suspect we are feeling the impact of decreased activity from Canadian buyers. With the Canadian dollar down significantly from two years ago, we are seeing fewer Canadian buyers. We are also seeing some sellers failing to adjust to the market. Activity has been down, but there are still a number of sellers trying to push the envelope on pricing with asking prices way above recent comparable sales.

Land numbers were down even more significantly on a percentage basis than condo sales, but those numbers tend to appear more dramatic due to a small sample size. I would argue that this month’s drop is a reflection of monthly variability than any sort of substantive change in market conditions. That said, the land market on Maui remains a lot slower than it was during the last real estate boom.

It is important to note that sales are a lagging indicator. Since the average Maui Real Estate transaction takes somewhere between 30 and 60 days to close, sales activity does not speak to more current buyer demand. That is one of the reasons why we like to keep an eye on pending sales activity in a month.

Pending Maui Home Sales

A grim month of condo sales is partially offset by a better month of pending condo sales. March pending sales for condos were also pretty good so I would expect that we may see an uptick in condo sales for May. Land and homes also saw solid months for pending sales activity. It looks like our last month of peak season was a pretty busy one for buyers.

What Does This Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
The Maui Real Estate market remains schizophrenic. There are strong parts and there are soft parts. Buyers will find that well priced properties priced at or below the median sales price are the most competitive. Those types of properties tend to go quickly and they can attract multiple offers. Well priced properties above the median sales price may also attract heavy buyer interest. Buyers who require financing should get pre-approved prior to their search so that they can better define their budgets, and they can show financial qualifications to sellers. Sellers need to continue to look closely at market activity for their particular neighborhood, community and price point. Overpriced properties are sitting in this market. Pricing above market can cost you money in the long run. It is worth sitting down with an agent to determine a go to market strategy and price. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team today to talk to an agent to discuss your real estate needs. We look forward to being of assistance.

The beginning of April means our peak visitor season is wrapping up. It is also time to bid farewell to the bulk of the Humpback Whales that winter in the waters off our coastline. The end of another month also means another opportunity to take a look at how the Maui Real Estate market is performing. This sneak peek at the March Maui Real Estate Statistics includes information on sales volume, median pricing, pending sales, notable numbers and a few thoughts on the stats and the state of the market for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the March numbers.

March Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

By my count, there were 83 homes sold in March 2015 at a median price of $625,000. There were 70 homes sold in March of 2014 with a median price of $590,500. That calculates to a 19% increase in sales volume and a 5% increase in median price.

I counted 122 condos sold in March 2015 at a median price of $442,500. By comparison, there were 127 sold with a median price of $420,000 in March of last year. That is a 4% decrease in volume and a 5% increase in median price.

I counted 14 lots sold in Maui county during March with a median sales price of $528,500. That is the exact same number of sales as March 2014 when there were 14 land transactions with a median price of $507,500. That calculates to a 4% increase in median when comparing this March to last March.

Other Notable March Maui Real Estate Sales Numbers
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across a few other numbers that were worth sharing from the March Maui Real Estate sales activity.

• The highest priced home sale on Maui in March was $14,500,000 for a beachfront home in Kihei. The 5,682 square foot home is located on a half acre lot directly on Keawakapu Beach.
• This was one of five home sales over $2,000,000 for the month. In addition to the Keawakapu home, there were sales in Kapalua, Spreckelsville, Olinda and one additional sale in Kihei.
• The highest priced condo transaction last month was a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath unit at Montage Kapalua Bay which sold for $3,995,000.
• It was a busy month of sales for luxury condos on Maui with 13 closes over $1,500,000. There was one additional close at Montage, 4 sales at Honua Kai, 2 at Ka’anapali Ali’i, 2 at Wailea Point, a Wailea Elua, a Na Hale O Makena and a Masters.
• The highest priced land sale last month was $1,250,000 for a 5.12 acre lot in Launiupoko.
• There were 12 bank owned sales that closed in March as compared to 4 bank owned sales last March. There were 4 short sales that closed in March compared to 12 successful short sales last March.

Some Quick Thoughts on the March Stats
March saw a resurgence in home sales activity with sales outpacing both last month and the same period last year. The strength of the market varies by price range with homes below and close to the median sales price seeing the greatest amount of demand and activity. While Luxury home sales improved last month, we are still behind the pace of sales for 2014. This is an interesting market segment as there is a lot of inventory providing abundant selection for buyers. That said, it isn’t a true buyer’s market in the sense that there aren’t a lot of really motivated sellers. The majority of home owners in the higher price ranges tend to have additional staying power that thus far has enabled them to hold out for higher prices.

Condo sales activity dipped below the levels that we saw during March of 2014. Overall sales volume is being impacted by a soft middle of the market specifically in the vacation rental condo market. I would surmise that some of the dip stems from a lack of activity among Canadian buyers. The weakened Canadian Currency has put a good number of potential Canadian buyers on the sidelines. You could also argue that some of the decreased activity in the middle of the condo market may be due to inflated asking prices. With demand down, it is surprising to see how many condos are priced well above recent comparable sales. That said, this is another area of the market where seller motivation appears to be lacking. There are quite a few sellers with enough means and sufficient rental revenue to enable them to hold out for higher pricing. The lower price points of the market continue to see pretty healthy demand. The high end of the market condo market was particularly strong last month with 15 sales over $1,500,000. There is a good selection of high end condos on the market and buyers appear to be taking advantage of the quality available.

The land market continues to chug along at about the same clip as what we were seeing in 2014. Limited financing options and a lack of inventory at lower price points have been the biggest constraints to increased sales activity.

March Maui Pending Sales
Sales are always a lagging indicator of current demand. With that in mind, we started tracking pending sales in our monthly statistics posts. Here is a comparison on what we were seeing going under contract in March of 2015 compared to March of 2014.

It appears as if March was a pretty strong month for buyer demand for all but land, as both home and condo pendings outpaced what we saw in March of 2014. It is good to see the last full month of buyer’s season end on a good note. It will be interesting to see if the market sustains itself as we transition out of peak buyer’s season later in April.

What Does it Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
Maui market conditions have not seen any significant changes throughout our peak winter sales season. Buyers will find that market conditions vary pretty widely based on price point and geography. The greatest competition among buyers is occurring at or below the median sales price for each community. That said, buyers shopping at higher price points may find that well priced properties can go quickly at almost any price point. It all depends in part on demand within the specific community. As a result, buyers should prepare themselves so they can act quickly when the right opportunity comes along. We strongly advise buyers who will need financing assistance to get pre-approved prior to their search. Prospective Sellers should consult with a Realtor to better understand market conditions specific to their neighborhood and community. While some parts of the market are strong, other parts still have a glut of inventory. Sellers who want to sell quickly should take a strong look at depth of inventory and recent sales prices when developing their go to market pricing. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions about buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to learn more about your real estate needs.

We are a little late getting out our monthly real estate statistics for July. Like most Maui residents, I spent a good portion of last week readying for the two hurricanes that were approaching from the East. Iselle hit the islands on Thursday and Friday. Fortunately, she brought relatively limited damages to Maui. The second storm Julio is slated to pass to our North tomorrow with little or no impact on Maui. Now that the threat appears to have passed, it is time to get back to work and back to blogging. There is no better way to get back in the saddle than with our monthly stats post. We give a look at sales volume, median pricing and other notable number from the July Maui Real Estate Sales activity. We also give our thoughts on some of the more notable numbers, a look at the pending real estate sales in July and some thoughts for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

July Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 98 homes reported sold in July with a median price of $537,000. That was up compared to July of 2013 when there were 93 sales at a median price of $475,000. That calculates to a 5% increase in sales volume and a 13% increase in median price.

There were 82 condo sales last month with a median price of $387,500. Last July, there were 112 sales with a median price of $357,625. That is a 27% drop in sales volume and an 8% increase in median volume.

There were only 9 land sales reported in July of 2014 with a median price of $425,000. By comparison, there were 13 sales reported in July of 2014.

Other Noteworthy Numbers from the July Maui Real Estate Market Activity

These are some of the other noteworthy numbers from the July Real Estate sales on Maui.

• The high sale was $8,050,000 for an estate on one acre across the street from the ocean in Makena.
• The Makena sale was one of six homes that closed for over $2,000,000 last month. The other sales were in Kahana, Wailea, Launiupoko, Kihei and Ka’anapali. It was an equal split with three sales in South Maui and three sales in West Maui.
• The high condo sale for the month was $4,800,000 for a three bedroom at the Montage Residences in Kapalua. Montage has taken over the management of the former Ritz Carlton Residences in Kapalua. Montage has put their own touches on what may well be the nicest physical plant of any condo on Maui. The combination of a great facility and Montage management has made for a compelling offering for luxury condo buyers. We will have a little more on Montage Kapalua in an upcoming post on the Kapalua Real Estate Market.
• The Montage sale was one of 4 condos sold for over $1,500,000. There was another sale at Montage, a Ka’anapali Ali’i and a Sugar Cove condo up in Spreckelsville that all closed.
• This is the first time we have seen less than ten land sales in a month dating back to January 2013. Of note, the 9 sales included two commercial lots and three parcels of land priced for $1,000,000 ore more.
• There were 11 bank owned sales last month. That is up over the 7 bank owned sales last year. We are continuing to see a modest uptick in Bank Owned Activity with 19 new bank owned listings coming on the market in July.
• There were only 7 short sales completed last month compared to 20 last year. More sellers are in a better equity position and the end of tax breaks are likely to be the two biggest contributing factors in the diminishing number of short sales.

Numbers that stood out from the July Stats

For the second consecutive month, the condo sales volume was the most eye catching number of the statistics. This is now three months in a row where sales were significantly lower than the same month last year. As mentioned last month, we are surmising that price increases and diminishing inventories at lower price points have helped slow the condo sales totals. There are just fewer and fewer options below $200,000, an area of the market that saw quite a few sales last year. One thing that is worth noting is that we are seeing a slow down in the number of sales in the low and mid $200,000s as well and it isn’t due to lack of inventory. Last year, we saw rapid appreciation among entry level condos geared towards owner occupants and long term renters. Some of these condos came up 60% or more from the bottom of the market. The appreciation was fueled in part by limited inventory. Now that many of those same condos have crossed the $200,000 value barrier, more sellers have come on to the market. A big growth in inventory and unsustainable rates of appreciation are allowing buyers to be more choosy and slowing down market momentum.

As mentioned above, we are seeing more bank owned inventory coming on the market. It is worth noting, that the bank owned listings haven’t proven to be the best values lately. A couple of years ago, bank owned properties typically had shorter days on market. They were priced below recent comparable sales making them a sought after commodity with buyers. It is clear that most banks have changed their pricing strategies in a rising real estate market. Many of the bank owned listings are coming on the market above recent comparable sales. I thought it was noteworthy that of the 38 bank owned properties that have come on the market in the last two months, only 2 have sold and 11 have gone pending. One of those sold properties was sold prior to being listed on the MLS.

July Pending Sales

On the Maui Real Estate Blog, we like to keep an eye on the number of properties that went under contract in the last month. That gives us some sense of what type of sales figures we may see in the next couple of months. It also gives us a better sense of current market demand.

One bit of good news is that the number of pending condo sales is higher for July of 2014 than July of 2013. That would suggest we may be seeing an end of the recent condo sales slump. While land sales were off last month, it appears that we may see a bounce back in either the August or September sales with an increase in the number of pending properties compared to last year.

What Buyers and Sellers Can Expect Under Current Market Conditions

Maui continues its long term trend of sustained appreciation in real estate values. That said, the rate of appreciation and market conditions vary throughout the island based on both geography and price point. Entry level home buyers will find that they are searching in the most competitive part of the market. Well priced entry level homes in good condition are selling quickly and garnering multiple offers. Buyers in this segment should seek pre-approval from a lender if they are going to require financing. Buyers will need to move quickly if they identify a property that they like that will fit their needs. There are other higher priced pockets of the market where similar decisive action may be required by buyers. It all depends on the scarcity of inventory and demand in that particular market segment. Buyers should work closely with a Realtor to get a better sense of the current market conditions relevant to their interests. While conditions are favorable for sellers, sellers should look closely at competitive inventory and recent sales when developing a go to market price. As more sellers are coming on the market, rates of appreciation are slowing. That makes it easier to overprice a property. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for assistance buying or selling Maui property. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation and to discuss your real estate needs.