Post Updated September 29, 2022

It’s time for an excursion to West Maui as we continue our series of posts on market conditions in different communities around the island. The focus of today’s post is Ka’anapali. This resort community experienced a boom in activity during 2021 with rising prices and a high volume of sales. How has the market been in 2022? Find out more below as we look at year to date numbers for 2022 with numbers from 2021 and 2019 provided for comparison. There are also a few thoughts on the outlook for the rest of the year and early 2023.

Ka’anapali Home Market Numbers

• Maui Realtors reported 20 homes sold for the year to date as of September 23. That is 59.2% less than the 49 sales reported over the same period of 2021. It is 11.11% higher than the 18 reported in 2019.
• The median price of homes sold in 2022 is $2,650,000. That is 11% higher than $2,387,000, last year’s median over the same period. It is 77.91% higher than $1,489,500, the median during the same period of 2019.
• The average price of the homes sold in Ka’anapali during 2022 is $2,855,552. That compares to an average of $3,017,891 and $1,994,037 during the same periods of 2021 and 2019 respectively. This year’s average is 5.38% lower than last year and 43.2% higher than 2019.
• 20% of this year’s buyers paid over asking price for their home and 45% paid asking price or above. In 2021, 12.24% of buyers paid over asking price and 28.57% paid asking price or above. In 2019, no buyers paid over asking price and 11.11% paid full price.
• Realtors reported 30% of sales were cash transactions.
• The highest priced transaction this year closed for $5,295,000. The property in the Lanikeha subdivision included a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home with 3,086 square feet of living space and a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 508 square foot cottage on a .485 acre lot.
• The lowest priced sale for the year to date closed for $1,681,050. The bank owned property in Ka’anapali Hillside actually sold via online auction for 46.17% over asking price. The home needed serious repair and renovation.
• The Ka’anapali Hillside subdivision had the most sales activity with 6 closes. Lanikeha and the Summit were the next busiest with 5 transactions each.

Thoughts on the Home Numbers and the Outlook for the Rest of the Year and Early 2023

After a rip roaring 2021 for sales, transaction activity decreased sharply this year in Ka’anapali coming in just above the pre-pandemic levels of activity during 2019. That said, decreased volume is just one part of the story. There was enough demand that 45% of all home sales closed for asking price or above. That’s even more than last year. When compared to 2019 numbers, that 45% is particularly striking. Back before the boom of the last couple years, above asking price offers were exceptionally rare and just over 10% of the buyers paid full price.

Some of the decreased sales volume can be attributed to a scarcity of listings at lower price points and within a couple of higher priced Ka’anapali neighborhoods. There were no transactions or even inventory in the Pinnacle this year, and just two listing and no transactions in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms. At this time, there is no active inventory for less than $3,000,000, with the only 2 listings below that price under contract.

Inventory isn’t as big of an issue as you move up in price range in Ka’anapali. Fifty percent of all the active inventory is priced between $5,000,000 and $7,000,000. Thus far one home sold in that price range with one additional home listed above $5,000,000 under contract.

It is worth comparing the homes that sold for between $5,000,000 and $7,000,000 last year with the current inventory in this price range. Last year’s sales included two large homes on acreage in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms and a 6,575 square foot home in the Pinnacle. While size isn’t everything when it comes to value, this year’s $5,000,000 and up listings tend to be smaller homes on smaller lots than last year’s sales. The active inventory includes four homes in Lanikeha with the largest home coming in at 4,557 square feet and a home in Kaanapali Coffee Farms substantially smaller than both of last year’s highest priced sales in that neighborhood.

It is also worth noting that all of the active listings in this range appear to be spec builds. There are two more spec builds in Lanikeha priced between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000. This volume of spec building is almost unheard of in the Maui Luxury home market. It will be interesting to watch the sellers of these spec builds through the rest of the year, especially if we see additional shifts in the market and or the economy. I surmise that it may take some pencil sharpening for some of those properties to go under contract.

As for overall Ka’anapali luxury home market activity in late 22 early 23, inventory constraints at lower price points will impact sales volume. Any additional sales beyond the current pendings will mostly come via new inventory or price adjustments. Rising borrower costs may also curtail activity. While there is a fair amount of cash in the market, rate increases will impact affordability for some buyers. Negative economic news and declines in the equity markets could also cause some buyers to put second home purchases on hold.

Ka’anapali Condo Market Numbers

• As of September 23rd, Maui Realtors reported 123 condos sold in Ka’anapali for the year to date. That is 37% fewer than the 194 that closed over the same period of 2021. It is 14.95% more than the 107 that sold during the same period of 2019.
• The Median price of the condos sold for the year to date is $1,450,000. This is 52.63% higher than the median of $950,000 from last year over this same span. It is 63.66% higher than the median for the same period of 2019.
• The average price of the condos sold for the year to date is $1,724,465. That is a 31.67% increase over last year’s average through September 23rd. It is 54.15% above the 2019 average during the same time span.
• 23.58% of all of the condos sold thus far this year sold for over asking price, and 47.15% sold for asking price or above. That’s well above last year’s numbers of 8.76% over asking and 44.33% for asking price or above. Just to give some context as to what is was like pre-Covid, in 2019 only 2.8% of sales sold for over asking and 16.82% sold for asking price or above.
• Maui Realtors reported that 51.21% of all sales were cash transactions. That’s up a little over the 50% reported last year. Cash purchases were actually higher at 59.81% in 2019.
• The lowest priced condo to sell in Ka’anapali is a leasehold studio unit in Ka’anapali Shores that closed for $325,000.
• The highest priced condo to sell closed for $5,899,000. The 3 bedroom, 3 bath unit in the Konea Tower at Honua Kai has 2,280 square feet of living space.
• Honua Kai is the busiest condo development thus far this year with 37 closed transactions. Ka’anapali Shoes is second busiest with 20 sales for the year to date. The Masters had the third most inventory with 15 sales.

Ka’anapali Year to Date Review and Late 2022 Early 2023 Market Outlook

While the Ka’anapali Condo market for the year to date did not see a repeat a the astounding sales volume of 2021, it remained a busy market well above the levels seen in 2019. If anything, constrained inventory and continued demand made for a more competitive market than last year with more properties closing for over asking price. The market conditions meant continued upward pressure on prices.

As it stands, the vacation rental and second home condo market continues to be resilient as some other types of property on island start to feel a market shift. As of the 26th of September, there are only 17 active condo listings on the market in all of Ka’anapali. Limited inventory improves the position of sellers and continues to exert at least some upward pressure on pricing. It will be interesting to see how the limited supply balances out against demand. Again, the cash in this market makes it a little less interest rate sensitive, but there is still some impact. As of right now, a 30 year fixed on a vacation rental condo is being quoted as high as 8.5%. Needless to say, a lot of borrowers are opting for ARM products. Even those are a lot more expensive.

The chart above shows pending condo sales by month in Ka’anapali over the last five years. A few things worth noting when looking at the chart. The first things is that 2021 and 2020 are anomalies with 2019 and 2018 more normal markets. If you are wondering about the April 2018 spike in pending sales, the market got a boost from a new development, Honua Kai Luana Gardens Villas. It’s also worth noting that while 2022 pending sales started stronger than 2019 and 2018, monthly pendings for 2022 are running behind both 2019 and 2018 since May. The last thing is that while there is a little more activity in the first half of most years, the second half of the year sees steady activity. I would suspect that we will see “below normal” market activity through the rest of the year.

Based on inventory and seasonality, I would anticipate relatively limited sales volume to close out the year. With the amount of inventory available, the economy in flux and borrowing costs the highest since 2002, it looks like a quieter start to 2023 could be in order. We shall see what happens going forward.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions about this post or if you need assistance buying or selling property in the Ka’anapali area. You can find all of the current active Ka’anapali Homes for Sale, Ka’anapali Condos for Sale and Ka’anapali Land for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com.

It is New Year’s Eve, and I am just getting around to the November 2015 statistics. Needless to say, the holiday season is a whirlwind and blogging can find itself on the back burner. Since this is a last minute attempt to squeeze in the November numbers before the end of the year, this is going to be something of an abbreviated post with limited analysis. Don’t worry, I plan to delve deeper into stats next week with year end numbers. In the interim, here are the November Maui Real Estate Stats.

November Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There 72 homes sold in November with a median price of $550,000. By comparison, there were 76 homes sold in November of 2014 with a median price of $587,500. That is a 5% drop in sales volume when comparing this November to last November.

There were 74 condos sold in November of 2015 with a median price of $475,000. Last November, there 68 condos sold with a median sales price of $366,250. That represents almost a 9% increase in sales volume when comparing the two Novembers.

There were a total of 9 land parcels sold in November with a median price of $520,000. In November of 2014, there were 10 lots sold in Maui County with a median sales price of $411,500. That is a 10% drop in volume comparing this November to last November.

Notable Numbers from the November Maui Sales Activity
While compiling sales volumes and sales medians, I came across some notable numbers that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home to sell in November was located in the Kaanapali Coffee Farms. The 3,716 square foot home has big ocean views, an infinity pool and over 4.6 acres of land. It closed for $3,475,000.
• This was one of four home sales in Maui County for more than $2,000,000 in November. The other sales were in Lanai, Paia and Wailea respectively.
• The Wailea sale set a new record for the Wailea Kai neighborhood. It closed for $2,200,000.
• The highest priced condo to close in November was a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom unit at Honua Kai with 2,170 square feet of living space. It closed for $3,197,450.
• The Honua Kai sale was one of six condos to close for over $1,500,000 in November. The other big condo sales included two more at Honua Kai, a Hoolei, a Ritz Carlton Residences and a Makena Surf.
• The highest priced land transaction last month was for a .43 acre parcel in the Maluaka Estates Neighborhood of the Makena Golf and Beach Club. The lot closed for $9,000,000. Six of the ten lots in Maluaka Estates have now sold.
• There were 16 bank owned sales and 1 short sale that closed in November. In November of 2014, there were 12 bank owned sales and 4 short sales.

November Maui Pending Real Estate Sales Activity
As I have said before in our stats posts, sales volume can be a lagging indicator. With contracts that typically take 30-60 days to close, the November sales are more of a reflection of buyer interest in September and October. That is why we also like to look at the total number of properties that go pending in a particular month. The chart below compares the number of homes, condos and parcels of land that went pending this November as compared to last November.

Home pending sales were up significantly over November of 2014. Condos and land saw a modest dip in pending sales activity. In the one bit of analysis in this post, I would surmise that the strength of pending home sales may pertain to the anticipation of increases in interest rates. While the December increase in rates proved to be modest, buyers wanted to lock down as low as rate a possible.

Wrapping it up
With the new year upon us, expect quite a few stats posts in the coming weeks. We will be taking a look at the December stats, the overall 2015 stats and year end reviews and outlooks for a handful of communities around the island. We wish everyone a Happy New Year. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if buying or selling real estate on Maui is part of your 2016 plans. We would welcome the chance to sit down with you and discuss your needs.

Back when I posted the June Statistics, I promised a series of mid year updates on the real estate markets around the island. Mea Culpa. Sometimes, the rest of my work obligations get in the way of blogging. I have only been able to produce updates on Paia and Spreckelsville. Today, I wanted to turn my sights on the island’s luxury home market. Since it is the end of August, we are going to include all of the sales for the year date. We wanted to look at the volume of high end home sales around the island, notable sales and market conditions specific to some of the different neighborhoods and communities around the island.

Just from a methodology standpoint, I am classifying luxury homes as homes priced for $2,000,000 or more. We have used this $2,000,000 threshold for luxury homes regularly throughout our discussions of stats on this blog. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some very nice homes that have sold this year for less than $2,000,000.

Luxury Home Sales Volumes and Median Prices
There were 43 homes sold for $2,000,000 or more between January 1, 2015 and August 22, 2015. The median price of those sales was $3,196,000. Between January 1, 2014 and August 22, 2014, there were 45 homes sold. The median luxury home price for this period of 2014 was $3,800,000. When comparing this year to last year, there was roughly a 4% drop in sales volume and a 16% drop in median price. Just to be clear, the drop in median does not reflect any sort of change in values in the market. It is a reflection of the inventory sold.

Notable Maui Luxury Home Sales for the Year to Date
Here are some notable numbers that I thought were worth passing along from this year’s luxury home sales.

• The highest priced sale thus far this year was for a home in the Keahou at Makena Subdivision. The 4 bed/ 4.5 bath home with 6,737 square feet of living space is located on 4.23 acres. It sold for a whopping $41,775,000. That isn’t just the high sales price for the year, it is the highest ever sale price for a home on Maui by a significant margin.
• Including the Keahou at Makena sale, there were 8 sales over $5,000,000.
• Wailea/Makena and Ka’anapali were the two busiest luxury home markets through the better part of the last eight months. Realtors reported nine sales in both of those markets.
• Of the 43 luxury home sales for the year to date, 14 sales were either oceanfront or beachfront.
• The 43 sales were spread among 12 different towns or resorts in Maui County. Hana and Molokai are two communities that haven’t seen all that many $2,000,000 sales over the previous few years, but they each had one $2,000,000 plus transaction this year.
• The 43 sales included one bank owned property and two short sales.

A Look at Selected Luxury Home Markets Around the Island
The Maui Luxury home market is fairly diverse. Buyers typically focus their search on one or perhaps two areas of the island. With that in mind, we want to look at how some of the different areas around the island performed during the first eight months of 2015.

Makena and Wailea
The Wailea and Makena area typically sees the most sales activity of any luxury community on island. That rang true during the first half of 2015 as it tied Ka’anapali for the busiest area for closes on the island. Digging a little deeper within the numbers, there were 8 sales in Wailea and just one sale in Makena. Within Wailea, there was a good cross section of neighborhoods that saw activity. There was a sale in Maluhia, a sale in Wailea Highlands, 2 sales in Wailea Golf Vistas, 2 sales in Wailea Golf Estates and 2 in Wailea Kialoa. The sales activity in Wailea was actually up a little from last year. There were 7 homes sold in Wailea proper in the first eight months of 2014.

Makena saw a drop in activity with the one solitary sale compared to 5 sales during the same period the year before. It is hard to say why there was a dip in sales in Makena. Some of that could just be a case of market variability and inventory. The one other factor that could be coming into play is the Makena Golf and Beach Club. This new development spearheaded by Discovery Land Company is located at and around the current Makena Golf and Beach Resort. This new community is set to be Maui’s most exclusive and high end luxury development to date. There are no single family homes for sale in the community yet, but there are some very high end home sites on the market in Maluaka Estates. There has been one lot sold and an additional three lots are under contract. All four lots have prices of $10,000,000 or more. It is possible that some of those buyers may have been potential buyers for other Makena properties. That said, Discovery Land Company is known to have a loyal following that might draw buyers who might not have otherwise looked at Maui.

I thought it was worth briefly revisiting the high sale in Makena. The sale at Keahou smashed the old Maui sales record by $14,700,000. I will be honest, the sales price is something of a head scratcher. The neighboring property is on a smaller piece of land and the house is 1,200 feet smaller, but it is currently listed for sale for $13,400,000. It seems like quite a stretch for there to be a $28,375,000 difference in value between the two homes. As much as it makes the new listing seem like a value, I think it points to the big sale as something of an outlier.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the rest of the year in Wailea and Makena. There is still a fair amount of inventory for buyers to choose from. There are twenty active home listings on the market currently with 7 properties in Makena and 13 in Wailea. Check out the full inventory of Makena and Wailea Homes for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com.

Ka’anapali
Ka’anapali had a pretty strong first eight months of the year with 9 total sales. That is up a little over the seven sales last year. The sales came from six different neighborhoods within Ka’anapali. There were 3 sales in the Pinnacle Neighborhood, 2 in the older section of Ka’anapli Golf Estates, 2 in the Summit at Ka’anpali, and a single sale in both Ka’anapali Hillside and Ka’anapali Coffee Farms. The high sale for the year to date was $3,500,000 for a four bedroom, three and a half bath home with 3,715 square feet of living space on a .65 acre lot in the Pinnacle.

There are 13 homes actively listed for over $2,000,000 in Ka’anapali. That should give buyers who prefer Ka’anapali some pretty good options. You can see the full inventory of Ka’anapali Homes for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com.

Kapalua
Kapalua has been the third busiest luxury home market this year with 7 closes over $2,000,000 for the year to date. All of the subdivisions of Kapalua with the exception of One Kapalua Place have seen sales activity thus far this year. There were 2 sales in Pineapple Hill Estates, 2 sales in Pineapple Hill, 2 sales in Plantation Estates and a single sale in Honolua Ridge. The high sale was $5,700,000 for the Honolua Ridge property. For a price tag of $5,700,000, that buyer now owns a four bedroom, five and a half bath home with 6,509 square feet of living space on a 2.82 acre lot. It has stunning views overlooking the renowned Honolua Bay.

The Kapalua market currently has 29 homes actively listed for sale. This is the biggest inventory of luxury homes of any of the communities around the island. This makes for an excellent selection for potential buyers. That may also allow for some opportunities. Typically, high end sellers have more staying power and will hold out for a premium. That said, you could make an argument that we have already seen a premium property go at a substantial discount with this year’s high sale in Kapalua. The home in Honolua Ridge sold for $4,000,000 below its original asking price and $1,995,000 below the list price at the time that it sold. You can see the full inventory of Kapalua Homes for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com.

Lahaina
There are two parts of Lahaina where high end home sale activity tends to be concentrated. The first is along the oceanfront. Homes along Front Street and Baby Beach typically start over $2,000,000. The other area is just south of the town in the neighborhood of Launiupoko. Launiupoko has been one of the stronger markets for high end sales over the last couple of years. There have been five sales in Lahaina thus far this year. Three of the sales have been in Launiupoko and two have been oceanfront homes. The highest priced sale was $3,500,000 for a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom residential condominium with 3,675 square feet of living space on 8.513 acres.

There are 16 active luxury home listings for sale in Lahaina at this time. Eleven of the homes are in Launiupoko with the rest located along the ocean. Lahaina is another market where buyers have some pretty good options. Check out all of the current Lahaina Luxury Home listings on MauiRealEstate.com.

Upcountry
The Upcountry area of Maui tends to see fewer high end sales than the resort communities of the island. That said, there are some pretty spectacular estates located along the flanks of Haleakala. Kula and Olinda are places where you will see some bigger acreage estates. There are also some homes along Baldwin Avenue below Makawao that fit the luxury home mold. The first eight months of the year have seen only two sales above the $2,000,000 mark in the Upcountry Area. There was one sale in Kula and one sale in Olinda. Last year, there was just one sale over $2,000,000 in the Upcountry area in the first eight months of the year.

The highest priced sale Upcountry for the year to date was $3,500,000. That was for a 24 acre estate in Olinda. It included a 3,300 square foot, three bed, three bath home and a separate two bedroom cottage. The 24 acres property included three separate parcels of land all with their own water meter.

While there haven’t been a lot of high end home sales Upcountry this year, there has been an uptick in buyer activity over the last two months. There are four homes in Kula listed for $2,000,000 that are currently under contract. That is more than anywhere else on island. There are an additional 16 homes listed for more than $2,000,0000 currently on the market Upcountry. That means a pretty good selection for high end buyers looking for more privacy or a different feel than the resorts or the beach. You can see all of the Upcountry Luxury Home listings on MauiRealEstate.com.

North Shore
The North Shore of Maui has become an increasingly popular location for luxury home buyers over the last five years. Prior to this year, Paia and Spreckelsville was the focal point of high end sales while the Haiku market lagged behind. We saw something of a shift this year. The Spreckelsville market has had limited inventory, Paia has been quiet and Haiku has seen the strongest sales activity since the downturn began. There were three total sales over $2,000,000 through the first eight months of the year. Last year, there were six sales on the North Shore in the first eight month’s of the year. For this year’s sales, two were in Haiku and one in Spreckelsville. The Haiku sales were particularly notable as they were the first and second highest priced transactions for homes in that community. The highest sale was for the 38 acre Baldwin Estate. This historic property includes a 10 bedroom, 10.5 bathroom home with 8,716 square feet of living space as well as a number of outbuildings.

Buyers looking for North Shore luxury homes will find that market conditions are going to vary based on the specific community. Spreckeslville is arguably one of the only true seller’s markets for luxury homes on the island. There are no active home listings for more than $2,000,000. Over the last few years, roughly half of the homes that have sold in this neighborhood have sold before coming to market. Paia has been quiet and it currently boasts the largest inventory of oceanfront homes of any area on the island. I think there may be some values and/ or motivated sellers to be found among those listings. Haiku has seven active listings currently on the market giving buyers some good options. You can check out the current inventory of North Shore Luxury homes on MauiRealEstate.com.

Overall Maui Luxury Home Market Outlook and Thoughts
The Maui Luxury Home market continues to offer a broad cross section of homes for potential buyers. From the privacy of Upcountry Estates to Beachfront Luxury compounds, there is considerable depth of inventory. While a deep inventory typically gives buyers more leverage, that isn’t always the case with the luxury home market. Luxury home owners typically have the means to hold on to properties for longer periods of time and many are less likely to adjust their pricing. That said, there are still bound to be a few sellers out among the current inventory who may have higher motivations. The challenge is finding those sellers.

I would anticipate that the rest of the year will continue to see sales figures at or close to the levels we saw during the fall and early winter of 2014. While projected increases in interest rates have the potential to slow sales activity at lower price points in the market, the majority of the luxury sales involve cash transactions or private banking. The biggest threat to the high end market is the overall economy. If the recent stock market uncertainty continues, you may see some buyers postpone their purchases. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in buying or selling a luxury home on Maui. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation to discuss your needs.

It was another great February on Maui. It is hard to beat winter on the Valley Isle. Beautiful weather, dramatic waves and an abundance of Humpback whales frolicking offshore make this a special time of year. The end of another month means another opportunity to take the pulse of the Maui Real Estate market. This month’s statistics post includes a look at median prices and sales volumes this February and compares them to what was reported in February of 2013. I provide some additional numbers that I came across while compiling the sales volumes and medians. I am also continuing a new feature to our stats post that I began last month. To get a better sense of current demand, I am providing information on the number of properties that went pending during the month compared to the properties that went pending during February of 2013. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

Maui County Realtors reported 60 home sales in February with a median sales price of $560,000. Last February, there were 66 home sales with a median price of $537,500. That is roughly a 9% drop in sales activity and a 4% increase in median price.

There were 86 condo sales reported last month with a median sales price of $345,000. The February of 2013 condo sales totaled 101 units with a median price of $360,000. That is a 15% reduction in volume and roughly a 4% reduction in median sales price.

There were 11 land sales reported last month with a median price of $400,000. The February 2013 land sales totaled 14 with a median price of $502,500. That is a roughly 21% drop in sales volume and a 20% drop in median.

Before going further, it is worth noting that the decrease in median for both land and condos is a reflection of the distribution of sales rather than any decrease in property values. I surmise the decrease in condo medians may have something to do with heavy sales activity for entry level condos zoned for owner occupants and long term renters. Ironically, that is one of the parts of the market that has seen some of the strongest appreciation during the market recovery. The lower median for land is due in part to sample size. Median prices for land can swing pretty widely on a month to month basis as the sample of properties is small and often quite heterogeneous.

While compiling the median prices and sales volumes, I came across quite a few other numbers that I thought were worth sharing including information on last month’s Maui Luxury Real Estate sales.

• The highest priced home sale for the month of February was an oceanfront estate in Spreckelsville. This property consists of 3.42 acres with an exotic 5,409 square foot home and a beautiful pool area. The Seller was represented by the Maui Real Estate Team.
• That was one of four home sales over $2,000,000 in February. The other three sales were in Wailea, Ka’anapali and Lahaina.
• The highest priced condo sale last month was $3,850,000 for a front row two bed/two bath unit at Wailea Elua. This was a new all time high sales price for Wailea Elua. It was particularly notable in that this unit has 380 square feet smaller than the previous high.
• The Wailea Elua close was one of four February condo sales over $1,500,000. There was another high priced Elua sale and big closes at Kai Malu and Ho’olei.
• The high land sale last month was $895,000 for a 5.45 acre lot in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms.
• There were 8 REO or bank owned sales in February. That is down slightly from the 10 bank owned sales last year. It is noteworthy that a couple of the REO sales were higher priced transactions. There was a partially finished home in the Honolua Ridge subdivision of Kapalua that sold for $1,700,000. There was also a nice unit at Kapalua Bay Villas that sold for $1,250,000.
• There were 8 successful short sale transactions down from the 15 that closed in February 2013. Rising prices and the end of short sale tax relief means that we are likely to see fewer and fewer of these transactions on Maui.

Looking at the March stats, the big thing that stands out is the decrease in sales volume. This doesn’t come as a huge surprise to me. Last month, I took a look at the properties that have gone pending since the start of peak buying season. The 2014 peak season activity was running behind 2013. The end of 2013 also saw less activity than the end of 2012. It is hard to give an exact reason why things are slowing, but I would surmise shrinking inventory and rising prices are the two main factors. The lower priced home inventory has been shrinking over the last 6-12 months giving fewer options to a still healthy pool of buyers. I have also seen something of a standoff between buyers and sellers at some of the lower price points in the home market. Sellers have been shooting for higher prices well above recent comparable sales. Buyers are reticent to accept those higher prices with the last real estate bubble still fresh in many minds.

Does the slower start to 2014 mean that we will see a slower 2014 overall? That is a little too early to tell at this point. After taking a look at pending properties last month, I decided that this was a feature we would retain for future blog posts. The table and chart below show the number of properties that went pending in February of 2014 compared to what went pending last February.

As you can see, more homes, condos and parcels of land went under contract in February of 2014 as compared to February 2013. It will be interesting to see how the trends develop over an extended period of time. If we are going to meet or exceed last year’s sales totals, it will be due in part to stronger activity at higher price points. Limited data shows that the high end market is doing pretty well. As we have theorized before, there appears to be a correlation between luxury activity and a strong stock market. After hitting a rough patch earlier in the year, the Dow appears to have regained steam.

What does all of the above mean for buyers or sellers interested in sticking their toes in the waters of the Maui real estate market? Market conditions vary pretty widely depending on the community, neighborhood and price range. The abundance or scarcity of inventory in any one area is bound to have a big impact on pricing and rates of appreciation. The Maui Real Estate Team would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss the parts of the market that might fit your real estate needs. Contact us today for a free consultation.