February is smack dab in the middle of our whale season and our visitor season on Maui. Lots of visitors on island also typically means a fair amount of real estate activity. This is our look at how the Maui Real Estate Market performed in February of 2015. Included among the numbers below are sales volumes by property types, median sales prices, notable sales and pending sales. We also give a few thoughts on the stats and what it all means for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

February Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Medians

By my count, there were 59 homes sold on Maui in February with a median price of $567,250. That is the same exact number of homes sold as last February. The February 2014 median was $550,000. That is a 3% increase in median prices comparing this February to the same month last year.

There were 92 condos sold last month with a median price of $477,500. In February of 2014, there were 88 condos sold at a median price of $345,000. That is just under a 5% increase in sales activity and a 38% increase in median price.

There were 14 lots sold in Maui County during February with a median sales price $490,000. Last February, the total was 12 lots sold at a median price of $447,500. That is roughly a 17% increase in activity and a 9% increase in median price.

Notable Numbers from the February Maui Real Estate Sales
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across some other notable numbers from the February Maui Real Estate activity that I believe are worth sharing.

• The highest priced home to sell in Maui last month was located in the Ka’anapali Coffee Farms subdivision. The four bedroom, four bath home has 3,599 square feet of living space and a pool on 5.58 acres.
• That was one of three home sales over $2,000,000 that closed in February. The other two homes that closed were also located in Ka’anapali with one home closing in the Summit and another in Ka’anapali Golf Estates.
• The highest priced condo sale last month was a 3 bed, 3.5 bath condo at the Montage Residences on Kapalua Bay.
• That was one of ten condos sold for more than $1,500,000 last month. The other big sales included 3 closes at Honua Kai, 2 at Wailea Elua and one each at Makena Surf, Andaz and The Terraces at Manele Bay on Lanai.
• The highest priced land sale last month was $1,430,000 for a homesite in Makena Papa’anui.
• There were 13 bank owned transactions that closed last month in Maui County. There were 8 banked owned sales last February.
• There were 3 short sales that closed last month compared to the 8 short sales that closed in February of 2014.

Quick Thoughts on the February Stats
While February wasn’t the busiest month for closed sales, it was positive to see that homes, condos and land sales volumes outperformed the February 2014 numbers. This hasn’t occurred all that often over the last 6-10 months with condo and land sales typically lagging behind the same month of the year prior. While the increase in one month of sales activity is generally a good thing, I am not sure it is a sign of any substantial shift in the market.

The Maui luxury property market saw another strong month of condo sales in February. Buyers have a good selection of inventory to choose from with a variety of high end resales on the market and new developer units still available at places like Montage Kapalua, The Residences at Andaz and Honua Kai. The luxury home market has seen a slower start to 2015 with sales over $2,000,000 down compared to the same period of 2014. There is also a good inventory for buyers searching in this price range so you can’t chalk up the reduction of activity to limited supply. It will be interesting to see if sales activity picks up for luxury homes during the rest of the year.

Sales activity for bank owned properties was stronger than February of last year, but the impact of bank owned properties on the market remains limited. Rather than dragging down prices with below market sales prices, most banks are pricing properties high with the hope of achieving maximum value for their assets. This means many banks are having to make one or more price reduction before they actually find the market. Buyers searching for bank owned bargains may be disappointed with the selection of properties available.

February Pending Sales

While the February sales provided good news, the February pending sales were a mixed bag. There were 20 more homes on island that went pending this February compared to last February. Pending land sales were exactly the same as last February. The condo market was a lot quieter with 28 fewer condos going under contract compared to February 2014. The lower condo sales activity in February is more typical of what we have seen since the middle of 2014. Limited inventory has been a factor in the lower sales volumes. I surmise we may also be seeing some impact from a weakened Canadian dollar. I was showing condos in South Kihei last week and was struck by both the depth of inventory and lack of activity at some complexes that are traditionally popular with Canadian buyers.

What Does it All Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
Buyers and sellers will find that market conditions have changed little over the better part of 18 months. At a broad level, the Maui Real Estate market is continuing to experience modest price appreciation with limited inventory at and below the median price points of the market. As you hone in on the different communities and neighborhoods, you will find a little more variability in conditions. Depth of inventory and buyer demand may vary. Buyers will find that well priced properties regardless of location or price point can go very quickly and may attract multiple offers. Buyers should be pre-approved if they require financing on their purchase so they can put their best foot forward with sellers. Sellers need to look closely at recent sales activity when determining go to market pricing for their property. Over priced properties are sitting even if that part of the market may have more limited inventory. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team with questions or if you are interested in buying or selling Maui Property. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation.

June is the middle of fruit season on Maui. Local mangoes, lychee and lilikoi can all be found in farmer’s markets and grocery stores. June is also a month of Festivals and celebrations with the Wailea Film Festival, the Kapalua Wine and Food Festival, The Slack Key Guitar Festival at the MACC and more. The start of June also means that it is time to take another look at the performance of the Maui Real Estate market. We take a look at last month’s sales volumes, median sales prices and a few other notes and numbers from May sales activity. Sales are a lagging indicator that don’t reflect current demand so we also wanted to take a look at the number of properties that went under contract last month. Without further ado, here are the real estate sales numbers for May on Maui.

By my count, there were 85 homes sold in Maui County last month with a median price of $540,000. By comparison, there were 109 homes sold in Maui County during May of 2013 with a median price of $549,000. That is a 22% drop in sales activity and a 2% drop in median price compared to last May.

There were 116 condo sales reported in May of 2014 with a median price of $476,000. Last May, there were 139 sales reported in Maui with a median price of $380,000. That is a 17% drop in sales activity with a 25% jump in median price when comparing this May to last May.

There were 20 land sales reported in May at a median price of $575,000. In May 2013, there were also 20 sales with a median of $267,500. That is a 215% increase in median price.

While compiling the numbers above, I came across some more numbers and data from the May Maui Real Estate Sales that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home sale last month was $3,150,000 for the Rainbow House in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms.
• That was one of five home sales over $2,000,000 last month. The other four sales were geographically diverse with closes in Haiku, Launiupoko, Wailea and Maui Meadows.
• The highest priced condo transaction was $5,000,000 for a beachfront unit at Coconut Grove in Kapalua.
• That was one of 15 condo sales over $1,500,000 last month. Honua Kai Resort led the way with seven sales over $1,500,000. There were also two sales at The Whaler, one sale at Ka’anapali Ali’i and one sale at Ka’anapali Shores. The Ka’anapali area condos were a hot ticket for luxury buyers. The other big sales occurred at Kapalua Bay Villas, Wailea Point and Na Hale O Makena.
• The highest priced land sale last month was $1,600,000 for 42 acres on the ocean between Wailuku and Kahakuloa.
• There were only 8 bank owned closes all of last month. That is down 50% from the 16 bank owned closes we saw last May. Buyers looking for bank owned bargains will find that the pickings slim.
• There were 10 successful short sales last month. That was done 58% from the 24 completed in May of 2013.

The thing that stands out most to me about this month’s stats is the drop in sales activity. As noted in the April stats, there was a drop in the number of properties that were pending in April as compared to the same time last year. That makes the drop in sales a little less of a surprise. We are also mirroring some trends that have been occurring on the mainland. The National Association of Realtors Reported that April existing home sales were down 6.8% compared to the same time last year. It is hard to pinpoint all of the factors that have led to the drop in sales activity in Maui County. That said, I think a significant driver has been the lack of inventory. The decrease in homes and condos at lower price points in our market has meant not enough supply to meet demand.

There were a few other things worth noting about the stats. The median sales price was down a little from last year. That seems counter intuitive with less low end inventory and clear signs of price reductions. The bigger driver may be a little less activity on the high end of the market. There were 7 fewer sales this May compared to last May over $1,000,000. On the other end of the spectrum, the condo medians were way up this month. Some of that gain could be attributed to price increases. The rest is due to shifts in market activity. Less inventory on the low end plays a part as does a big increase in activity on the high end. There were 26 condo sales over $1,000,000 this year compared to 12 last year. That is in spite of a 17% drop in overall condos sold. The huge jump in land medians can be attributed to a decrease in low end sales, an increase in high end sales and modest price increases. The small sample size for land sales contributes to big fluctuations in medians.

Does it look like the slow down in sales activity will continue into the summer? Right now, the numbers are mixed. The chart below compares the number of properties that went under contract in May of 2014 to what went pending last year in May of 2013.

It looks like we might see an uptick in home sales. Home pending sales were up a whopping 27% over last May. While condo numbers appear to be continuing their recent drop in activity with a 21% drop in pendings. Land pending sales were down 55% compared to last May. I did a little digging behind that number and some of that difference can be traced to a solid number of commercial land listings that went under contract last May. Commercial and residential land are lumped together in our MLS. It will be interesting to see what happens with activity as we move into the summer months. It is safe to say that Maui is experiencing an unpredictable market.

What does this all mean for buyers and sellers? Buyers will find that prices are still below peak market levels in all but a very few neighborhoods around the island. That said, buyers will also find that we have seen significant appreciation from the bottom particularly at the lower price points of the market. Those that are expecting to find rock bottom deals will be challenged by the limited inventory and the smaller number of distressed and bank owned properties. Buyers should expect that well priced properties will go under contract quickly. If it is in a particularly desirable part of the market, those properties may attract multiple bids. Sellers should expect improving market conditions, but those that are swinging for the fences on their prices may be disappointed. Overpriced properties are sitting. There are also some communities and price points that are softer than others. Go to market pricing strategies should take into account recent sales prices and activity levels. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for a free consultation to discuss the specific market conditions for the communities and price ranges that fit interests and budget. We welcome the opportunity to be of assistance.