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.

This is our seventeenth Maui Market Musings. This edition continues to focus on the metrics that give us the best indication of current market conditions. Those three metrics are inventory, price reductions and how quickly properties are going under contract. Discretion was the better part of valor and I am going to hold off on my Kapalua market update for either the next musings or a stand alone post. I imagine people have more to do over the holiday weekend than reading a 3,500 word manuscript on the Maui Real Estate Market. Without further ado…

End of Month Inventory of Maui Single Family Homes

	6/30/22		7/31/22		8/31/22
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
<$750,000	6	16	11	14	11	11 (-3)
$750,000-$999,999	32	63	25	62	31 (+6)	44 (-18)
$1,000,000-$1,499,999	43	37	65	34	58 (-7)	28 (-6)
$1,500,000-$1,999,999	44	22	41	19	46 (+5)	13 (-6)
$2,000,000-$2,999,999	34	15	31	19	36 (+5)	12 (-7)
$3,000,000-$4.999,999	27	10	25	9	32 (+7)	11 (+2)
$5,000,000-$9,999,999	23	8	24	7	26 (+2)	5 (-2)
$10,000,000-$19,999,999	13	0	12	0	11 (-1)	0
$20,000,000+	4	1	5	1	5	0
Totals	241	169	239	156	256 (+17)	124 (-32)

	6/30/22		7/31/22		8/31/22
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
Haiku	20	13	22	11	20 (-2)	7 (-4)
Hana	4	2	4	1	8 (+4)	2 (+1)
Ka’anapali	11	7	10	7	10	4 (-3)
Kahului	8	27	13	21	11 (-2)	25 (+4)
Kapalua	5	3	5	1	4 (-1)	1
Kihei	45	22	48	14	44 (-4)	16 (+2)
Kula	25	13	19	16	24 (+4)	10 (-6)
Lahaina	20	18	18	14	23 (+5)	7 (-7)
Makawao	13	12	14	9	15 (+1)	11 (+2)
Napili/Kahana/Hono…	12	3	10	6	14 (+4)	4 (-2)
Pukalani	12	7	7	6	8 (+1)	5 (-1)
Spreckelsville/Paia	11	2	10	2	15 (+5)	3 (+1)
Wailea/Makena	13	4	15	5	16 (+1)	4 (-1)
Wailuku	39	33	39	35	41 (+2)	22 (-13)

End of August Home Inventory Review

The information above is provided with the usual framework. The home inventory data by price point includes all of the island of Maui, but excludes the islands of Molokai and Lanai. The district information is limited to the districts with the most activity.

• The inventory of active home listings on Maui actually increased approximately 7% since the last day of July. This comes on the heels of a decrease in active listings in July.
• Active inventory decreased in only two price ranges.
• Pending sales dipped again. Pending listings are 21% lower than the end of July and 27% below the end of June.
• Pending sales increased in only the $3,000,000 to $4,999,999 price range.
• Looking at the different price ranges, the $750,000-$999,999 price point stands out. Through the market boom of the last couple of years, you could make an argument that this was among the most competitive price points. Needless to say, this is a very different market now. The increase in interest rates reduced affordability for local buyers, and many investors seem to be sitting on the sidelines. As of today, 56% of the active listings in the range reduced their asking price at least once. Sellers are needing to adjust their price to the new realities of the market.
• Looking at the different communities around the island, the month to month shifts in the trajectory of inventory are notable. A number of places where inventory increased between June and July, decreased between July and August and vice versa. I would suspect we might continue to see this pattern moving forward.
• Kihei home inventory is notable for it’s month to month decrease after steady and significant growth in active listings over the previous months.
• Resort market inventory saw limited changes in active inventory. Ka’anapali and Kapalua both have one fewer active listings while Wailea has one more.

End of August Maui Condo Inventory

	6/30/22		7/31/222		8/31/22
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
<$250,000	2	8	1	8	1	6 (-2)
$250,000-$499,999	19	25	11	23	14 (+3)	17 (-6)
$500,000-$749,999	31	40	43	39	34 (-9)	43 (+4)
$750,000-$999,999	44	46	44	43	33 (-11)	43
$1,000,000-$1,499,999	29	30	30	31	29 (-1)	31
$1,500,000-$1,999,999	28	34	30	33	24 (-6)	35 (+2)
$2,000,000-$2,999,999	20	36	20	36	22 (+2)	38 (+2)
$3,000,000-$4,999,999	11	25	12	18	12	19 (+1)
$5,000,000-$9,999,999	11	3	10	3	8 (-2)	1 (-2)
$10,000,000+	3	0	4	0	4	0
Totals	199	247	205	234	181 (-24)	233 (-1)

	6/30/2022		7/31/2022		8/31/2022
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
Ka’anapali	23	15	24	13	25 (+1)	16 (+3)
Kahului	4	3	2	8	3 (+1)	7 (-1)
Kapalua	12	9	10	10	11 (+1)	6 (-4)
Kihei	55	74	67	60	50 (-17)	63 (+3)
Lahaina	16	5	16	8	9 (-7)	10 (+2)
Ma’alaea	5	5	5	6	3 (-2)	6
Napili/Kahana/Hono	48	34	40	34	45 (+5)	25 (-9)
Wailea	23	85	25	82	24 (-1)	86 (+4)
Wailuku	12	12	14	13	9 (-5)	14 (+1)

End of August Condo Inventory Review

Again, the tables above come with the usual framework for our end of month inventory. The table by price point includes all condos on Maui, but it does not include condos on the islands of Molokai or Lanai. The table with districts is limited to the communities with the most activity. Pending sales at La’i Loa at Wailea Hills skew the data in Wailea and the $1,500,000-$5,000,000 price ranges. There are 75 pending sales in that development based on contracts penned in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. Pending sales in La’i Loa won’t start to close until sometime in 2023. Paradise Ridge Estates in Kihei also skews the data albeit to a lesser extent. There are 18 pending sales with that development based on contracts penned between 2018 and the first quarter of 2022. Those should start closing in the not too distant future.

• After steadily increasing over the last few months, active condo listings at the end of August dropped 12% from the end of July.
• Pending condo sales were virtually unchanged with only one fewer pending sale at the end of August compared to the end of July.
• Looking at the data by price range, active inventory only increased between $250,000-$499,000 and between $2,000,000 and $2,999,999. The biggest drops in active inventory occurred between $500,000 and $999,999 followed by $1,500,000 to $1,999,999.
• Kihei continues to be one of the more dynamic communities when it comes to inventory. Much like Kihei Home inventory, Kihei Condo inventory dropped significantly since the end of July. That comes on the heels of seeing the largest increase over the months prior. Pendings increased as well. Without doing a really thorough comparison of the month to month inventory, it’s hard to say if this is variability or sellers adjusting their pricing and buyers responding.
• The Napili, Kahana and Honokowai condo inventory took the opposite trajectory from Kihei with pending sales dipping substantially and active listings increasing on the month.
• The change between the end of the month active inventory in the resort markets was nominal. Wailea’s active inventory increased by 1 and both Kapalua and Ka’anapali decreased by 1. Pendings increased in both Ka’anapali and Wailea while the Kapalua pending sales dipped.

One final thing worth noting about home and condo inventory, September 1 marks something of a seasonal shift on Maui. Labor day is the end of our summer tourist season. Traditionally, real estate activity on island slows a little in the early fall. This is a time when some sellers take a break from the market. Eleven home and condo listings either cancelled or expired on September 1 after the numbers for the charts above were compiled. We also tend to see a little less in the way of new inventory. One would think that would be the case this year, but there are fewer certainties in this day and age.

Checking in On Price Reductions

Nationally, there is some discussions of price reductions starting to level off after steady growth over the last few months? What about Maui? Looking at the inventory as of September 2nd, 42.97% of all active home listings reduced their price one or more times. On August 15th, 39.67% of active homes reduced their price. On July 4th, that number stood at 34.03%.

In the condo market, 27.84% of all active listings reduced their price. That is actually a decrease from 29.62% on August 15th. For further context, 24.63% of the active condo listings had a reduced asking price on July 4th.

It’s worth noting, that some parts of the market have more price reductions than other. There is a fair amount of variability in the market by district and price point. One example being homes in the $750,000-$999,999 price range which I mentioned earlier.

How Quickly Are Things Going Under Contract?

Another metric that gives a pretty good sense of current demand and market conditions is the rate at which properties go under contract. Specifically, we look at what percentage of properties go under contract in ten days or less. We started tracking this in February when market conditions were particularly frenzied. At the time, 56% of all properties went under contract within 10 days. Of the listings that came to market between August 10th and August 17th, 29.79% went under contract within 10 days. That’s actually up a little from the last period we tracked between July 25th and August 1st when 22.45% went under contract within 10 days or less of coming to market.

Looking specifically at homes, 30.43% of the new listings between August 10th and 17th went under contract in 10 days or less. For comparison’s sake, between August 10-17, 2021, 50% of new inventory went under contract in 10 days or less. For a pre-covid reference point, it was 15.15% of new home listings between August 10th – August 17th, 2019 . I do want to mention that this seems to be an anomalously low week. Other recent 2019 comparisons came in around 25%.

For condos, 29.17% of the new listings between August 10th and August 17th went under contract in ten days or less. During the same time span of 2021 and 2019 respectively, the numbers came in at 58.33% and 30.43%.

Overall, we are well below last year’s frenzy. While we may have fewer buyers and sellers, the overall absorption of new properties is similar to what we experienced before Covid.

Interest Rates

One other variable relevant to market conditions is interest rates. Recent movement in the bond market pushed interest rates on the 30 year fixed mortgage back up over 6%. This is the first time mortgages hit that rate since June. From recent discussions with mortgage brokers, many borrowers are opting for 10 year ARMs to lower monthly payments. That said, regardless of the mortgage product borrowing costs are significantly higher now than they were 12 or even 6 months ago. That is going to have a big impact on affordability.

Some Musings Eye Candy From Maui’s Sandy Shores

Maui no ka oi! pic.twitter.com/qZxQF64MWF

— Maui Hawaii (@Maui) August 28, 2022

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Questions, comments or feedback? Contact The Maui Real Estate Team to discuss the latest market musings or if you need assistance buying or selling Maui Real Estate. Our experienced team of agents is well suited to assist buyers and sellers in the current dynamic market conditions. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing your real estate needs.

We recently posted on a surge in activity in the South Maui Vacation Rental Market. Wailea and Kihei both saw a big increase in condo sales for the year to date. West Maui is home to the other big concentration of vacation rental condos on island. The West side has not been the best side for sales this year. Condo activity is off compared to 2016. This post takes a look at sales activity in the different areas of West Maui, looks at a few condos that have seen stronger activity and takes a look at a couple of factors that could be driving the slower sales on this side of the island.

As of June 7th, there have been 145 vacation rental condos sold in West Maui this year. As of the same time last year, there were 176 vacation rental condos that sold in West Maui. That is an 18% reduction in sales volume. I broke down the sales by price ranges to try to see if the decrease in activity occurred across the board. Condo sales $500,000 and under were down 22%. There were 57 sales this year as compared to 73 last year in this price range. The middle part of the market between $500,001 and $1,000,000 performed the strongest of any market segment with a modest increase of 4.6% over last year. There were 67 sales compared to 64 over the same period of 2016. The high end of the West Maui vacation rental market saw the steepest decline in activity of any market segment. Sales were down 51% for vacation rental condos priced from $1,000,001 on up. There were 23 sales compared to 45 sales over the same period of 2016.

Lahaina Condos
The Lahaina condo market was the one area of West Maui that saw an increase in activity compared to last year. Lahaina has a small number of vacation rental condo complexes with four total properties. Those four complexes saw activity increase by 35% for the year as of June 7, 2017. It was a good five plus months of sales in Lahaina, but one condo stood out above the others.

Aina Nalu
Aina Nalu is located one block off of Front Street in historic Lahaina Town. There are 190 units at the complex spread over 11 buildings on 18 acres. There are studio, one bedroom and two bedroom floor plans. Prices range from the $300,000s for one bedrooms to the low $400,000s for two bedrooms. Owners value the grounds, the two nice pools, the tropical design elements and the location. If you were so inclined, this is a place where you could stay without driving your car with Front Street so close by. The property had 5 sales through just over five months of 2016. As of June 7th, there were 12 sales in Aina Nalu. That is an impressive 240% increase in sales activity.

Ka’anapali Condos
As you head North from Lahaina, the Ka’anapali condo market has seen a dip in condo sales activity for the first five months of the year compared to the same period of 2016. Sales slipped from 63 sales to start 2016 to 42 sales as of June 7, 2017. That is a 33% decrease in activity. The decrease in sales was almost across the board with only Ka’anapali Royal registering more sales this year than last year with 4 sales compared to 2. While I typically focus on the condos that stand out among the crowd for higher sales activity, I wanted to take a look at the condo complex that saw the biggest dip in activity.

Honua Kai
Honua Kai is the last fee simple whole ownership condo to be built in the Ka’anapali Area. It has 711 units spread over two seven story towers on 40 acres. The Hoku Lani tower was completed in 2009 and the Konea tower was completed in 2010. Honua Kai has extensive amenities including three separate pools and an onsite restaurant, grocery store and spa. It has studio, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom condominiums. Prices range from the high 600s for a select few mountain view one bedrooms up to over $5,000,000 for the best located three bedroom units. People who own at Honua Kai appreciate the significant amenities, the beachfront location, the newness of the location and the rental demand.

Honua Kai has had a big impact on the West Maui Condo market since 2005 when they started taking the first round of pre-construction reservations. Those reservations generated a significant number of sales during the doldrums of the post crash real estate market. This goosed the condo sales numbers when overall demand was low. I dubbed this distortion of the statistics The Honua Kai Effect.

June of 2016 was the last new developer sale at Honua Kai. There were 15 new developer sales between January 1, 2016 and June 7, 2016. That gives some context before I provide this year’s sales numbers. There were 14 Honua Kai Sales for the year as of June 7th. Last year, there were 32 over that same period of time. That is a 54% drop in sales volume. The new developer sales account for most, but not all of the difference between this year and last year’s sales volume.

Honua Kai remains a popular choice for West Maui condo buyers. While we saw a big dip in activity, it still saw more sales than any other West Maui condo.

Napili, Kahana, Honokowai
The three communities located between Ka’anapali and Kapalua offer the greatest concentration of oceanfront condos in West Maui. It was another area that has seen a decrease in activity in 2017. There were 57 sales in this area five months and a week in to 2017. That is down 22% from the 73 sales through the same period of 2016. The bulk of the condo complexes in this area saw a decrease in activity with a few exceptions.

Papakea
Papakea is an oceanfront complex in the Honokowai area. It has 364 condos spread over 11 buildings on just over 12 acres. There are studio, one bedroom and two bedroom floor plans. This complex is predominantly fee simple, but there are some leasehold units. Papakea has a pretty broad range of prices. Leasehold one bedrooms start right around $200,000. The most expensive units are direct oceanfront two bedroom units. They sell for as much as $1,000,000. Owners like the oceanfront location, amenities and relaxed feel. Papakea had a pretty good start to 2016 with 10 sales in just over five months. This year was 40% better with 14 sales in the same period of time.

Kapalua
While most of West Maui was either markedly stronger or weaker this year compared to last year, Kapalua has been pretty steady with the same number of sales this year as last year. There were 14 vacation rental condos sold this year as of June 7th, compared to 14 over the same period last year. While the overall numbers were the same, there were some shifts in activity among the five complexes that allow vacation rentals. I wanted to highlight the one condo that saw the biggest increase in activity and the highest number of sales overall.

Kapalua Golf Villas
Kapalua Golf Villas is situated along the beautiful Kapalua Bay Course. There are 186 units spread over 16 buildings on 15.8 acres. Amenities include three pools. The property went through extensive renovations in 2014. Prices range from the high $500,000s for one bedrooms lower on the golf course to just under a million for fully upgraded two bedrooms with good ocean views. Views, finishing and floor plans are the primary drivers on price. Kapalua Golf Villas offer the lowest priced entry point into the Kapalua Real Estate market. Owners appreciate the location on the Bay course, the views and the proximity to Kapalua Beaches and to other resort amenities.

Kapalua Golf Villas has been the busiest of the Kapalua condos in 2017. There have been 7 units sold as June 7th. There were 4 sold over the same period last year. That is a 75% increase in sales activity.

What’s Driving the West Maui Market
South Maui vacation rental condos have been booming this year while West Maui has been slower. They are two seemingly similar markets. What is driving the difference in market behavior? I was able to give some pretty good reasons as to why I think the South Maui market has surged to start the year. Determining what might be holding things back in West Maui is a little more challenging. The one clear cut cause was already discussed. Honua Kai is seeing less activity now that it is just resales and there are no more new developer listings.

Are there any other factors keeping down West Maui sales numbers? The state of Kahana Bay may be impacting sales. This section of West Maui coastline has significant erosion issues. Hololani has been struggling with erosion issues for a number of years. Those issues expanded down the coast last year. Royal Kahana and Valley Isle Resort had to put up emergency sandbags during the winter of 2016 to halt a rapid loss of shoreline. There are now nine condo associations that are a part of efforts to develop a shoreline replenishment plan. With the cost of beach replenishment expected to approach ten million dollars, the individual owners in those nine complexes are facing a big assessment to pay for the project. While the numbers of condos sold in the nine complexes this year is pretty similar to what we saw last year, the uncertainty over this coastline and the potential future costs may be limiting the potential for growth in this market.

The one other factor that could be at play is plain old variability. We see that in the market from time to time. Some years West Maui has stronger years for sales activity and some years it is South Maui that has a big year. The underlying reasons aren’t so clear cut. This may be just one of those years for West Maui. When you add in the other factors previously mentioned, those three things in and of itself could account for the 18% drop we have seen. If you are a close follower of the West Maui market and you have any other theories, we would welcome your input in the comments below.

The good news for potential buyers is that there is still a lot of inventory in this market. This is particularly the case with condos priced from $500,000 and up. You can search through the current inventory of Kapalua Condos for Sale and Ka’anapali Condos for sale on MauiRealEstate.com. You can also search the MLS for condos listed in Lahaina, Napili, Kahana and Honokowai. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you want to talk to a real estate agent about West Maui Vacation Rental Condos. We would welcome the chance to learn more about what you are looking for and to assist you in your search for a condo that will fit your needs.

This is part of my ongoing look at how a handful of Maui community real estate markets performed at the halfway point for 2011. This post looks specifically at Ka’anapali Resort. Included are statistics on sales volumes, medians, bank owned sales and short sales. I also have included information on sales volume at individual Ka’anapali condo complexes. Without further ado, here are the stats followed by a few thoughts on the significance of these numbers.

There were 20 home sales reported in Ka’anapali during the first half of 2011. The median sales price for those transactions is $1,018,500. By comparison, there were 11 sales during the first six months of 2010 at a median sales price of $1,300,000. This translates to an 82% increase in sales volume and a 22% decrease in median prices.

• The highest sales price during the first half of 2011 was $3,305,000. During the same period of 2010, the high was $4,500,000.
• The low sales price for the first six months of 2011 was $700,000.
• Of the twenty sales reported, MLS records indicate that thirteen were all cash transactions.
• There were four REO sales and three short sales during the first half of 2011. There were only two short sales in 2010.

There were 32 condo sales reported within Ka’anapali Resort during the first 6 months of 2011. The median price for those sales was $562,000. The tally for the first half of 2010 was 31 sales at a median of $490,000. That translates to a rather modest increase in sales volume of 3% and an increase in median of 15%.

• The high sales price for a condo was $3,700,000 for a unit at Ka’anapali Ali’i. The high for the same period last year was $3,400,000. This was also for an Ali’i unit.
• The lowest sales price was $150,000 for a Bank Owned Leasehold unit at Kaanapali Royal.
• That Ka’anapali Royal Sale was one of four REOs that closed in Ka’anapali during the first half of 2011. There were also two short sales. By comparison, there were three REOs and one short during the same period in 2010.
• Leasehold sales increased in 2011 with six sales compared to two during the first half of 2010.

Ka’anapali’s land market was the most active of the resort land markets during the first half of 2011 with 13 sales at a median price of $525,000. That compares to 4 sales at a median of $487,500 for the first half of 2010. That is a 325% increase in volume and approximately an 8% increase in median.

• The high sale for the first half of the year was $800,000 for a lot in the Pinnacle.
• The low sale for the first half of the year was $275,000.
• Seven of the sales were REOs. All were in the Lanikeha subdivision in Ka’anapali.

There were a number of things that stood out with the Ka’anapali statistics. Overall, it was a solid first half of 2011 for the Ka’anapali Real Estate Market with all segments seeing increased activity. Home sales saw a healthy increase after a sluggish 2010. Part of the stems from a rise in buyer confidence and interest in the luxury market. Some of that increase also comes from some good opportunities. The first half of 2011 saw an uptick in bank owned listings and short sales at Ka’anapali Resort. As with other areas of the island, buyers have been seeking out values among shorts and REOs.

Looking at the land market, the big increase in sales volume and the big surge in foreclosures are both noteworthy. The focal point for land activity has been in the Lanikeha Development. This new development first came to market close to the peak. There were quite a few lots bought speculatively either for long term appreciation or for spec homes. Whether it was strategic default or financial challenges, a number of those speculative purchases ended up as foreclosures. The majority of the limited pool of buyers in the land market have placed value and opportunity at the top of their list of priorities when purchasing their properties. With prices half of peak market land prices, buyers have been attracted to the opportunities presented by the REO listings at Lanikeha.

On the condo side, it is worth noting that the stats provided above include only properties that are within the traditional confines of Kaanapali Resort. I decided to exclude a couple of properties like Honua Kai, Mahana and Ka’anapali Shores that are frequently lumped in with the Ka’anapali stats through the Realtors Association of Maui. I did this for two reasons. Honua Kai sales were going to really distort the stats due to what I have dubbed the Honua Kai Effect. There has been a significant volume of sales at this complex over the last couple of years. The vast majority of those sales were based on pre-construction contracts that were originally executed sometime between 2005-2007. If you include Honua Kai closes, there were far more sales in Ka’anapli during the first half of 2010 than there were in the first half of 2011. These long term contract Honua Kai closes do not provide a good indication of active buyers shopping during each particular year. Instead, these long term new developer contracts are closing when construction was completed and the buyers are able to take occupancy. I decided not to include Ka’anapali Shores and Mahana because they are categorized inconsistently. They are also listed as Honokowai properties by Realtors.

When you focus on just the core Ka’anapali condo sales figures, the first half of 2011 was almost a mirror of 2010. There were a few changes in the composition of sales. While there were no bank owned transactions in 2010, there were three bank owned sales in 2011. Leasehold sales were up two in the first half of 2010 to 6 in the first half of 2011. There were also some shifts in which complexes were most active. The greater impact of bank owned properties is significant, but I am reticent to put too much weight into other shifts in market activity. This is a pretty small sample size and we may just be seeing fluctuations in activity based on the quality of inventory or more random variables.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions about these statistics or if you need assistance buying or selling Ka’anapali Properties. You can also search the current inventory of Ka’anapali Homes for Sale and Ka’anapali Condos for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com.