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.

It seems like just a few days ago when I was writing about the September Maui Real Estate statistics. Actually, it was a just last week when I wrote that post. Last month, a busy schedule kept me from posting the stats until the last week of the month. I had an opportunity to get the October stats out a little sooner. They are early enough in the month that I may even miss a few late reported sales. This is my sneak peek at the October sales volumes, median prices, notable sales numbers and pending sales. I also give a few thoughts on the state of the market, and what it all means for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the October numbers.

October 2015 Sales Volumes and Median Prices

By my count, there were 103 homes sold in October with a median sales price of $585,000. Last October, there were 84 homes sold at a median price of $566,000. That is almost a 23% increase in sales volume and roughly a 3% change in median price.

There have been 102 condo sales reported to date for October with a median sales price of $391,450. By comparison, the October 2014 numbers were 95 condos sold at a median price of $419,000. That is a 7% increase in volume and a 7% decrease in median price.

There have been 16 lots reported sold in October with a median sales price of $375,000. Last October, there were 14 sales at a median price of $467,500.

Notable Numbers from the October Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the numbers above, I came across some notable numbers from the October sales that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home to sell on Maui in October closed for $3,750,000. The home in the Wailea Golf Estates Subdivision has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 4,277 square feet of living space. The home is located on the fourth green of the Wailea Blue Course. It has unobstructed ocean views and a 20 meter pool.
• The Wailea Golf Estates sale was the only home to close for over $2,000,000 last month.
• The highest priced condo to sell in October closed for $3,650,000. The condo in question is a 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom oceanfront condominium in the Kapalua Ironwoods complex.
• The Kapalua Ironwoods transaction was one of 7 condo sales to close for over $1,500,000. The other sales included 2 condos at Honua Kai, 2 at the Ritz Carlton Residences, a Wailea Point condo and a unit at Ho’olei.
• The high land sale last month was at the Makena Golf and Beach Club. The .4399 acre parcel in the Maluaka Estates neighborhood sold for $8,500,000.
• That was one of three land sales over $1,000,000. The other sales included a home site near Manele Bay on Lanai and a 131 acre parcel in Haiku.

October Pending Maui Real Estate Sales
Sales are a lagging indicator of buyer activity. Most of the sales referenced above were based on contracts that were written in August and September. The chart below shows the number of properties that went pending or under contract in October.

The October pending sales look pretty strong with only home pendings down compared to October of last year. That said, the dip in home pendings is noteworthy as the home market had been particularly strong over the last couple of months. The modest dip in activity comes as a bit of a surprise as I have been in three multiple offer situations over the last month for homes below $600,000. That is a small sample, but it still feels like there are quite a few buyers in the market. It will be interesting to watch home sales over the next couple of months. Are things cooling down a little or was this an aberration?

Thoughts on the Maui Real Estate Market and What it All Means for Buyers and Sellers
The October Stats showed another strong month of buyer activity. As mentioned in other recent stats posts, the stronger sales activity can be attributed in part to buyers trying to get into the market to take advantage of what has been a long run of really low interest rates. The federal reserve continues to discuss an increase in rates and buyers are trying to tie properties down before any rate increases occur. The low borrowing costs are that much more appealing due in part to a really tough rental market on Maui. Rental prices have gone up significantly over the last few years and some borrowers are finding that mortgages are equivalent to or in some cases better than monthly rents.

Buyers who are interested in entering this market place will find that they need to be well positioned to act quickly when good opportunities are listed. Homes under $600,000 will often attract bidding wars if they are well priced. It is not uncommon to see bidding wars on well priced homes at significantly higher price points. Sellers will find pretty favorable conditions when going to market. That said, over priced properties are still sitting even with stronger than usual fall buyer activity. There are also some parts of the market that are a little slower than others. Sellers should look closely at market conditions specific to their type of property when determining go to market prices. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of buying or selling a property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to discuss your real estate needs and talk about the market particular to properties that might be of interest.

I apologize for being a little slow getting out of the gate with our September Maui Real Estate Statistics. This post includes all of the usual content on median sales prices, sales volume, pending sales and other notable numbers and closes for September. It also includes a deeper dive into the recent condo sales numbers. We have seen a trend develop over the last six months where Maui condo sales totals have under performed compared to last year. I wanted to see if we could peel the onion back and expose any clearly discernible reasons as to why there are fewer condos selling. I have proffered some anecdotal evidence in recent stats posts, but I hoped to find something more substantive in the actual sales data. Keep reading to find out what I learned and all the other numbers from the September Maui Real Estate Statistics.

September Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Medians

By my count there were 95 homes sold on Maui in September with a median sales price of $570,000. Last September, there were 85 homes sold with a median price of $470,000. That calculates to approximately a 12% increase in volume and a 21% increase in median price while comparing this September to last September.

There were 79 condos sold last month with a median price of $465,000. By comparison, in September 2013 there were 121 condos sold with a median price of $345,000. That calculates to a 35% decrease in sales volume and a 35% increase in median price when comparing this year to last year.

There were 12 land sales on Maui this September with a median sales price of $520,000. Last September, there were 15 sales with a median price of $335,000. That is a 20% drop in volume and a 55% shift in median price when comparing this September to last September.

Interesting Notes and Numbers From the September Maui Real Estate Transactions

While compiling the numbers above, I thought there were some other facts and figures that were worth sharing from the September Maui Real Estate Transactions.

• The highest priced home that sold last month was actually a bank owned property. A six bed/seven bath luxury home in the One Palauea Bay Subdivision in Makena sold for $8,500,000.
• That was one of six homes sold for over $2,000,000 last month. The other homes were located in Paia, Kula, Kihei, Kapalua and Lanai.
• The slow month for condo sales was reflected in the luxury condo market. There were no sales over $1,500,000. The high sale was a two bedroom/two bath condo that sold at Honua Kai for $1,390,000.
• The highest priced land sale was a beachfront lot in Ka’anapali. The .87 acre lot sold for $6,900,000.
• There were 12 bank owned (REO) sales last month. That is up slightly over the 11 (REO) sales that were recorded in September of 2013.
• There were 6 successful short sale transactions completed in September. Last year, there were 26 short sales in September. With more sellers in improved equity positions on their properties, there will continue to be fewer short sale transactions.

Thoughts on the Maui Condo Market and the September Stats

The condo market continues to catch my eye when looking at the numbers above. There is a continuation of recent trends with condo sales under performing last years transaction totals. Condo sales were down 27% in the third quarter of 2014 when compared to the third quarter of 2013. I thought it was worth taking a more granular look at the condo transactions to see if there are anything that might help to explain the slow down in activity. The chart below compares sales in different price points of the condo market during the third quarter of 2013 and the third quarter of 2014.

As you can see in the chart above, there were only four price points where the 2014 third quarter sales totals outperformed the sales totals of the third quarter of 2013. The biggest drop in 2014 third quarter sales occurred in the price ranges between $101,000 and $400,000. Inventory is a big factor in this price range, particularly in the $101-$200,000 range where there is around three and a half months of inventory available based on recent absorption rates. That limited inventory is clearly hampering sales volume.

The inventory may be even tighter than it appears on paper. With some sellers really shooting for the moon on prices, there is a reduced pool of properties priced at or near market values. Maui has always been a market where sellers tend to reach on their pricing. This is due in part to the fact that there are a lot of second home owners who can afford to let their condo sit on the market for an extended period. The ranks of overpriced properties may also be due in part to changes in the rates of appreciation. Some entry level condos saw huge bounces off the bottom with appreciation reaching into the 70% or more range. Some sellers have based their go to market prices on those recent rates of appreciation. With the last real estate downturn still fresh in some minds, buyers are not willing to sustain those rates over the long haul. That is most apparent with entry level condos priced in the low to mid $200,000s. After big gains in 2012 and the first half or 2013, those condos have seen little to no appreciation over the last 6-12 months.

Once you get above the $400,000 range, the condo inventory is not quite as tight. It has certainly dwindled below what we saw during the doldrums of the market, but there is still more than six months of inventory based on current absorption rates. There is enough inventory that it shouldn’t be constraining market sales. The healthier inventory is reflected in the sales figures in these price ranges. The difference between sales in third quarter 2013 and third quarter 2014 is smaller and there are of course a few price points where 2014 third quarter sales are higher. I am not sure that I can pin all of the decrease in market activity as being driven by inventory constraints, that said there is a clear correlation in some market segments. If there are any other factors that are hampering sales, they are not quite as easy to discern.

The luxury condo market is one part of the market where inventory is abundant. In the $1,500,000 to $4,000,000 price range there is well over a year of inventory based on current absorption rates. That would suggest that inventory is clearly not a factor in the slower third quarter sales volumes for luxury condos. The third quarter slump is something of a surprise as the first half of the year saw very strong sales in this range. It will be interesting to see what happens during the fourth quarter. If the slower sales volumes continue in that price range, it may illuminate what other factors are cramping the condo market. That said, this is a market segment with a small sample size that can see a lot of variability. The fact that there were strong luxury home sales in September makes me think the lower luxury condo sales could be an anomaly.

There was one other thing that I thought was worth mentioning about the September condo numbers. We typically don’t spend a ton of time discussing the median sales prices that we report in our stats posts other than to give the caveat that they aren’t a great indicator of changes in value. Our market size is small enough that the distribution of sales can have a bigger impact on medians than the changes in the values of properties. I think the stats for this month are a good example why. The 35% increase in median is driven heavily by the decrease in sales between $100,000 and $400,000. Fewer lower priced sales resulted in a big boost to the median sales price.

While the condo market has seen a clear trend of decreasing sales compared to last year, the home market has seen similar levels of market activity compared to 2013. As of this month, there have now been four months where sales were stronger than the same month of 2013, four months of slower sales and one month where sales volumes were the same. While constrained inventory has reduced the number of entry level home transactions, that has been offset by a little more activity at the higher price points in the market.

The 2014 Maui land market has occupied a middle ground between the condo and home market. It has had more months with lower sales volume than higher sales volume compared to 2013, but not quite as many down months as with condos. Inventory could be a factor with this market. Lower priced land opportunities are becoming harder to come by.

September Pending Sales

One thing to remember with real estate sales is that they are a lagging indicator. Most transactions on Maui take 30-60 days to close. We also keep track of pending sales in our statistics to get a sense of more recent market demand.

The pending property sales are mirroring current trends. The number of homes that went under contract in September was equal to what we saw in 2013. The land and condo pending sales are both down from 2013 levels although the margins are small.

What Buyers and Sellers Should Expect in The Current Maui Real Estate Market

While sales numbers are down a little, the overall buying and selling experience on Maui has changed very little in the last twelve months. Scarce inventory makes for a competitive market for buyers. Buyers should do all that they can to be prepared to act quickly when well priced properties that fit their needs hit the market. That means getting pre-approved for a loan prior to your search if you require financing. It also means being decisive and putting your best foot forward when submitting offers. Well priced properties are still frequently generating multiple bids. Sellers who want to sell quickly will need to pay attention to recent comparable sales and current conditions within their neighborhood and community. Even with reduced inventories, overpriced properties are sitting with very little interest from the market. Both buyers and sellers should be aware that market conditions can vary significantly by neighborhood and price point. The Maui Real Estate Team would welcome the chance to sit down and discuss your real estate needs and the market conditions in communities that could be of interest. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for a free consultation.

The first month of 2014 is in the books and Valentine’s day is just around the corner. That means it is time to take the pulse of the Maui Real Estate market and get a sneak peek at the January 2014 Maui Real Estate Statistics. This post takes a look at sales volume and median prices for properties this January and compares them to what we saw during January 2013. I also highlight some other numbers that I came across while compiling these stats that I thought might be of interest. This month, I am opting not to do a video analysis. I will be saving my face made for radio until next month. However, I did take a stab at gauging buyer activity during the first six weeks of peak buyer season. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

There were 64 homes sold in Maui County during the first month of 2014 with a median sales price of $691,500. Last January, there were 63 homes sold with a median price of $550,000. That is a less than 2% increase in sales activity and a 26% increase in median price when comparing this January to January 2013.

There were 92 condos sold in January of 2014 with a median price of $431,000. In the first month of 2013, there were 63 sales at a median price of $297,000. That means a 46% increase in sales activity and a 45% increase in median prices over last January.

There were 13 land sales in January of this year at a median price of $370,000. Last January, there were 7 sales with a median price of $675,000. That is an 86% bump in activity and a 45% decrease in median. With the smaller sample sizes, the difference in sales and medians can be more dramatic.

In addition to the numbers above, here are a few other numbers and tidbits that I thought were worth sharing about the January Real Estate sales activity.

• The highest priced home sale for January was $9,300,000 for a 4,000 square foot oceanfront home at Makena Place.
• That was one of 11 homes sold over $2,000,000 in January. That is a very strong month for ultra luxury purchases. For context, there were only two sales in that price range last January. It was a geographically diverse list of homes sold with big closes in Spreckeslville, Pukalani, Lanai, Ka’anapali, Wailea, Kihei and Makena.
• The high condo sale last month was $2,600,000 for a three bedroom unit at Hoolei in Wailea.
• The Ho’olei sale was one of 7 condo transactions that sold for over $1,500,000. There were also high dollar transactions at Honua Kai, Ka’anapali Ali’i, Puamana and the Terraces at Manele over on Lanai.
• As a quick side note, there continues to be pretty extensive luxury sales activity on Lanai. I did a little digging and the vast majority of the purchases appear to have been made by an LLC out of Walnut Creek, California. I suspect that LLC is owned by Larry Ellison.
• The high land sale in January was $4,587,999 for 3,455 acres of land in Hana. This is all of the Hana Ranch land on the Mauka or Mountain side of Hana Highway. This was a complex transactions with additional considerations above and beyond the published sales price. This also included the Ranch’s cattle operation and private water system. With the water system comes additional obligations. It is also known that there were quite a few parcels of land included in the purchase that did not have clear title.
• Bio-Logical Capital was the entity that purchased the Hana Ranch. They plan to keep the land in agriculture and conservation with the hope of boosting the agricultural productivity. It will be interesting to see what changes this purchase might bring to Hana and the Hana Real Estate market.
• There were only 4 bank owned (REO) sales that closed last month. There were 6 REO sales in January of 2013. At this point, bank owned properties are having a very limited impact on the Maui market.
• There were 10 short sale transactions completed in January. Last January, there were 14 short sale transactions. It will be interesting to see if the number of short sale transactions will decrease significantly going forward. A mortgage forgiveness tax break expired on December 31st. Sellers may find debt forgiven by banks to be classified as income by the IRS.

There were a couple of things that stood out about last month’s numbers. They are both related. Number one on the list is the high monthly median sales price for homes. To be clear, the drastic increase in medians is not a just a reflection of the increase in home values. It is safe to say that there were price increases around the island, but that wasn’t the only factor that drove up the median. Distribution of sales plays just as big if not an even bigger role than price increases when it comes to changing median sales prices. That brings us to the other number that really stood out this month in the stats. The 11 homes sold over $2,000,000 was significant. When 17% of the homes sold in a month are over $2,000,000, that is going to push up your median sales price. As I have said in other recent stats posts on our blog, I think we can attribute a good portion of this high end market activity to a very strong year for the stock market. There were high net worth buyers who cashed in on their stock returns and made discretionary purchases of Maui luxury properties.

January is typically a slower month for sales to be reported. That is because November and at least the first couple of weeks of December typically see fewer properties to go under contract. That isn’t as busy a time of year for year for visitors and local buyers tend to be preoccupied with other holiday activities to be shopping for houses. While January may not bring a ton of sales, this is one of the three to four months of the year that constitute our peak buyer’s season.

Lately, I have heard some buzz on the street and from other Realtors that the market had really picked up as of late. That didn’t quite jive with what I had observed in my own personal real estate experience. It also didn’t quite reflect what I was seeing with pending properties on our MLS. The market feels like it is humming along at a good pace, but it did not feel any stronger than last season. If anything, I suspected that more limited inventory on the low end was reducing the total number of sales. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something.

While we have our fingers in a broad cross section of the Maui market, maybe there was more activity that I overlooked. The January sales volumes above are a lagging indicator. They don’t show the current market activity. To get a gauge of current activity, I wanted to look at the properties that went pending since the start of peak buying season. The table below shows the properties that have gone under contract between December 20th and January 31st and compares it to the same period a year ago.

As you can see from the chart above, buyer activity during the 2013-2014 peak buyer’s season is for all intents and purposes mirroring what we saw the year before. Vacant land is the only property type where the number of properties going into escrow is lagging behind what we saw last year.

For buyers considering entering the Maui Real Estate market, the analysis above looks at the market in broad brush strokes. Sales activity and pricing momentum varies around the island by community and price point. The Maui Real Estate Team would welcome the opportunity to discuss market conditions and available inventory for the types of properties that will meet your needs. Sellers will find that market conditions have continued to improve, but there are still places where higher inventory requires thoughtful pricing. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team today for a free consultation to discuss your property and your real estate needs.

The champagne corks have long been popped and the smoke from New Year’s fireworks have cleared from the island skies. That means another month and another year in the books for the Maui Real Estate market. At the start of the New Year, we want to look back at how the market has performed of late, over the entirety of 2013 and what we might expect in 2014. This is the first of what I hope to be several posts wrapping things up on 2013. The first post will be focused on the last month of the year. My sneak peek at the December stats takes a look at sales activity to close out the year and a few other notable numbers from the last month of the year. Typically, these monthly posts will have an accompanying video commentary. I am going to forsake the video for a briefer written commentary. I will save my radio face for a separate post where I provide video commentary on the year end statistics. Without further ado, here are the December 2013 numbers.

There were 75 homes sold in Maui during December with a median price of $510,000. Last December, there were 84 homes sold at a median price of $508,000. That calculates to an 11% decrease in sales activity with a very modest increase in median price.

There were 116 condo sales reported in December at a median price of $365,000. In December of 2013, there were 142 condos sold at a median price of $376,000. That is an 18% decrease in activity and a 3% lower median than last year.

There were 22 parcels of land reported sold in December of 2013 with a median price of $370,000. There were 29 sales last December with a median price of $340,000. That is a 24% decrease in activity and a 9% increase in median price.

While compiling the numbers above, I came across the following numbers and stats that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest sales price for a single family home was $11,900,000 for a beachfront property on Keawakapu Beach right at the edge of Wailea. This is an older home on 8/10ths of an acre. It will likely be extensively renovated or scraped with a larger estate home built.
• There were two other homes that sold for over $2,000,000 last month. One was located in Olinda and the other was in Kapalua. It was notable that the Kapalua property was purchased via auction.
• The highest priced condo transaction last month was $3,900,000 for a place at Wailea Beach Villas.
• There were 9 other condos that sold for over $1,500,000 at a variety of complexes around Maui County. There were sales at Honua Kai, Ka’anapali Ali’i and Hoolei on Maui. On Lanai, there were sales at the Terraces at Manele and the Palms at Manele.
• There were 10 bank owned (REO) properties that sold last month. There were 20 REO sales last December.
• There were 14 short sale transactions completed successfully last month. There were 21 short sales that closed in December.

The December 2013 sales numbers appear to have been pretty healthy. While sales activity is down from what we saw last December, I don’t necessarily see that as a sign of a weakening market. December of 2012 was well above average for sales and a reflection of a surge in market activity that started in early Fall of 2012. October and November of 2012 had more properties go under contract than any other month of 2012. This was especially noteworthy in that the fall is usually the slowest time of year for transactions. This was the start of a run of heightened buyer activity that continued through the first half of 2013. Increased buyer demand was fueled by low interest rates, improving consumer sentiment and scarce inventory. As we hit the fall of 2013, the market behaved a little more like normal. Sales activity started to slow as we entered the traditional slow season for Maui Real Estate. As we enter peak visitor season, we should start to see a steady rise in the number of properties going under contract. Sales volume is a lagging indicator so we may not see that bump in the stats until February or March.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, this is just the first of what should be a few Maui Real Estate statistics posts to start 2014. Leave us a comment if you have any questions on the December stats. If you are interested in buying or selling a property on Maui, Contact the Maui Real Estate Team to arrange a free consultation to discuss your real estate needs.

April has continued to be a busy month for real estate activity. With many showings on the docket, I realized that I never posted a link to the PDF of the Official March 2013 Maui Real Estate Statistics. When it comes to the main sales numbers, there wasn’t too much of a difference from what I had posted in my Unofficial March 2013 Stats earlier in the month. It appears as if there was one additional home sale reported after I released those numbers. That being said, I always appreciate looking at the inventory data provided in the executive summary. With an inventory crunch playing a big factor in market dynamics, these are important numbers. As of the beginning of April, Home inventories were up slightly. Condo and land inventories both continue to shrink. It appears that we aren’t seeing any immediate relief for the inventory crunch that is affecting the median and lower priced market segments.

The one other thing I appreciate about the official stats is that they provide community level granularity. Being that the end of the March was the end of the first quarter of the year, the stats gives us a chance to see how communities fared in the first quarter of 2013 vs the first quarter of 2012. Here are a few numbers that I thought were noteworthy.

• The Spreckelsville, Kuau and Paia market and Pukalani market saw the biggest increase in sales activity compared to the first quarter of 2012. They experienced 150% and 111% increases in activity respectively.
• Many other home markets around the island saw a decrease in activity due in large part to decreased inventory available for buyers
• Lanai was the one condo market where we saw a clear uptick in activity. This is part of a trend of stronger activity on Lanai since it was announced that Larry Ellison purchased the island in June of 2012.
• The number of communities that saw sizable decreases in condo sales activity was notable. Kihei sales were down 15%, Kaanapali sales were down 19% and Napili/Kahana/Honokowai were down 39%. I would surmise much of this may be related to decreased inventory at lower price points.
• Land was the only property type that saw an improvement over the first quarter of 2012. This is one segment that isn’t quite as constrained by inventory shortages.
• Overall condo and home sales volumes were down 13% and 1% respectively. Again, all anecdotal evidence would point to limited supply as the reason for the decrease in sales activity. Demand remains strong.
• Median prices were up in many communities and property classifications due to a combination of price increases and decreased sales volumes at lower price ranges. The inventory crunch at the low end is boosting medians in more ways than one.

Today is the last day of April, so stay tuned on the Maui Real Estate Blog for our April Stats in the coming week. If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact the Maui Real Estate Team for a free consultation.