Tag: Makawao

We are starting off 2023 with volume 22 of our market musings. Early January means that we are in the beginning of what is traditionally our peak real estate season on Maui. This post helps to give a sense of recent market demand and current inventory levels as we enter into what should be the busiest 3-4 months of the year for real estate transactions on island.

December Market Activity

We start things off by taking a look back at December. How many new listings came to market, went under contract and sold? Activity from the five previous Decembers are given for additional context.

	12/22	12/21	12/20	12/19	12/18	12/17
Homes	89	98	115	121	120	140
Condos	76	162	152	143	173	173

New inventory during the month of December was below normal. The number of new listings is anywhere between 25% and 36% lower than what we would anticipate in the pre-Covid Decembers of 2017-2019. This December’s home inventory benefited from an influx of new listings in the Hoku’ula subdivision in Upcountry Maui towards the end of the month. Were it not for those 19 listings, new inventory would be even further below what’s considered normal.

New condo inventory was significantly lower than usual in December. It is anywhere between 47% and 56% below the December new inventory of 2017-2019. Whether it’s the golden handcuffs of low interest rates, the lack of potential replacement properties or just loving their place on Maui, people are holding on to their condos for now.

	12/22	12/21	12/20	12/19	12/18	12/17
Homes	51	69	117	74	75	75
Condos	53	136	139	113	110	108

While new inventory was low, buyer demand also remained low in December. The number of new pending home sales came in at anywhere between 32-33% below what we saw in the three years prior to the start of Covid.

New Pending condo sales came in between 45% and 52% below the activity seen over the years prior to Covid. The slow down in new condo inventory and sales activity is particularly pronounced over the last few months.

	12/22	12/21	12/20	12/19	12/18	12/17
Homes	64	113	106	96	91	89
Condos	67	171	170	125	122	140

The closed transactions in December give us some insight to market demand a little earlier in the fall. Most of these closes came out of contracts agreed to in October and November. Home sales were between 28 and 33% lower than a typical Pre-Covid December. Condo sales in December are between 45 and 53% lower than the three Decembers prior to the start of Covid. Of course, this December’s home and condo sales are way below 2020 and 2021 sales volume.

End of December Maui Inventory

Inventory, or lack thereof, continues to be a significant factor in our market. While new inventory remains low, quieter buyer activity over the last 2-3 months allowed for modest growth in the overall number of properties for sale. That said, we still have a lot less inventory that what was more typical pre-Covid. The charts below provide detail on active and pending listings by price point and community.

End of December Home Inventory

	10/31/2022		11/30/2022		12/31/2022
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
<$750,000	9	15	5	14	6 (+1)	10 (-4)
$750,000-$999,999	29	29	31	25	25 (-6)	28 (+3)
$1,000,000-$1,499,999	64	28	61	28	78 (+17)	20 (-8)
$1,500,000-$1,999,999	41	13	28	17	36 (+8)	11 (-6)
$2,000,000-$2,999,999	35	10	34	11	37 (+3)	12 (-1)
$3,000,000-$4,999,999	32	7	32	7	31 (-1)	9 (+2)
$5,000,000-$9,999,999	26	5	23	9	27 (+4)	8 (-1)
$10,000,000-$19,999,999	9	0	14	0	14	0
$20,000,000+	3	1	5	1	4 (-1)	2 (+1)
Totals	248	108	233	112	258 (+25)	100 (-12)

	10/31/2022		11/30/2022		12/31/2022
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
Haiku	28	9	29	10	29	7 (-3)
Hana	10	0	10	0	10	1 (+1)
Ka’anapali	7	2	9	2	9	3 (+1)
Kahului	16	16	16	13	16	13
Kapalua	6	0	5	3	5	3
Kihei	40	11	31	15	39 (+8)	7 (-8)
Kula	20	11	22	12	21 (-1)	10 (-2)
Lahaina	22	13	15	13	18 (+3)	11 (-2)
Makawao	13	9	11	7	35 (+24)	4 (-3)
Napili/Kahana/Honokowai	11	6	9	3	13 (+2)	3 (-3)
Pukalani	8	3	10	3	7 (-3)	3
Sprecks/Paia	8	2	7	3	9 (+2)	1 (-2)
Wailea	11	4	16	4	13 (-3)	6 (+2)
Wailuku	40	21	32	19	25 (-7)	25 (+6)

Notable Numbers from the End of December Home Inventory

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 and communities with the most activity.

• For the second month in a row, the inventory of active home listings increased on Maui. Active inventory increased 10.7%. A good portion of the bump in inventory can be traced to the 19 new developer listings in the Hoku’ula subdivision.
• Changes in active inventory varied by price point. Five price points increased in inventory, three decreased and one was unchanged. The price range with the biggest increase in inventory was between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000. Again, that was largely due to Hoku’ula. It was notable that the $750,000-$999,999 price range saw the biggest drop in active listings from the month prior. Inventory in that segment increased steadily in the the previous three months. With a higher percentage of financed buyers in this price point, the spike in interest rates earlier in the fall curtailed buyer demand.
• Overall Pending home inventory decreased from the end of November. The number of pending homes dipped 10.71% between November 30th and December 31st.
• By price point, pending sales increased in three price ranges, decreased in five and remained unchanged in three price points. The biggest increase in pending sales occurred in the $750,000-$999,999 range. Perhaps recent decreases in interest rates provided some relief to buyers in that price range. The biggest decrease in pending sales occurred in the $1,000,000-$2,000,000 price range.
• At a community level, inventory trends continued to vary. Inventory increased in 5 communities, decreased in 4 and remained unchanged in 5 districts. The biggest increase by far was in Makawao (the Hoku’ula effect) followed by Kihei. Wailuku inventory decreased the most.
• Pending sales decreased in most communities. Kihei pending sales decreased the most month to month. Wailuku experienced the biggest increase in pending sales.

End of December Maui Condo Inventory

	10/31/2022		11/30/2022		12/31/2022
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
<$250,000	2	4	1	4	2 (+1)	2 (-2)
$250,000-$499,999	19	12	19	14	12 (-7)	16 (+2)
$500,000-$749,999	32	35	43	33	38 (-5)	25 (-8)
$750,000-$999,999	27	27	28	29	42 (+14)	27 (-2)
$1,000,000-$1,499,999	21	30	31	24	32 (+1)	21 (-1)
$1,500,000-$1,999,999	14	33	21	28	26 (+5)	29 (+1)
$2,000,000-$2,999,999	15	40	18	39	18	36 (-3)
$3,000,000-$4,999,999	10	17	11	17	10 (-1)	18 (+1)
$5,000,000-$9,999,999	11	1	12	2	14 (+2)	0 (-2)
$10,000,000+	3	1	3	0	4 (+1)	0
Total	154	200	187	190	198 (+11)	174 (-16)

	10/31/2022		11/30/2022		12/31/2022
	Active	Pending	Active	Pending	Active	Pending
Ka’anapali	18	9	25	4	22 (-3)	9 (+5)
Kahului	5	5	5	5	4 (-1)	3 (-2)
Kapalua	12	4	14	2	12 (-2)	3 (+1)
Kihei	43	60	53	61	61 (+8)	45 (-16)
Lahaina	8	4	14	8	11 (-3)	12 (+4)
Ma’alaea	3	6	4	8	5 (+1)	5 (-3)
Napili/Kahana/Honokowai	33	17	39	19	50 (+11)	16 (-3)
Wailea/Makena	19	85	23	85	27 (+4)	79 (-6)
Wailuku	11	10	8	8	4 (-4)	4 (-4)

Notable Numbers from the End of December Condo Inventory

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 the fall of 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. Overall, 53.44% of the current pending condo inventory is in La’i Loa or Paradise Ridge Estates.

• For the third straight month, end of month inventory of active condo listings grew. It increased 5.88% from the end of November.
• Looking at the inventory by price point, there continues to be a lot of variability. While most price points saw modest changes, the inventory of $250,000-$749,999 condos decreased by a decent margin. The inventory of condos priced between $750,000 and $999,999 increased substantially. There was also a bump in inventory between $1,500,000 and $1,999,999.
• End of the month pending condo sales dropped for the third straight time. Pending sales dropped 8.43%.
• Most price ranges saw a decrease in pending sales by the end of the month. The $500,000-$749,999 price range saw the biggest drop in activity followed by the $2,000,000-$2,999,999 price point.
• At a community level, most locations saw modest changes in inventory. There were exceptions. Kihei and the Napili, Kahana and Honokowai MLS district saw pretty big increases. Ka’anapali and Wailuku both saw notable decreases in inventory.
• Most communities saw a decrease in pending sales by the end of December. Kihei saw the biggest decrease in pending sales. While Wailea’s decrease was smaller, it is notable that the vast majority of the remaining pending sales are longer term contracts at La’i Loa. Only 4 of the 79 pendings in Wailea at the end of the month were condos outside of that development.
• The West Maui communities of Ka’anapali and Lahaina were both notable for their increase in pending condo sales.

How Quickly Are Things Going Under Contract

We started tracking the percentage of properties going under contract in ten days or less all the way back in February. At the time, the market was in a frenzy and 56% of all new listings went under contract within that first ten days of coming to market. We’ve seen things slow considerably since that time. I took a look at properties that came to market between December 13th and December 20th. Of the 35 listings that came to market, 25.71% went under contract within the first ten days. That is actually up from when we last checked in November when only 15.9% of all properties went under contract.

Looking specifically at homes, 20% of the homes listed between December 13 and 20th went under contract within 10 days or less. Last year during the same period, 15.38% of new home listings went under contract in 10 days or less. In 2019, 20% of homes went under contract in 10 days or less.

Of the condos that came to market between December 13th and 20th, 30% went under contract within 10 days. For perspective, 41.51% of all condos listed between December 13-20th, 2021 went under contract in ten days or less. In 2019, 15.22% of condos listed during that same time period went under contract in 10 days or less.

My biggest takeaway from these numbers is that we are well off the frenzy of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Response to new listings is closer to what we had pre-Covid. Back then, quality properties priced well tended to go quickly. That continues to be the case today. Unless there is a lot of push back from the readership or we see a clear shift in market conditions, I am going to retire this metric from future musings posts.

Price Reductions

While market activity remained slow in December, it doesn’t seem to be fazing too many sellers. As of December 31st, only 33.33% of all active listings had one or more price reduction. That is down from 37.02% on November 30th and 39.92 on October 31st. It was all the way up at 42.21% in late September.

The condo market is seeing even fewer price reductions. As of New Year’s eve, only 25.25% of all active condo listings were reduced in price one or more times. That is down slightly from 25.53% on November 30th and 29.41% on October 31st.

I surmise that low inventory and seller hopes for a seasonal increase in buyers has led more seller to stick their guns on pricing.

Quick Thoughts On the Market as We Enter Maui Peak Buying Season

Needless to say, the trajectory of the market isn’t entirely clear at the start of buyer’s season. Inventory is up from last winter, but still well below normal. Demand is lower, but it should potentially increase just due to seasonality. Affordability is down significantly from this time last year, but there is still a lot of cash in our market and rates are better than they were earlier in the fall. Add it all together and it makes prognostication a challenge. About the only thing I feel comfortable predicting is continued variability in conditions by price range and by location around the island. We will continue to provide market observations as buyer season progresses on the blog.

A Little Maui Beauty

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

With the uncertainty in the Maui Real Estate market, quality representation is more important now then ever. Contact the Maui Real Estate Team. Our experienced agents welcome the chance to discuss your real estate needs. We look forward to being of assistance.

Rising gas prices. A more chaotic climate. Improved health and wellness. There are a lot of reasons why driving less has more appeal these days. Maui is a pretty rural place. As a result, it is not exactly an easy place to live car free. That said, there are parts of the island where there are more conveniences and amenities accessible by foot or by bike. We recently created a handful of Walkable community pages on MauiRealEstate.com that highlight areas within a higher concentration of amenities within walking distance. This is a quick overview of those new pages on the site and a few communities that are worth an honorable mention.

Featured Walkable Areas of Maui

• Walkable Paia : For a small town, Paia has a lot going on. It has restaurants, a great grocery store, a Bank of Hawaii Branch, a yoga studio, massage studios, coffee shops, a post office, the beach and more all in and around town. If you live in the neighborhoods to the East and North of town, almost all of this is accessible via your own two feet. As an added bonus, the North Shore bike path runs to the West of town, through Spreckelsville and into Kahului. Paia is the one area of the island where you really could go for longer stretches without driving.
• Walkable Wailuku : Downtown Wailuku is the seat of Maui County Government. It is also home to federal and state agencies, medical facilities, law offices and other professional services. The homes and condos in the downtown area give options to those who work downtown that want to avoid commuting by car. Add in restaurants, the Iao Theater, shops, a library and other amenities and there are plenty of things accessible by foot. While you will still find yourself driving to some amenities, your odometer is less likely to get a workout.
• Walkable Makawao : Upcountry Maui may not be the first place you think of when it comes to walkability. That said, downtown Makawao is another small town with a lot going on. There are restaurants, a public library, Eddie Tam Park, a post office, shops, coffee, yoga and more. There are quite a few neighborhoods within walking distance of these attractions. Again, this is a place where it may be difficult to completely avoid car dependence, but you could get away with driving less when you live close to Makawao.
• Walkable Lahaina : Front Street is a renowned tourist destination. That said, residents living in the neighborhoods close to Front Street are located close to restaurants, shops, grocery stores, the beach, surfing and more. Put on your walking shoes or grab your cruiser bike. This is an area where you can leave your car parked in the driveway more often than not.

Honorable Mention

The Kulamalu area of Pukalani wouldn’t have received a mention 10 years ago. While there was a Long’s Drugs and a Fitness Center, this was a convenient but car dependent community. Then came the Saturday’s Farmer’s Market, followed by Food Trucks. A new brewery and a great pizza place in the last year are two great new additions. The Cottages at Kulamalu and Kulamalu Hilltop are now two neighborhoods where owners now have some great amenities within walking distance.

There are parts of Kihei where you may not need a car as much depending on your lifestyle. Areas of South Kihei and Central Kihei offer restaurants, shops, grocery stores and beaches within walking distance.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are looking for a home that decreases your car dependence. We would welcome the chance to help you find a home or condo that might help change your lifestyle.

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Our office just brought a great new listing to market in Maunaolu Plantation. This 2.44 acre estate property features a home, pool and a separate cottage in a fantastic Upcountry location.

The Main House at 193 Ohaoha

The custom built three bedroom, three and a half bathroom main home features 4,200 square feet under roof. There are a choice of two potential master suites with one on the ground floor and one on the second story. The living room features barreled ceilings and a beautiful stone fireplace. The kitchen includes custom cabinetry, granite counters and Viking and Bosch appliances. There is a media room, office, laundry room and utility storage. Central a/c keeps the home cool on the warmest days. A home security system provides additional peace of mind. A three car garage has plenty of space for all of your beach toys or gardening equipment.

The home has a massive solar photovoltaic system with 74 panels. It also includes a 24 kilowat backup generator.

Outdoor Living at 193 Ohaoha

The pool area is a fantastic entertainment space. The pool has a beach entry, spa and waterfall feature. Propane powered tiki torches decorate the pool area. They help to ensure that the fun continues as day slips into night. Propane also powers a pool side barbecue.

The Ohana at 193 Ohaoha

The home’s two bedroom, two bath cottage offers 1,000 square feet of living space and a six hundred square foot garage. The cottage is completely private from the main house with its own separate gated entrance. Quality features include a presidential roof, large stone tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms and poured concrete counters in the kitchen and the master bathroom.

About Maunaolu Plantation

Maunaolu Plantation is a gated community with two to three acre lots. Ideally situated between Makawao and Paia towns, this area of the island is known as Sunnyside. The climate strikes a good balance between warm days and cool evenings. There is enough rainfall to keep things lush throughout the year, but plenty of sun too. It is less than ten minutes to Ho’okipa Beach Park. There are a number of quality schools located nearby.

Find out More About this Maunaolu Plantation Estate

This property is offered for $2,298,000. This property sold in 2019. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for assistance with other homes. Check our site to see if there are other listings in Maunaolu Plantation.

“The details are not the details. They make the design.”-Charles Eames

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to look at a lot of properties throughout all corners of Maui. I have seen a number of beautiful homes. Some are distinguished for their views, some for their architecture, some for their setting and some for all of the above. 3035 Baldwin Avenue in Makawao is one that fits the all of the above category. That said, today I wanted to hone in on the details of the property. 3035 Baldwin is the type of home where you notice something new each time you visit. The photos below capture some of the details that you might miss on a quick visit.

The stainless steel circles in this railing are ubiquitous throughout the property. You see them at the front gate, you see them used for railings. They are used in the kitchen and bathrooms. The amazing thing is that the owner individually welded all of the circles together. There are over 2,000 on the property.

3035 Baldwin was part of the old Kaluanui Estate. An old cistern next to the main house was converted to a firepit. A great place to watch the sunset as day turns to night in Upcountry Maui and stars begin to blanket the skies.

Circles are a feature seen throughout the design of the house. This portal window reflects a trellis outside the master bedroom. The siding is also noteworthy. Rather than just using linear shakes on the exterior. The shakes are in a wave like pattern.

The circle theme carried over into this blue door down by the garage.

A sculpture outside the main home.

Jalousie or louvre windows are popular in tropical architecture. They can let in breezes while keeping out moisture. This home has oversized jalousies. The owner designed and built the mechanics to open and close these large jalousies. The end result is beautiful, durable and very functional.

The Japanese soaking tub outside the master suite uses as bamboo spigot that is turned on and off by a faucet made from a stack of river rocks.

These are just some of the eye catching design features around the home. Check out the youtube video below to see more details of the property.

This property is offered for $6,900,000. For a big picture view of the property, check out the Maui Haven Website. Qualified buyers may contact The Maui Real Estate Team to arrange an exclusive preview.

There are so many attributes at 3035 Baldwin Avenue from the spectacular views, to the thoughtful design and construction, the privacy, the trails, the agriculture, the additional lot allocations etc. that it is easy to perhaps overlook one of the most outstanding features of all.

The location!

Situated at the epicenter of Maui, it is hard to find a more convenient location for a private estate on Maui.

• • 2 minutes and .5 mile to Montessori of Maui
  • 3 minutes and 1.2 miles to Makawao Elementary School
  • 4 minutes and 1.5 miles to Makawao town
  • 6 minutes and 2.4 miles to Seabury Hall
  • 11 minutes and 5.4 miles to Haiku town
  • 14 minutes and less than 5 miles to Makawao forest Mountain Biking
  • 15 minutes and 6 miles to Paia town
  • 17 minutes to Baldwin Beach Park

• • 17 minutes and 7 miles to Hookipa Beach Park
  • 18 minutes and 10.5 miles to Kahului Airport
  • 36 minutes and 28.7 miles to Keawakapu Beach

• 67 minutes and 29.8 miles to Haleakala Summit
• 75 minutes and 44.1 miles to Honolua Bay
• 110 minutes and 42.2 miles to Travaasa, Hana
• Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Seattle – Approximately 6 hours
• Tokyo – < 12 hours
• New York 14 hours
• Paris – 20 hours

Whether is be cycling, surf, snorkeling, school, sushi, shopping or more…3035 Baldwin Ave. So Close and Yet So Private.

 This property is no longer for sale.  Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for assistance with other properties on Maui.