Tag: Maluhia at Wailea

It’s the first week of August and that means it is time to take a look at how the Maui Real Estate market performed during the month of July. It was a busy month of sales on island as the numbers below will show. Our sneak peek at the July stats looks at sales volume, median prices, notable sales, and pending sales. We also give a few thoughts on what stood out in the July sales activity, and what we think is going on in the market. Without further ado, here are the July numbers.

July Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Medians
By my count, there were 128 homes sold in July with a median price of $590,000. Last July, there were 99 homes sold with a median price of $568,000. That calculates to a 29% increase in sales volume and roughly a 4% increase in median price.

There were 93 condos sold in Maui last month with a median sales price of $399,000. In July of 2014, there were 83 condos sold at a median price of $375,000. That represents a 12% increase in sales volume and a 6% increase in median price.

There were 13 lots sold in Maui during July with a median sales price of $250,000. There were 9 lots sold last July with a median sales price of $550,000. That is an increase in sales volume of 44% and a decrease in median price of 55%.

Other Notable Numbers from the July Maui Real Estate Sales
While compiling the sales volume and median price, I came across a few more notable numbers that I thought were worth sharing.

• The 128 homes sold in July was the highest total number of homes sold in Maui County during any single month since the downturn.
• The highest priced home that sold last month was a residential condominium located in the Maluhia at Wailea subdivision. This 4 bedroom/4 bath home with 5,121 square feet of living space sold for $6,900,000.
• The Maluhia sale was one of 6 home sales over $2,000,000. The other sales included two more properties in Wailea, two homes in Ka’anapali and a home in Maui Meadows.
• The highest priced condo to sell in July was located in the Wailea Beach Villas. The three bedroom, three bath, direct oceanfront condo sold for $8,500,000.
• It was a relatively quiet month for luxury condo sales with only one other unit sold for more than $1,500,000. That condo was located at Ka’anapali Alii.
• The highest priced land sale was $10,800,000 for a .47 acre lot in the Maluaka Subdivision of the Makena Golf and Beach Club. I believe this is the first Makena Golf and Beach Club sale reported in the MLS.
• There were a total of 19 bank owned or REO transactions that closed in July. That compares to 11 bank owned sales in July of 2014.
• There were 8 short sale transactions that closed successfully in July. There were 7 short sales that closed successfully last July.

Some Quick Thoughts on the July 2015 Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
July was a busy and interesting month for the Maui Real Estate market. There are a few different items from the stats that are worth discussion. The most noteworthy number was the number of home sales in the month. As I mentioned above, this was the busiest month for home sales since the real estate market crashed back in 2008. Not only that, it was the busiest month by a pretty healthy margin. What is driving this increased activity? If I were to guess at a primary driver, I would imagine that it is buyers trying to get into the market before interest rates increase. With rates expected to increase in the fall, we are likely to see heightened activity over the coming months. I imagine we will see a lag in activity once more substantive rate increases occur. There are two reasons why I am expecting this lag. First, buyers who require financing will have less buying power. Second, a boost in sales activity now tends to come at the expense of sales activity later. This happened when there were tax incentives for first time home buyers during the economic stimulus.

The dip in median sales price for land is notable. This shift is not attributable to a decrease in values. Instead it is a reflection of buyers at the lower price points of the market seeking out lower priced land options with the stock of lower priced homes steadily dwindling.

Sticking to land for a moment, the $10,800,000 sale at the Makena Golf and Beach club is worth a second mention. This is the most expensive cost per square foot sale of residential land in Maui history. The Makena Golf and Beach Club is set to become the most high end community on Maui. It will be interesting to watch sales within this new development over the coming years.

Shifting to the condo market, there were a couple of items that I thought were worth a mention. First, this is the second straight month where the 2015 sales exceeded the totals for 2014. Things look promising for that trend to continue based on the pending sales. On the other side of the spectrum, this is the second month in a row where high end condo sales have been down. I am not so sure that this is a trend as much as it is just variability in the market. That said, it will be worth keeping an eye on the luxury condo market over the coming months.

Pending Sales in July
We like to keep track on the number of properties that go pending in a particular month on our blog. Not only were sales strong last month, it was a pretty good month for pending sales.

Pending home, condo and land sales all increased last month compared to July of 2014. Again, I would attribute a good portion of this increased activity to buyer’s trying to take advantage of lower interest rates.

What Does This All Mean for Maui Buyers and Sellers?
Buyers looking at properties at or below the median sales prices for Maui will find that the market remains competitive. Well priced properties in this price range are quick to sell. Buyers shopping in this range should get pre-approved prior to their search if they require financing. When a property comes on that meets their needs, being slow to act could cost you an opportunity. Sellers will find that this is an interesting market. While there is increased sales activity, I am reticent to call this a true seller’s market. There is varying level of activity depending on geography and price points. Overpriced properties are sitting at almost all price points. These variable market conditions only serve to increase the importance of quality representation. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in exploring the Maui Real Estate Market. We would welcome the chance to sit down with you and learn more about your real estate needs.

Usually our blog takes a sneak peak at the Maui Real Estate Statistics. We attempt to be the first outlet to report the numbers while also providing some additional context on what the numbers mean and what we might expect in the market. For reasons you will find out more about below, we have been a little slow to the punch as of late. We were slow getting our stats out last month and the Realtors Association of Maui (RAM) released their November stats earlier this week. That being said, our stats have a few additional numbers that aren’t reported in the RAM stats and we do provide a little more discussion regarding what is happening in the market and what we might expect as we begin our peak buyer’s season. If you are still reading, stick around for numbers and info on the Maui Real Estate market.

There were 75 homes sold on Maui in November with a median sales price of $515,000. For comparison purposes, there were 84 homes sold in November of 2012 with a median sales price of $465,000. That calculates to an 11% drop in sales volume and an 11% increase in median prices when comparing this November to last November.

There were 96 condo sales reported in November of 2013 with a median price of $350,000. Last November, there were 100 sales with a median sales price of $400,000. That means that our November sales activity was down 4% and our median price was 12.5% lower than last year.

The land sales totals for November came in at 23 sales with a median price of $547,371. In November 2012, the numbers were 22 sales with a median price of $455,000. That is a modest 4% increase in sales activity and a 19.4% increase in median price for this November compared to November of last year.

While compiling these numbers, I came across some other numbers that were worth sharing.

• The High Sales price for a single family home last month was $3,600,000 for a beautiful home across the street from Big Beach in Makena
• In addition to the home sold in Makena, there were four other homes sold for over $2,000,000. All of the sales were in either South Maui or West Maui with closes in Ka’anapali, Kihie, Launiupoko and Kapalua.
• The highest condo sales price last month was $11,395,000 for a 4 bed/5 bath villa at the New Andaz Residences. This was of the first two closes of one of the 10 units available at the new Andaz Resort in Wailea. The other sale in Andaz closed for $10,730,250.
• In addition to the Andaz transactions, there were 9 condo sales over $1,500,000 in November. One of the nine sales could arguably be classified as a residential close. Residential condos sold at Maluhia in Wailea have been frequently classified as residential sales.
• Last year, the Hoolei condos in Wailea were a big driver of luxury sales volume. The Hoolei sales volumes have decreased as all but a few of the new developer units have sold. As a result, you are seeing a more diverse list of condominium developments with big dollar sales. This month’s luxury sales included condos at Makena Surf, Wailea Beach Villas, Honua Kai, Ka’anapali Ali’i, Kapalua Ridge and Hoolei.
• The land sales numbers deserve something of an asterisk this month. Of the 23 sales, 7 were commercial lots. Our local Realtor association classifies residential and commercial land sales together. Of the remaining 16 lots, five were new developer offerings at the Peahi Hui Subdivision in Haiku
• There were only 7 bank owned (REO) closes last month compared to 22 bank owned closes last November. REO sales continue to have a limited impact on the market compared to years past.

The November sales were relatively strong this year, but not quite as strong as what we saw during a booming fall in 2012. The market has backed off from its more torrid pace. Fall activity is more in line with what we traditionally see in our market. Lower visitor numbers on island tend to result in fewer sales. We are on the cusp of the peak season for Maui Real Estate as we approach the holidays. The busiest times on Maui are during our peak visitor season from roughly Christmas through mid April. Keep in mind that the sales stats tend to lag a month behind the peak buyer activity. Typical Maui Real Estate transactions take 30-60 days to close. In the video below, I will give a few thoughts on what will shape our market during the peak buyer season and unveil the reason behind our recent lack of blogging activity.

If you are interested in buying or selling property on Maui this winter, we would welcome the chance to sit down with you to listen to your needs. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team today for a free consultation.

A couple of weeks back, I decided to take a more in depth look at how the real estate market performed for the first half of 2011 in a handful of specific Maui communities. I have already posted statistics for the North Shore and Upcountry markets. I had originally intended to post one last blog on how the resort communities performed. That being said, I found the abundance of data to be a little overwhelming for one post. Instead, I will be posting three blogs looking at the communities of Wailea/Makena, Kapalua and Kaanapali respectively. This first post looks at the Wailea/Makena market. It includes information on sales volumes and medians for home, condo and land sales. I also have a further breakdown of condo sales volume by complex as well as some additional information that I came across in the process of sorting through the data. I also offer some thoughts on what the statistics may mean.

There were 10 home sales in the Wailea/Makena area during the first six months of 2011 at a median price of $1,472,500. This compares to 17 sales during the first half of 2010 at a median price of $1,700,000. This translates to a 41% drop in activity when comparing sales volume this year to last year. Median prices dipped 13% from last year.

• Eight of the ten transactions were reported as cash deals.
• There were two short sales and one bank owned deal among the ten sales. During the first half of 2010, there were no short sale or bank owned transactions
• The lowest priced sale was $900,000.
• The high sale for the first six months of 2011 was $5,200,000. By comparison, the first six months of 2010 produced a high sale of $19,850,000.
• There were no sales in Makena during the first six months of 2011. By comparison, there were six sales in the Makena area during the first six months of 2010.

There were 64 condo sales in the Wailea/Makena area during the first 6 months of 2011 at a median sales price of $1,040,000. During the first six months of 2010, there were 65 condo sales at a median price of $975,000. This represents a little less than a 2% decrease in sales volume and approximately a 7% increase in medians when comparing the first half of 2011 to the same time period in 2010.

• The high sales price for the first six months of 2011 was $5,850,000 for a three bedroom condo at Wailea Point. By comparison, the high price for the same period of 2010 was a Maui sales record of $12,500,000 for a condo at Wailea Beach Villas.
• The low sales price was $360,000 for a one bedroom Bank owned listing at Wailea Ekahi.
• There were a total of seven bank owned sales and six short sales. That compares to six bank owned sales and two short sales during the same period of 2010.
• In addition to the 64 condos sold, there was one boat garage sale reported among the Wailea condo statistics. A boat garage at Wailea Point sold for $104,500.

There were 2 land sales reported in Wailea during the first half of 2011 This compares to 5 sales during the first half of 2010. While only two sales were reported, one was a big one. A beachfront lot in the Maluhia development at Wailea sold for $7,300,000. Like much of the rest of the island, land sales in the Wailea/Makena area remain limited.

Looking at the numbers above the dip in home sales sticks out the most. The Wailea market and the Makena market in particular made a big splash in the first half of 2010. There were two sales of over 17 million dollars including a new record sales price for a single family home. There were also 6 sales in Makena including four with sales prices over $5,000,000. We just didn’t see that level of activity during the first half of 2011. The majority of the ultra high end activity was occurring in Kapalua Resort and along West Maui’s Oceanfront.

Does this point to a shift in the preferences of high end buyers? Has the Wailea and Makena area lost its luster? Plain and simple, the answer is no. I am publishing these stats a month after the official midway point for the year. That gives me the advantage of an additional month to observe the market. July has been busy for the Wailea and Makena luxury home market. Shock waves reverberated through the Maui market earlier this month when an unlisted property in Makena sold for $27 million. The 1.6 acre oceanfront estate shattered the previous single family home sales record. There are two homes listed for over $7.5 million that are now under contract at Makena Place. A home listed for $16.5 million went under contract at Keawakapu Beach. There is a second unlisted property along Keawakapu Beach under contract. While its sales price is unknown, the property had been listed in the last year for $23 million. A month of additional market activity has completely changed the tenor of the Wailea and Makena luxury home market. I enjoy compiling the data for these blog posts and they provide a good snap shot of market activity. That being said, there are some dangers when you try to read into the data too much or you call something a trend when dealing with these relatively small sample sizes.

While there were some pretty big swings in home market activity, the condo market was almost a mirror of 2010 in terms of total sales volume. We saw some subtle shifts in the composition of sold properties with an increase in bank owned closes and short sales. The volume of sales at individual complexes also fluctuated. Kanani Wailea and Kai Malu saw the biggest jump in sales volume while Wailea Palms and the Palms Wailea saw the sharpest decrease in volume. I am reticent to read too much into these shifts in market activity. It may just be variability. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see higher sales volumes continue at both Kanani Wailea and Kai Malu. These are both complexes that came to market near the peak. Most condos in these complexes are now valued below their original sales prices. Declines in value combined with speculative purchasing when these properties came to market have resulted in REOs and short sales. I suspect Kai Malu and Kanani Wailea may still have some REO and short sale inventory to work through.

While most of my discussion has focused on volume, it is worth discussing median prices as well. As the numbers show above, we saw condo medians increase while home medians decreased. Whether it is an individual community like Wailea/Makena or Maui in general, I am reticent to use changes in median as an accurate measure of changes in property values. With these smaller sample sizes, shifts in median can be also be attributed to shifts in where market activity is occurring. For example, greater concentrations of high end sales can raise median prices while increased sales activity among lower priced condos can pull medians down. While I lack clear quantitative evidence, I would argue that Wailea and Makena may still be seeing modest drops in value for most properties. That being said, we are also seeing very affluent buyers who are willing to pay an absolute premium for some of the extraordinary properties that are for sale in this resort community. While comparable sales may dictate the market value of some properties, other sales may be more a matter of finding the common ground between what a buyer is willing to pay vs what a seller is willing to accept.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have any questions about these stats or if you need assistance buying or selling Wailea and Makena Real Estate. You can also search the current inventory of Wailea and Makena Homes for Sale and Wailea and Makena Condos for Sale on MauiReal Estate.com.