Needless to say, this month’s stats post isn’t a sneak peek. We are over halfway through the month and just getting around to our May stats. Sometimes blogging has to take a back seat to other parts of the business. The good news is that I have been having a tough time carving out time to blog due to obligations with buyers and sellers. Enough about me and on to the stats. This post includes information on sales volume, median prices, notable sales and pending sales. I also give a few thoughts on what it all means for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the May 2015 Maui Real Estate Statistics.

May Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 88 home sales reported in Maui County last month with a median price of $607,097. Last May, there were 86 sales reported with a median price of $537,500. That is roughly a 2% increase in sales volume and a 13% increase in median price when comparing this May to last May.

There were 108 condos reported to have been sold in May of 2015 with a median sales price of $469,500. In May of 2014, there were 117 sales reported with a median sales price of $472,000. That calculates to an 8% decrease in sales volume and just under a 1% decrease in median price.

There were 12 land transaction reported by Realtors in Maui County during the month of May with a median sales price of $563,750. By comparison, there 20 sold last may with a median price of $575,000. Those numbers calculate to a 40% drop in sales activity and a 2% drop in median price.

Other Notable Numbers from The May Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across some more notable numbers that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home sale last month was $5,695,000 for a 26.8 acre property in Haiku on Maui’s North Shore. The Haiku Farms property included 7 dwellings and 6 county water meters.
• The Haiku Farms Sale was one of 6 home sales on island over $2,000,000 in May. The other sales included 3 Kapalua homes, a home in Hana and a home in Wailea.
• The highest price condo transaction in May was for a unit at Wailea Point. The three bedroom, four bathroom oceanfront condo sold for $5,000,000.
• The Wailea Point Sales was one of twelve total condo transactions over $1,500,000. The other big sales included 6 at Honua Kai, 2 at Kai Malu, a Montage Kapalua, a Puamana and a Papali Wailea.
• The highest priced land sale in May was $1,425,000 for a 10.2 oceanfront acres in Haiku.
• There were 12 bank owned or REO sales last month. By comparison, there were 8 REO sales last May.
• There were only 3 successful short sales completed last month. There were 10 short sales last month. Short sales continue to decrease as appreciation continues.

Some Quick Thoughts on the Maui May Real Estate Sales Numbers
The May Maui Sales numbers stuck pretty close to the script for what we have seen thus far in 2015. Home sales were slightly above last year’s numbers. That is now four months out of five where sales have outperformed the same month from the previous year. Condo and land sales were both down. That makes four out of five months that condo sales have been below the same month the year prior. Land sales have been down three out of five months compared to the same month from the year before.

We typically, don’t spend a whole lot of time discussing change in median prices on the blog. It’s a bit of frustrating subject. All too often, I see discussions of the Maui Real Estate statistics where changes in median are depicted as a reflection of changes in property values. While appreciation can play a part, the biggest shifts in median are driven by the change in composition of sales. I thought this was worth bringing up as home medians pushed above $600,000 for the second time this year. We are seeing modest appreciation, but we are also seeing more activity at higher price points and fewer properties available in the lower price ranges.

Pending Sales in May
The majority of real estate transactions on Maui take 30-60 days to close. With a few exceptions, the sales in May were based on contracts penned in March and April. With that in mind, we wanted to look at buyer demand in May. The following offers a comparison of Pending Sales in May of 2015 and May of 2014.

May 2014 and May 2015 were very close to each other in terms of pending sales activity. There was one more home, four fewer condos and three more parcels of land that went pending. This would suggest that we shouldn’t see too big of a difference in between the June 2015 and June 2014 sales.

What Does This All Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
Market conditions remain unchanged on Maui. Buyers interested in the market will find varying market conditions depending upon geography and price point. Homes priced at or below the market medium tend to be scarce and have the highest demand. Well priced, clean properties below the median sales price can attract multiple offers and over asking bids. As you move up in price, demand will tend to go down, but well priced properties can still sell quickly. Before sellers begin to pop the champagne corks, this isn’t an out and out frenzied sellers market. Over priced properties are tending to sit and not all areas of the island are seeing the same levels of demand. Sellers will need to take into account market conditions specific to their town and neighborhood when developing go to market pricing. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering entering the Maui Real Estate Market. We would be happy to sit down with you to listen to your needs and give you an update on market conditions specific to your interests.

September on Maui marks the start of the quiet season for visitors. The beaches and restaurants are a little quieter. Most years the real estate market slows as well. September also brings the first Northwest Swells of the season much to the delight of island wave riders. The air also starts to get a little cooler at night. I live Upcountry and I have found myself reaching for a sweater at night over the last week. The start of September also means it is time to look at the August Maui Real Estate Statistics. As usual, this post features a comparison of the number of sales and median prices verses what we saw in August a year ago. I also highlight some of the interesting notes and numbers that I came across while compiling the stats. I give my thoughts on the state of the market and what it means for buyers and sellers. This post also gives some insight into what we might expect to see in terms of sales in the coming months by looking at the pending sales for August. Without further ado, here are the numbers for August.

August 2014 Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 68 homes sold in Maui County during August with a median sales price of $567,500. Last August, there were 81 homes sold with a median price of $585,000. That is a 16% drop in volume and a 3% drop in median when comparing this August to last August.

During August, there were a total of 94 condo sales reported by Realtors in Maui County with a median price $410,000. The August 2013 condo sales figures were 113 transactions closed with a median price of $420,000. That is a 17% drop in volume and a 2% drop in median comparing this August to last August.

The August 2014 land transactions in Maui County totaled 14 with a median price of $395,000. Last August, there were 25 sales with a median price of $350,000. That is a 44% drop in volume and a 13% increase in median price comparing this August to last August.

Other Interesting Notes and Numbers from the August Maui Real Estate Stats

While compiling these numbers, I found a few other numbers that I thought were worth passing along.

• The highest priced home sale last month was $2,500,000 for a 5,222 square foot home on 2.58 acres in the Launiupoko subdivision in Lahaina.
• It was a quiet month for luxury home sales with only one other transaction recorded above $2,000,000. That home was located in Ka’anapali Hillside.
• Believe it or not, the lowest priced home sale in Maui County for month and this year for that matter was $1. The leasehold home in Molokai was bank owned. Its lease is set to expire in December when the property will revert back to the lessor who owns the underlying land.
• While luxury home sales were relatively slow, luxury condo sales were strong in August. The high sale for the month was $8,250,000 for a four bedroom condo at Montage in Kapalua. That is the highest ever sales price for a condo in West Maui.
• That was one of eight condo sales last month priced over $1,500,000. There were three additional big sales at Montage including closes of $7,750,000 and $7,500,000. There is a buzz about Montage and we recently looked at the resort’s impact on the market in our Kapalua Real Estate Update. There were also two sales at Papali in Wailea, one sale at Wailea Elua and one at Honua Kai.
• There were only 8 bank owned sales this year compared to 14 sold last year. This isn’t necessarily due to a lack of inventory. June and July saw more bank owned inventory hit the market than what we had seen at any time in the last 24 months. However, the banks have different pricing strategies at this stage of the market. Many of the bank owned listings are being priced above market values.
• There were six successful short sales completed last month compared to 14 completed in August of 2013.
• While land sales were relatively quiet, there were 2 transactions that closed for over $2,000,000 in Kapalua.

Thoughts on the August Stats

This was not exactly a robust month for sales on Maui. This is the fifth straight month where condo sales have been lower than same month in 2013. Home sales have been a little stronger than condos, but we have still seen fewer sales overall compared to last year. Land sales are also down compared to last year after two straight months of lower sales. Inventory or lack thereof is clearly playing a part in the reduced activity. Prices are higher and the selection at the entry levels of the market is limited. That is leaving some buyers on the sideline. A reduction in the percentage of cash purchases on Maui suggests that we may be seeing fewer institutional and professional investors buying properties as well.

There are also some sellers who have overshot the market. They are pricing well above what the market is willing to pay. That may also be reducing the volume of sales. Prices in some parts of Maui have surged from market lows at high rates of appreciation. Limited inventory and pent up demand helped bring prices up rapidly. However, the initial rates of appreciation weren’t sustainable over the long haul. The memories of the last real estate bubble are a little too fresh in the minds of some buyers. This phenomenon is apparent in the Kihei entry level condo market. Places like Kihei Villages and Southpointe were selling in the low $100,000s at the bottom of the market with a handful of units in particularly poor shape closing below $100,000. We started to see sales prices as high as the low to mid $200,000s by the second half of 2013. Prices have since held in that range with little or no upward appreciation. Inventory has increased and days on market has gone up significantly. We are seeing this in other parts of the market as well. Kapalua Golf Villas is a nice vacation rental friendly property in the Kapalua Resort. It saw prices bottom out in 2012 when a large assessment was required to address a big maintenance project. Prices began to rise again rapidly in 2013 with the median price rising from $480,000 to $650,000. The median for this year’s sales has pushed all the way into the $700s. Each significant increase in median has been accompanied by a decrease in sales volume.

Are there any other factors at play with the decrease in sales volumes? That is tough to say at this point. The broader economic picture appears to be good at this time. National sales of existing homes continue to increase as of the last National Association of Realtors report in July. However, California saw a decrease in the number of properties sold compared to the same period last year. That is a continuation of a trend for that state. California is far and away the biggest feeder state for Maui Real Estate buyers. Maui tends to follow the same trends as the California market albeit a few months behind.

August Pending Sales

In addition to tracking closed sales. We also like to keep tabs on the number of properties that went under contract during any one month. This gives us some sense of what the stats might look like in the next couple of months.

After seeing an uptick in land and condo pending sales in July, the pending sales are down again. It appears as if the continued trend of lower sales activity will continue in the September and October sales numbers for Maui.

What Buyers and Sellers can expect under Current Market Conditions

While the market has slowed in terms of sales volume, buyers will find that well priced properties remain competitive. This is particularly true with lower priced homes. Buyers looking in this market should be pre-approved by a qualified mortgage professional as they are starting their home search. When the right property comes on the market that meets their needs, buyers will need to be decisive and act quickly to improve their odds of a successful offer. Sellers can see some of the cautionary tales reflected in the paragraphs above. Buyers are balking at overpriced properties and rates of appreciation appear to be slowing. That makes determining your go to market pricing that much more important. Both buyers and sellers should also be aware that market dynamics vary throughout the island depending on price points and neighborhoods. If you are a buyer or seller interested in Maui Property, we would welcome the chance to sit down with you for a free consultation. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team today to discuss your real estate needs.

Fall is just around the corner in Maui. We are starting to go into the slow season for tourism on the island. Surfers are eagerly anticipating the return of winter waves. There was even an extremely early whale sighting off of Kona on the Big Island last week. The end of August also means that it is time to chime in with our monthly unofficial Maui Real Estate statistics. It has been a busy start to September for the Maui Real Estate Team with a number of new listings in the works. That means I am a little late to the presses with these stats. It also means my commentary will be abbreviated this month. Without further ado, here are the numbers that I came up with while sorting through the Maui MLS database.

There were 74 homes sold in Maui last month with a median sales price of $521,000. Last August, there were a total of 81 sales at a median price of $410,000. That is a 9% reduction in sales volume and a 27% increase in median prices.

There were 97 condos sold on Maui in August 2012 with a median sales price of $344,900. In August 2011, the numbers were 86 condos sold at a median price of $266,000. That calculates to a 13% increase in activity and a 30% increase in medians.

There were 13 land sales last month with a median price of $350,000. Last year, there were 11 sales with a median price $180,000.

Here were a few other notes from the monthly sales numbers.

• There were fifty-five REO closes and Short sale transactions this month. Forty-one percent of all the home sales were REOs or Short sales. Twenty-six percent of all of the condo sales were REOs or short sales. While still a substantial part of the transaction volume, they are below the fifty-two percent and thirty-five percent of last August’s home and condominium transactions.
• It is also notable that short sales constituted the majority of these sales. Last year, REO activity was higher than short sales. While this has been fluctuating over the last few months, it appears as if the banks are trying to do more to complete successful short sales. Our brokerage has experienced faster decision cycles in a few of the short sales we have been involved with lately.
• The highest priced home sale last month was $5,999,999 for a beautiful oceanfront estate on Halama Street in Kihei. The highest sales price for a condos was $3,150,000 for a three bedroom condo at Papali Wailea.
• Luxury activity was down compared to last year. There were only two homes sold over $2,000,000 and two condos sold over $1,500,000. Last August, there were four homes sold over $2,000,000 and four condo sales over $1,500,000.

There was nothing else too ground breaking to report from this month’s statistics. I think it is worth mentioning that one shouldn’t read too much into the sharp increase in median prices across the board. As is often the case on Maui, changes in medians are driven more by shifts in where sales activity is occurring than changes in value. There were a lot of foreclosure sales at the low end of the market in August 2011. That increased low end activity depressed median sales prices. This August, the lower foreclosure activity and overall lower inventory of entry-level priced properties means less activity at the low end, and a higher median sales price as a result.

What does this all of this mean for prospective Maui Real Estate Buyers and Sellers? Our advice remains the same. Buyers will find opportunities in this market, but for many market segments the best opportunities require vigilance and quick action. Parts of the Maui market are experiencing scarce inventory. Well priced properties in those segments are going under contract shortly after hitting the market. Buyers that require financing should be pre-approved before they start their search so they can determine their accurate budget and be able to submit a pre-approval letter with their offer. Sellers will have to adjust their strategy by motivation and market segment. Motivated sellers need to price close to comparable sales to generate market activity. While some market segments lack inventory, other segments still have an abundance of properties for sale. In those market segments, motivated sellers will need to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market. This is a challenging market for buyers and sellers of Maui Real Estate to navigate. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team to discuss how we may be assistance if you are considering buying or selling Maui property.