Tag: The Masters

Post Updated September 29, 2022

It’s time for an excursion to West Maui as we continue our series of posts on market conditions in different communities around the island. The focus of today’s post is Ka’anapali. This resort community experienced a boom in activity during 2021 with rising prices and a high volume of sales. How has the market been in 2022? Find out more below as we look at year to date numbers for 2022 with numbers from 2021 and 2019 provided for comparison. There are also a few thoughts on the outlook for the rest of the year and early 2023.

Ka’anapali Home Market Numbers

• Maui Realtors reported 20 homes sold for the year to date as of September 23. That is 59.2% less than the 49 sales reported over the same period of 2021. It is 11.11% higher than the 18 reported in 2019.
• The median price of homes sold in 2022 is $2,650,000. That is 11% higher than $2,387,000, last year’s median over the same period. It is 77.91% higher than $1,489,500, the median during the same period of 2019.
• The average price of the homes sold in Ka’anapali during 2022 is $2,855,552. That compares to an average of $3,017,891 and $1,994,037 during the same periods of 2021 and 2019 respectively. This year’s average is 5.38% lower than last year and 43.2% higher than 2019.
• 20% of this year’s buyers paid over asking price for their home and 45% paid asking price or above. In 2021, 12.24% of buyers paid over asking price and 28.57% paid asking price or above. In 2019, no buyers paid over asking price and 11.11% paid full price.
• Realtors reported 30% of sales were cash transactions.
• The highest priced transaction this year closed for $5,295,000. The property in the Lanikeha subdivision included a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home with 3,086 square feet of living space and a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 508 square foot cottage on a .485 acre lot.
• The lowest priced sale for the year to date closed for $1,681,050. The bank owned property in Ka’anapali Hillside actually sold via online auction for 46.17% over asking price. The home needed serious repair and renovation.
• The Ka’anapali Hillside subdivision had the most sales activity with 6 closes. Lanikeha and the Summit were the next busiest with 5 transactions each.

Thoughts on the Home Numbers and the Outlook for the Rest of the Year and Early 2023

After a rip roaring 2021 for sales, transaction activity decreased sharply this year in Ka’anapali coming in just above the pre-pandemic levels of activity during 2019. That said, decreased volume is just one part of the story. There was enough demand that 45% of all home sales closed for asking price or above. That’s even more than last year. When compared to 2019 numbers, that 45% is particularly striking. Back before the boom of the last couple years, above asking price offers were exceptionally rare and just over 10% of the buyers paid full price.

Some of the decreased sales volume can be attributed to a scarcity of listings at lower price points and within a couple of higher priced Ka’anapali neighborhoods. There were no transactions or even inventory in the Pinnacle this year, and just two listing and no transactions in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms. At this time, there is no active inventory for less than $3,000,000, with the only 2 listings below that price under contract.

Inventory isn’t as big of an issue as you move up in price range in Ka’anapali. Fifty percent of all the active inventory is priced between $5,000,000 and $7,000,000. Thus far one home sold in that price range with one additional home listed above $5,000,000 under contract.

It is worth comparing the homes that sold for between $5,000,000 and $7,000,000 last year with the current inventory in this price range. Last year’s sales included two large homes on acreage in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms and a 6,575 square foot home in the Pinnacle. While size isn’t everything when it comes to value, this year’s $5,000,000 and up listings tend to be smaller homes on smaller lots than last year’s sales. The active inventory includes four homes in Lanikeha with the largest home coming in at 4,557 square feet and a home in Kaanapali Coffee Farms substantially smaller than both of last year’s highest priced sales in that neighborhood.

It is also worth noting that all of the active listings in this range appear to be spec builds. There are two more spec builds in Lanikeha priced between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000. This volume of spec building is almost unheard of in the Maui Luxury home market. It will be interesting to watch the sellers of these spec builds through the rest of the year, especially if we see additional shifts in the market and or the economy. I surmise that it may take some pencil sharpening for some of those properties to go under contract.

As for overall Ka’anapali luxury home market activity in late 22 early 23, inventory constraints at lower price points will impact sales volume. Any additional sales beyond the current pendings will mostly come via new inventory or price adjustments. Rising borrower costs may also curtail activity. While there is a fair amount of cash in the market, rate increases will impact affordability for some buyers. Negative economic news and declines in the equity markets could also cause some buyers to put second home purchases on hold.

Ka’anapali Condo Market Numbers

• As of September 23rd, Maui Realtors reported 123 condos sold in Ka’anapali for the year to date. That is 37% fewer than the 194 that closed over the same period of 2021. It is 14.95% more than the 107 that sold during the same period of 2019.
• The Median price of the condos sold for the year to date is $1,450,000. This is 52.63% higher than the median of $950,000 from last year over this same span. It is 63.66% higher than the median for the same period of 2019.
• The average price of the condos sold for the year to date is $1,724,465. That is a 31.67% increase over last year’s average through September 23rd. It is 54.15% above the 2019 average during the same time span.
• 23.58% of all of the condos sold thus far this year sold for over asking price, and 47.15% sold for asking price or above. That’s well above last year’s numbers of 8.76% over asking and 44.33% for asking price or above. Just to give some context as to what is was like pre-Covid, in 2019 only 2.8% of sales sold for over asking and 16.82% sold for asking price or above.
• Maui Realtors reported that 51.21% of all sales were cash transactions. That’s up a little over the 50% reported last year. Cash purchases were actually higher at 59.81% in 2019.
• The lowest priced condo to sell in Ka’anapali is a leasehold studio unit in Ka’anapali Shores that closed for $325,000.
• The highest priced condo to sell closed for $5,899,000. The 3 bedroom, 3 bath unit in the Konea Tower at Honua Kai has 2,280 square feet of living space.
• Honua Kai is the busiest condo development thus far this year with 37 closed transactions. Ka’anapali Shoes is second busiest with 20 sales for the year to date. The Masters had the third most inventory with 15 sales.

Ka’anapali Year to Date Review and Late 2022 Early 2023 Market Outlook

While the Ka’anapali Condo market for the year to date did not see a repeat a the astounding sales volume of 2021, it remained a busy market well above the levels seen in 2019. If anything, constrained inventory and continued demand made for a more competitive market than last year with more properties closing for over asking price. The market conditions meant continued upward pressure on prices.

As it stands, the vacation rental and second home condo market continues to be resilient as some other types of property on island start to feel a market shift. As of the 26th of September, there are only 17 active condo listings on the market in all of Ka’anapali. Limited inventory improves the position of sellers and continues to exert at least some upward pressure on pricing. It will be interesting to see how the limited supply balances out against demand. Again, the cash in this market makes it a little less interest rate sensitive, but there is still some impact. As of right now, a 30 year fixed on a vacation rental condo is being quoted as high as 8.5%. Needless to say, a lot of borrowers are opting for ARM products. Even those are a lot more expensive.

The chart above shows pending condo sales by month in Ka’anapali over the last five years. A few things worth noting when looking at the chart. The first things is that 2021 and 2020 are anomalies with 2019 and 2018 more normal markets. If you are wondering about the April 2018 spike in pending sales, the market got a boost from a new development, Honua Kai Luana Gardens Villas. It’s also worth noting that while 2022 pending sales started stronger than 2019 and 2018, monthly pendings for 2022 are running behind both 2019 and 2018 since May. The last thing is that while there is a little more activity in the first half of most years, the second half of the year sees steady activity. I would suspect that we will see “below normal” market activity through the rest of the year.

Based on inventory and seasonality, I would anticipate relatively limited sales volume to close out the year. With the amount of inventory available, the economy in flux and borrowing costs the highest since 2002, it looks like a quieter start to 2023 could be in order. We shall see what happens going forward.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions about this post or if you need assistance buying or selling property in the Ka’anapali area. You can find all of the current active Ka’anapali Homes for Sale, Ka’anapali Condos for Sale and Ka’anapali Land for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com.

Earlier this month, we took a look at Maui’s Luxury Home Market. Today, I wanted to turn my sights towards the high end condominium market. This post will include totals on all of the condos sold for the year to date (as of September 20), notable numbers from this year’s sales, and market conditions specific to the three resort areas of Wailea/Makena, Ka’anapali and Kapalua.

When we have discussed luxury condos on our blog, we have used the $1,500,000 and above price point as the threshold for pricing. When we first started to look at the luxury condo market, that was something of a starting point for some of the really high end condos. To be clear, there are some very nice condos below this price point. That said, we want to be consistent with our methodology. So all properties discussed in this particular blog sold for $1,500,000 or more.

Maui Luxury Condo Sales Volume and Median Price
There were 69 condos sold thus far this year as of September 23, 2015. The median price for those sales was $2,250,000. Between January 1, 2014 and September 23, 2014, there were 63 sales at a median price of $2,575,000. That is roughly a 10% increase in volume and a 13% decrease in median price.

Notable Luxury Condo Sales Numbers for the Year to Date.
Here are some of the most noteworthy numbers from the luxury condo sales this year.

• The highest priced condo to sell thus far this year closed for $8,500,000. This is a three bedroom, three and a half bath, beachfront unit with 2,919 square feet of living space at Wailea Beach Villas.
• Including the sale at Wailea Beach Villas, there were a total of 12 condos sold over $4,000,000.
• Honua Kai saw the most sales activity of any condo complex on the island. There were a total of 20 sales at Honua Kai over $1,500,000 including 11 new developer sales.
• The Wailea and Makena Market saw the most sales activity over $1,500,000 with a total of 28 sales. Kaanapali saw the second most activity and Kapalua was third.
• In addition to the sales activity in the major resort markets, there was one sale in Lahaina, one in Kihei, one in Spreckelsville and two on Lanai.
• There were no bank owned condos or short sale transactions among this year’s sales

Wailea and Makena Condos
Wailea and Makena have had a good year for sales to date. The 28 sales reported exceeded last year’s total of 20. That is a 40% increase in activity. Much of that increase in activity occurred in Makena. While there was only one sale in Makena during the same period last year, this year there were 6 sales. Five of the six Makena sales were at Makena Surf. The remaining sale was at Na Hale O Makena. This was a particularly busy year for Makena Surf with the five sales reported thus far more than any year since 2004.

The Wailea sales over $1,500,000 were spread out among a variety of complexes. There were 7 sales at Hoolei, 1 at Andaz, 2 at Kai Malu, 1 at Papali, 1 at Wailea Ekahi, 3 at Wailea Elua, 3 at Wailea Beach Villas and 3 at Wailea Point. Hoolei continues to lead the way in high end sales in Wailea. The size of the condos combined with their price point and the potential to access amenities at the Grand Wailea continues to be an attractive option to buyers. While Wailea Beach Villas did not have the same sales volume, it was noteworthy for the fact that it had the top two highest priced condo sales on the island thus far this year.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the Wailea and Makena market for the rest of the year and into 2016. There is still a good selection of variety to choose from on the MLS. There is plenty of active inventory on the MLS with 40 condos on the market. There are unlisted properties available at Andaz and the new Keala O Wailea development. There is also a chance that we might see pre-construction sales at Makali’i at Wailea before the end of the year. You can see all of the current Wailea and Makena Condos listed on the MLS on MauiRealEstate.com. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions on any of the unlisted properties.

Kaanapali Condos
The Ka’anapali Condo market has also had a fairly strong year with 26 sales reported to date. That is down 7% from the 28 units sold during the same period last year. The Ka’anapali market has been buoyed over the last several years by activity at the Honua Kai Resort. Honua Kai has been a big draw as the first fee simple whole ownership new development along this stretch of coast for over 20 years. Of the 26 condos sold in Ka’anapali for $1,500,000 or more, 20 were at Honua Kai. Ka’anapali Ali’i has had 5 sales thus far this year. There was also one sale at the Masters.

The Ka’anapali luxury condo market is starting to see shrinking inventory with only 20 active listings over $1,500,000. A big part of that stems from Honua Kai. The developer is getting close to selling out their remaining units. There are only 3 new developer listings left on the MLS. I believe there are still a handful of additional new developer units in addition to those posted on the MLS. There are only three units active at Ka’anapali Ali’i with the remaining listings located at Ka’anapali Shores and the Whaler. It will be interesting to see if the dwindling inventory at Honua Kai will have an impact on places like the Whaler and Ka’anapali Shores. Buyers have shown a preference for the newer Honua Kai Condos leading to depressed sales at the other places. Will some of the older condos nearby start to see an uptick in activity? You can see the full inventory of Kaanapali Condos listed on the MLS via MauiRealEstate.com.

Kapalua Condos
The Kapalua Market has seen pretty similar activity levels to what we saw last year. There have been 10 sales reported in the year to date this year. There were 9 sales reported over the same period last year. The focal point for luxury condo sales in Kapalua has been the Montage Residences on Kapalua Bay. Montage came on the market last June. This property was formerly the Ritz Carlton Residences. The Ritz Residences went into foreclosure and the property was purchased by Lantern Capital. Lantern appointed Montage to manage and revamp the property. Montage has seen steady sales since it has come on the market despite pricing that starts in the mid three million dollar range. There have been 8 sales reported at Montage thus far this year.

The other notable sale was at Ritz Carlton Residences. To be clear, this is a different animal from the Ritz Residences Kapalua Bay that was previously foreclosed upon. These condos are part of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Ritz condos had been on the market closer to the downturn and weren’t getting as much traction. They are back under the market with a new sales team. It will be interesting to see how these condos are received by the market going forward. From what I have heard, they are getting a pretty good response.

While the two new developments have been relatively well received, some of the older complexes have seen slower activity. High end Kapalua condos like Coconut Grove and the Ironwoods are traditionally condos that see limited inventory and limited sales volume. There was one sale in the Ironwoods this year. Kapalua Bay Villas is a condo that seems to be getting poor market feedback by luxury buyers. There have been 4 sales over $1,500,000 at Bay Villas since 2009. There are currently 7 active listings in the complex with none pending. It appears as if sellers in this complex may need to adjust pricing if they are going to generate interest from buyers.

For the rest of the year, I would anticipate that we will continue to see activity at Montage and the Ritz. Buyers in Kapalua have a good selection of inventory to choose from. You can see the full inventory of Kapalua Condos on the MLS on MauiRealEstate.com. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team directly if you would like us to assist you with buyer representation at either the Montage or the Ritz. There is more inventory available at both of those condos than what is showing on the MLS.

Other Condo Sales Around the Island
In addition to the activity at the resort communities, there have been a handful of sales from other communities around the island. There was one sale in Spreckelsville at Sugar Cove, one in Lahaina at Puamana and one at the Royal Mauian in Kihei. There were also two sales over on Lanai including one at the Terraces at Manele and the other was at the Palms at Manele. The two Lanai purchases were both Larry Ellison buys as he continues to expand his holdings on the island. We tend to see limited activity on higher priced condos outside the main resort areas not so much due to lack of demand as it is a lack of inventory. There are only a handful of condos outside the resorts that can sustain prices of $1,500,000 or greater and they tend not to have a ton of inventory.

Overall Thoughts on the Maui Luxury Condo Market
Buyers still have a great collection of condos to choose from around the island. There are both new development opportunities and condo resales in more established condominiums. While the depth of the inventory may provide options, sellers in this price range tend to have more staying power. The challenge is finding potentially motivated sellers who might want or need to redeploy their money elsewhere.

I would expect that the luxury condo market will continue to be perform at or near the levels we have seen for the year to date. While interest rate increases have been postponed, this isn’t a part of the market that is as interest rate sensitive. The bulk of the buyers are using cash or private banking. The biggest potential impacts to the market come from the greater global economy. Poor performance in the stock market is a potential threat. There seems to be something of a correlation between the DOW and high end sales on the island. We have not seen any significant influxes of buyers from China like some cities in the Western U.S. and Canada. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in buying or selling a luxury condo on Maui. We would welcome the chance to sit down with you for a free consultation and to discuss your interests and needs.

The beginning of April means our peak visitor season is wrapping up. It is also time to bid farewell to the bulk of the Humpback Whales that winter in the waters off our coastline. The end of another month also means another opportunity to take a look at how the Maui Real Estate market is performing. This sneak peek at the March Maui Real Estate Statistics includes information on sales volume, median pricing, pending sales, notable numbers and a few thoughts on the stats and the state of the market for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the March numbers.

March Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

By my count, there were 83 homes sold in March 2015 at a median price of $625,000. There were 70 homes sold in March of 2014 with a median price of $590,500. That calculates to a 19% increase in sales volume and a 5% increase in median price.

I counted 122 condos sold in March 2015 at a median price of $442,500. By comparison, there were 127 sold with a median price of $420,000 in March of last year. That is a 4% decrease in volume and a 5% increase in median price.

I counted 14 lots sold in Maui county during March with a median sales price of $528,500. That is the exact same number of sales as March 2014 when there were 14 land transactions with a median price of $507,500. That calculates to a 4% increase in median when comparing this March to last March.

Other Notable March Maui Real Estate Sales Numbers
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across a few other numbers that were worth sharing from the March Maui Real Estate sales activity.

• The highest priced home sale on Maui in March was $14,500,000 for a beachfront home in Kihei. The 5,682 square foot home is located on a half acre lot directly on Keawakapu Beach.
• This was one of five home sales over $2,000,000 for the month. In addition to the Keawakapu home, there were sales in Kapalua, Spreckelsville, Olinda and one additional sale in Kihei.
• The highest priced condo transaction last month was a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath unit at Montage Kapalua Bay which sold for $3,995,000.
• It was a busy month of sales for luxury condos on Maui with 13 closes over $1,500,000. There was one additional close at Montage, 4 sales at Honua Kai, 2 at Ka’anapali Ali’i, 2 at Wailea Point, a Wailea Elua, a Na Hale O Makena and a Masters.
• The highest priced land sale last month was $1,250,000 for a 5.12 acre lot in Launiupoko.
• There were 12 bank owned sales that closed in March as compared to 4 bank owned sales last March. There were 4 short sales that closed in March compared to 12 successful short sales last March.

Some Quick Thoughts on the March Stats
March saw a resurgence in home sales activity with sales outpacing both last month and the same period last year. The strength of the market varies by price range with homes below and close to the median sales price seeing the greatest amount of demand and activity. While Luxury home sales improved last month, we are still behind the pace of sales for 2014. This is an interesting market segment as there is a lot of inventory providing abundant selection for buyers. That said, it isn’t a true buyer’s market in the sense that there aren’t a lot of really motivated sellers. The majority of home owners in the higher price ranges tend to have additional staying power that thus far has enabled them to hold out for higher prices.

Condo sales activity dipped below the levels that we saw during March of 2014. Overall sales volume is being impacted by a soft middle of the market specifically in the vacation rental condo market. I would surmise that some of the dip stems from a lack of activity among Canadian buyers. The weakened Canadian Currency has put a good number of potential Canadian buyers on the sidelines. You could also argue that some of the decreased activity in the middle of the condo market may be due to inflated asking prices. With demand down, it is surprising to see how many condos are priced well above recent comparable sales. That said, this is another area of the market where seller motivation appears to be lacking. There are quite a few sellers with enough means and sufficient rental revenue to enable them to hold out for higher pricing. The lower price points of the market continue to see pretty healthy demand. The high end of the market condo market was particularly strong last month with 15 sales over $1,500,000. There is a good selection of high end condos on the market and buyers appear to be taking advantage of the quality available.

The land market continues to chug along at about the same clip as what we were seeing in 2014. Limited financing options and a lack of inventory at lower price points have been the biggest constraints to increased sales activity.

March Maui Pending Sales
Sales are always a lagging indicator of current demand. With that in mind, we started tracking pending sales in our monthly statistics posts. Here is a comparison on what we were seeing going under contract in March of 2015 compared to March of 2014.

It appears as if March was a pretty strong month for buyer demand for all but land, as both home and condo pendings outpaced what we saw in March of 2014. It is good to see the last full month of buyer’s season end on a good note. It will be interesting to see if the market sustains itself as we transition out of peak buyer’s season later in April.

What Does it Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
Maui market conditions have not seen any significant changes throughout our peak winter sales season. Buyers will find that market conditions vary pretty widely based on price point and geography. The greatest competition among buyers is occurring at or below the median sales price for each community. That said, buyers shopping at higher price points may find that well priced properties can go quickly at almost any price point. It all depends in part on demand within the specific community. As a result, buyers should prepare themselves so they can act quickly when the right opportunity comes along. We strongly advise buyers who will need financing assistance to get pre-approved prior to their search. Prospective Sellers should consult with a Realtor to better understand market conditions specific to their neighborhood and community. While some parts of the market are strong, other parts still have a glut of inventory. Sellers who want to sell quickly should take a strong look at depth of inventory and recent sales prices when developing their go to market pricing. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions about buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to learn more about your real estate needs.