February is smack dab in the middle of our whale season and our visitor season on Maui. Lots of visitors on island also typically means a fair amount of real estate activity. This is our look at how the Maui Real Estate Market performed in February of 2015. Included among the numbers below are sales volumes by property types, median sales prices, notable sales and pending sales. We also give a few thoughts on the stats and what it all means for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

February Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Medians

By my count, there were 59 homes sold on Maui in February with a median price of $567,250. That is the same exact number of homes sold as last February. The February 2014 median was $550,000. That is a 3% increase in median prices comparing this February to the same month last year.

There were 92 condos sold last month with a median price of $477,500. In February of 2014, there were 88 condos sold at a median price of $345,000. That is just under a 5% increase in sales activity and a 38% increase in median price.

There were 14 lots sold in Maui County during February with a median sales price $490,000. Last February, the total was 12 lots sold at a median price of $447,500. That is roughly a 17% increase in activity and a 9% increase in median price.

Notable Numbers from the February Maui Real Estate Sales
While compiling the sales volumes and median prices, I came across some other notable numbers from the February Maui Real Estate activity that I believe are worth sharing.

• The highest priced home to sell in Maui last month was located in the Ka’anapali Coffee Farms subdivision. The four bedroom, four bath home has 3,599 square feet of living space and a pool on 5.58 acres.
• That was one of three home sales over $2,000,000 that closed in February. The other two homes that closed were also located in Ka’anapali with one home closing in the Summit and another in Ka’anapali Golf Estates.
• The highest priced condo sale last month was a 3 bed, 3.5 bath condo at the Montage Residences on Kapalua Bay.
• That was one of ten condos sold for more than $1,500,000 last month. The other big sales included 3 closes at Honua Kai, 2 at Wailea Elua and one each at Makena Surf, Andaz and The Terraces at Manele Bay on Lanai.
• The highest priced land sale last month was $1,430,000 for a homesite in Makena Papa’anui.
• There were 13 bank owned transactions that closed last month in Maui County. There were 8 banked owned sales last February.
• There were 3 short sales that closed last month compared to the 8 short sales that closed in February of 2014.

Quick Thoughts on the February Stats
While February wasn’t the busiest month for closed sales, it was positive to see that homes, condos and land sales volumes outperformed the February 2014 numbers. This hasn’t occurred all that often over the last 6-10 months with condo and land sales typically lagging behind the same month of the year prior. While the increase in one month of sales activity is generally a good thing, I am not sure it is a sign of any substantial shift in the market.

The Maui luxury property market saw another strong month of condo sales in February. Buyers have a good selection of inventory to choose from with a variety of high end resales on the market and new developer units still available at places like Montage Kapalua, The Residences at Andaz and Honua Kai. The luxury home market has seen a slower start to 2015 with sales over $2,000,000 down compared to the same period of 2014. There is also a good inventory for buyers searching in this price range so you can’t chalk up the reduction of activity to limited supply. It will be interesting to see if sales activity picks up for luxury homes during the rest of the year.

Sales activity for bank owned properties was stronger than February of last year, but the impact of bank owned properties on the market remains limited. Rather than dragging down prices with below market sales prices, most banks are pricing properties high with the hope of achieving maximum value for their assets. This means many banks are having to make one or more price reduction before they actually find the market. Buyers searching for bank owned bargains may be disappointed with the selection of properties available.

February Pending Sales

While the February sales provided good news, the February pending sales were a mixed bag. There were 20 more homes on island that went pending this February compared to last February. Pending land sales were exactly the same as last February. The condo market was a lot quieter with 28 fewer condos going under contract compared to February 2014. The lower condo sales activity in February is more typical of what we have seen since the middle of 2014. Limited inventory has been a factor in the lower sales volumes. I surmise we may also be seeing some impact from a weakened Canadian dollar. I was showing condos in South Kihei last week and was struck by both the depth of inventory and lack of activity at some complexes that are traditionally popular with Canadian buyers.

What Does it All Mean for Buyers and Sellers?
Buyers and sellers will find that market conditions have changed little over the better part of 18 months. At a broad level, the Maui Real Estate market is continuing to experience modest price appreciation with limited inventory at and below the median price points of the market. As you hone in on the different communities and neighborhoods, you will find a little more variability in conditions. Depth of inventory and buyer demand may vary. Buyers will find that well priced properties regardless of location or price point can go very quickly and may attract multiple offers. Buyers should be pre-approved if they require financing on their purchase so they can put their best foot forward with sellers. Sellers need to look closely at recent sales activity when determining go to market pricing for their property. Over priced properties are sitting even if that part of the market may have more limited inventory. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team with questions or if you are interested in buying or selling Maui Property. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation.

“Just the stats Ma’am”. To paraphrase Joe Friday, that’s the focus for this month’s Sneak Peek at the Maui Real Estate Statistics. Since it is the end of the year, I am going to limit my market analysis and focus on the numbers. Look for more in depth analysis in the bevy of other stats posts we will continue to post over the next few weeks. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

December Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There have been 63 homes reported sold in December in Maui County with a median price of $565,000. The December 2013 sales totals were 78 homes sold with a median of $512,500. That calculates to a 19% drop in sales figures when comparing this year to last year and a 10% increase in median price.

There were 121 condo sales reported in December with a median price of $380,000. There were 120 condo sales the prior December with a median price of $365,000. That is a little less than a 1% increase in sales activity and a 4% increase in median when comparing this December to last December.

There were 12 land sales reported during December 2014 with a median price of $650,000. Last December, there were 23 sales reported with a median price of $390,000. That is a 48% decrease in volume and a 67% increase in median price.

Other Notable December Maui Real Estate Sales Numbers
While compiling the sales volumes and medians for December, I came across some other notable numbers from the December Maui Real Estate Sales Activity that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home sale in December was $2,200,000 for a home in the Pineapple Hill neighborhood in Kapalua.
• That was one of three homes sold over $2,000,000 last month. The other two were sold in Kipahulu and Kahana respectively.
• The highest priced condo sale in Maui County during December was $2,625,000 for a unit in the Terraces at Manele Bay on Lanai.
• That was one of 5 condo sales over $1,500,000 in December. All four of the other sales were in Honua Kai.
• There were two land sales over $1,000,000 in December.
• There were 12 Bank Owned sales in December compared to 11 sales in December of 2013.
• There were 6 successfully completed short sales in December. There were 14 short sales completed in December in 2013.

A Few Quick Thoughts on the December Stats
As mentioned above, I wanted to limit commentary and analysis in this month’s post, but there were a few numbers that deserved some comment. The condo sales were a positive sign after seeing slower activity throughout the second half of the year. December was only the 4th month of the year where 2014 sales outpaced 2013 numbers. It will be interesting to see if this month is a blip or if condo sales activity will pick up as we begin 2015. The home sales were pretty low for the month, but I would be reticent to say that is the start of a particular trend. Throughout the year, there has been a fair amount of variability in performance compared to the same month in 2013.

The land market has a more clear cut trend with six straight months of slower sales than the same month of 2013. While 2013 numbers were bolstered in part by some new development activity, the 2014 sales didn’t have the same tailwinds. Add in diminished inventory at the entry point of the market and you end up with a reduction in sales activity.

December Maui Pending Sales
Sales are in some ways a look back at past market demand. Most transactions on Maui take 30-60 days to close. To get a better sense of more current demand, we also document the pending sales for each month.

December can be a slow month for sales as holiday activities can put real estate purchases on the back burner. However, it looks like there was decent activity in the Maui market in December. The number of homes that went pending was particularly surprising and should translate to a fair number of closings in January.

More Stats to Come…
We will have a lot of other posts looking at year end statistics for all of Maui County as well as a handful of communities around the island. In the interim, feel free to contact The Maui Real Estate Team with questions on the market or for assistance buying or selling property.

June is always a fun month on Maui. With events like the Maui Film Festival, The Kapalua Food and Wine Festival and the Slack Key Guitar Festival, it is little wonder why the month always seems to pass by in a blink of the eye. The end of the month also means another opportunity to take the pulse of the Maui Real Estate market. This Sneak Peek at the Maui Real Estate stats takes a look at June’s median prices and sales volumes compared to June of 2013. I also want to share some of the other interesting numbers that I came across while compiling the June sales volumes. I give my thoughts on the state of the market, and I give a sense of what the sales might look like in the coming months as we document the number of properties that went under contract over the last month. Without further ado, here are the numbers for June.

June 2014 Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 90 homes sold in June with a median sales price of $535,000. Last June there were 92 homes sold with a median price of $579,500. That is a 2% dip in sales volumes and an 8% dip in median price.

There were 94 condos sold last month with a median price of $444,500. In June of 2013, there were 125 condos sold with a median of $400,000. That equates to a 25% drop in volume and an 11% jump in median price.

There were 18 lots sold on Maui in June of 2014 with a median of $545,500. Last June there were 19 sales reported with a median of $469,260. That is a modest dip in volume of 5% and a 16% increase in median price.

Other Noteworthy Numbers from the June 2014 Real Estate Sales Activity in Maui County

While compiling the numbers above, I came across a few other numbers that I think are worth sharing.

• The high home sale for the month was $5,700,000 for a cottage on 4.55 oceanfront acres in Olowalu.
• That was one of six total home sales over $2,000,000 for the month of June. There were 2 home sold in Ka’anapali, 2 in Wailea, and one in Launiupoko.
• The first six months of the year proved to be strong for luxury home sales. There were 37 homes sold for over $2,000,000 during the first half of 2014. There were 26 sold in the first half of 2013. That is a 42% jump in activity over the first six months of 2013.
• The highest priced condo sale last month was a 3 bedroom unit at Hoolei that closed for $3,250,000.
• The Hoolei sale was one of 7 sales over $1,500,000 last month. Hoolei was a hotbed of high end activity with two other sales over $1,500,000. The other condo complexes with big transactions included Ka’anapali Ali’i, The Terraces at Manele Bay on Lanai and Honua Kai (two sales).
• This was also the end of a strong first half of 2014 for luxury condo sales. There 51 condos sold for over $1,500,000 during the first six months of the year. Last year there were 31 condos sold for over $1,500,000. That is a 65% jump in activity.
• There were 12 REO or bank owned sales in June. That is up over last June’s 5 sales. There appears to be a little bit of an uptick in bank owned properties coming on the market. I will have a few more thoughts on the bank owned numbers below.

The Numbers That Really Stood Out and What They Mean

The condo numbers stood out to me the most of any part of the June stats. This is two months in a row where condo sales have been significantly lower compared to last year. As mentioned above, the luxury side of the market is outperforming 2013 so that means other parts of the market are under performing. Over the last two months, the primary culprit appears to be condos priced under $500,000. There were 120 sales priced under $500,000 in May and June of this year compared to 181 during May and June of 2013. That’s a 33% drop in activity. Why the big drop in sales? Shrinking inventory and price increases are playing a part. The inventory of condos under $200,000 that prohibit vacation rentals has seen a big dip. Many of those condos that were in that range last year are well into the $200,000s this year. We have also seen a pretty big drop in the number of vacation rental condos available under $400,000.

Home sales experienced a much smaller drop in activity in June compared to last year. Why are home sales doing a little better than condo sales? Anecdotally, it also appears as if we are seeing an uptick in inventory in the $600,000 and under range. My clients looking at entry level homes and properties just above that level have seen more options lately. Local buyers are feeling pressure to snatch up the new inventory as entry level homes have seen strong appreciation and interest rates threaten to rise on better economic news.

Some of the increased inventory we are seeing on the market is bank owned. This was one of the first months in a while where bank owned sales outpaced sales from the same month a year ago. This looks like it might sustain itself for at least a couple of months, and it is worth watching over the longer term. There were 19 bank owned listings that came on the market in June. That is the highest number of bank owned listings we have seen in a month since May of 2012. We are 3 days into July and there are already 3 new REO listings. Hawaii has a big backlog of properties facing judicial foreclosure moving through the court system. It appears as if some of the backlog might be starting to move through the courts. This bank owned inventory may help satiate some of the pent up demand from buyers.

Bargain hunters who are looking to find a bank owned home for a steal of a price may be disappointed. Most banks seem to have a different pricing strategy in a rising market vs. a falling market. While many banks were dumping their assets below comparable sales as the market was falling, they are seeking market prices in the rising market. In some cases, they are pricing above the market and having to adjust pricing downward. While there may be a few bargains here or there, REOs won’t provide the same opportunities that they did 3-4 years ago.

June Pending Sales

As mentioned previously on the blog, property sales can be a lagging indicator for the market due to transaction times. As a result, we have been keeping track of the pending sales on our blog. These numbers should also give you some sense of what we might expect for sales volumes in July and August.

The number of homes that went under contract in June was up 28% over the number that went under contract in June of 2013. Combined with the fact that there were more homes going under contract in May, I would anticipate stronger home sales for July. The number of condos that went under contract was down 24% compared to last year. That is a continuation of recent trends where condo pendings have been lower compared to last year. The one outlier is land sales. Land sales activity appears to be way down in June with a 74% drop in the number of properties going under contract.

Thoughts for Prospective Maui Home Buyers and Sellers

What does all of this mean for buyers and sellers. While there may be some new inventory out on the market for home buyers, there has been some pent up demand as well. A couple of the more intriguing new listings that I saw hit the market this week are already in multiple offer situations. That means buyers looking at the middle and the lower price points in the market will need to have their ducks in a row when looking. Buyers who need financing assistance should be pre-approved prior to looking. If you see a well priced property that fits your needs, you will need to act quickly or another buyer will beat you to the punch. Sellers have a bit more of a mixed bag. There are still some pockets of the market with higher inventory. Sellers in those market that want to sell quickly may need to lower their pricing expectations to stand out from the competition. Over priced properties are sitting even in some of the busier segments of the market. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling a home on Maui. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you for a free consultation.