Maui Real Estate Blog

Maui Market Musings Volume XXV

Welcome to our 25th edition of the Maui Market Musings. This latest edition focuses on the market activity during March, and the resulting levels of inventory at the end of the month. Being that these are long posts, I will skip the pleasantries and cut straight to the numbers.

March Market Activity

The tables below show new Inventory, new pending sales and closed transactions for the month of March. The previous five years are shown for additional context. One thing to note, we started adding these charts just a few months ago. This is the first time the charts will start capturing data from the very start of when the pandemic started to influence the market. The influence will be particularly pronounced with next month’s charts.

March 23March 22March 21March 20March 19March 18
Homes7011915988161118
Condos99188190181157191
New inventory during March over the last 6 years

Maui entered the month of March with a shortage of inventory and it left the month of March with even fewer properties for sale. The 70 homes listed is 41% below last year. The closest March for new inventory in the previous five years is March 2020, and there was still 25% more inventory that month. Keep in mind, listing activity for homes dropped to next to nothing in the second half of March 2020 as stay at home orders went out and tourism closed.

The 99 new condos that came on the market in March is 47% below last March. The next closest recent March was in 2019. The 157 condos listed that month is 59% higher than this month. As a side note, March 2020 was a big month for condo listings. While people were reticent to list their homes, many opted to list their now vacant vacation rental condos.

March New Pending Sales

March 23March 22March 21March 20March 19March 18
Homes7010014460106112
Condos8516928457149204
New Pending Sales in March over the last six years.

While new listing activity is slow, buyer demand also remains slow. New home pendings came in 30% lower than last year. They are 34% lower than March of 2019. They only exceed March of 2020 when pending sales dwindled to a trickle in the second half of the month. There were also quite a few pending sales that cancelled.

March Closed Transactions

March 23March 22March 21March 20March 19March 18
Homes72981188290100
Condos115183228157152126
Closed Transactions in March over the last six years.

The gap in closed home transactions with the previous five years wasn’t quite as extreme. Home sales were about 27% behind last year. They came in 20% and 28% behind March of 2018 and 2019 respectively. They were closest to March of 2020, albeit some of that is due to transactions that either delayed closing or cancelled at the onset of Covid.

The closed condo sales came in 37% behind March of 22. The gap with pre-covid years was not quite as substantial. This March’s numbers came in 24% and 9% below 2019 and 2018 respectively. That 2018 year was particularly slow for condo sales. It is notable that the March 2023 sales received a boost from 14 new developer closes at Paradise Ridge Estates. These closes came from contracts written between 2018 and February of 2021.

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Pete Jalbert

Maui Real Estate Blog

Wailea Condo Market Snapshot January 2023

I wanted to take a quick look at the Wailea condo market now that we are a month into our “peak buyer season”. I spent some time looking at the current inventory and I was left with four observations and one question about the current market dynamics.

Wailea and Makena Condo Inventory

At the time of this post, there are 27 active condo listings in Wailea. While that’s a far cry from the half dozen active listings we saw briefly in early 2022, it’s still well below normal. There are four condo complexes in Wailea with no active listings. There are six condo developments with just 1 active listing at this time. None of the Makena condo developments have any active or pending listings.

The Highest Price Points have the Most Condos for Sale

The two condo developments with the most listings are Wailea Point and Wailea Beach Villas with 6 and 4 listings respectively. In addition to the condos at those two respective developments, there is also a top row Ho’olei and a rare Andaz listing. If you are shopping at higher price points, you have a lot more options to choose from.

Aerial View of Wailea Point
Wailea Point has the most inventory of any condo complex in Wailea Resort at this time.

Prices Remain High

The second half of 2022 saw prices decrease in a number of markets on the mainland. The situation on Maui is more nuanced. Small segments of the single family home market saw values decrease. Other segments held value or even increased in value. Wailea is one of those areas where values held or increased in the second half of 2022.

This is reflected by the current Wailea inventory. Seventeen of the twenty-seven active listings are seeking new record high sales prices for their development or at least their particular floor plan. That isn’t too much of a surprise considering the fact the values are at all time highs. That said, not all of the condos seeking record high prices have the location, view or the finishing to merit those lofty numbers.

Buyer Activity Is Low

Thus far, busy season is off to a slow start in Wailea. There are 5 condo resales under contract currently. Only 3 of the 5 went under contract since Christmas. This level of activity is well below the same period of time during the past two boom years. It is quite a bit less than recent pre-Covid years. In fact, this is the lowest number of Wailea condos to go under contract to start busy season since the winter of 2013/14.

Wailea is not the only spot on the island seeing a quieter busy season. While pending sales are increasing, they are still well below normal for this time of year. Looking at Kapalua, there are three pending sales with only one new pending since the start of busy season. Ka’anapali is the busiest of the resorts with only five pending.

While Wailea’s slow start is part of a broader trend, it may also be a reflection of some of the ambitious asking prices. Which brings us to my last question…

With low transaction volumes, it seems like something is going to have to give for us to see an increase in sales activity in Wailea. Will sellers reduce their prices? Will buyers bite the bullet? Or do we see a little bit of both?

On the sell side, the dynamics are interesting. We are seeing some price reductions, but in many instances the new asking prices are still above record highs. That tells us that the sellers truly missed the mark on their initial pricing. The sellers are also getting some mixed signals. The low transaction volume is a suggests prices should be reduced. On the other hand, inventory remains low, and there are still the occasional sales with eye popping prices. The question is whether sellers are trying to find the market or that elusive solitary buyer willing to pay a premium.

For buyers, the record high prices may be increasingly hard to swallow. That is especially the case for second home buyers coming from markets where decreases in value are common place. On the other hand, if you are seeking out a condo in one of the developments with little or no inventory you may be inclined to jump when something comes to market that checks all of the boxes. Further decreases in mortgage rates may also bring some buyers off the fence, but the impact of lower rates is not going to be as significant in the Wailea market. Keep in mind, 62% of all transactions were cash in Wailea and Makena last year.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

We will continue to monitor the Wailea Condo market as we progress further into buyer season. Stay tuned for more updates. You can see the active inventory of Wailea Condos for sale on MauiRealEstate.com. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team with questions or for assistance buying or selling Wailea Condos. We look forward to being of service.

Are you looking for a new Maui home?
We want to help!

Pete Jalbert

Maui Real Estate Blog

Wailea Real Estate Market Update October 2021

Today’s blog looks towards leeward Haleakala and the beautiful beaches, stunning views, and high end amenities of the Wailea Resort. We wanted to take a look at how the Wailea market fared through the year to date. This post includes information on Wailea Home and Condo sales as of September 22, 2021. It is also worth noting that this looks exclusively at properties in the Wailea Resort itself. Our MLS groups Wailea and Makena together. I plan on doing a separate post on the Makena market some time next week.

Notable Number’s From This Year’s Wailea Home Sales

  • As of September 22nd, Maui Realtors reported 41 home sales. That is a 227% increase in activity compared to the 18 that closed during the same period last year.
  • The median price of the homes sold is $3,000,000. The average price is $3,691,505. That is an increase of 44% and 55% over last year’s median and average prices respectively.
  • It is worth noting that the change in median and average sales price is not an accurate reflection of the year to year change in values. More sales at the highest reaches of the market helped to boost both of those numbers.
  • The highest priced sale of the year to date in Wailea closed for $10,900,000. This Wailea Highlands property included a 6,042 square foot home on almost an acre of land.
  • The Wailea Highlands close was one of two sales to close for more than $10,000,000 and one of six home sales to close for more than $5,000,000 in Wailea. There were no sales over $5,000,000 during the same period of 2020.
  • The lowest priced sale closed for $1,350,000. This Wailea Pualani home offered 1,991 square feet of living space.
  • Competition for homes increased significantly. Of the 41 sales, 11 sold for over asking price and 5 sold for full price. By comparison, none of the sales over the same period of 2020 sold for above asking price.
  • More competition occurred at the lower price points of the Wailea home market. Eleven out of nineteen sales under $3,000,000 closed for asking price or above.
  • Almost 66% percent of the transactions were reported to be cash sales. Cash seemed to be preferred in the more competitive $3,000,000 and under range and with higher priced transactions. A greater number of buyers chose to use conventional financing for the $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 price range.
  • Wailea Pualani and Wailea Kai saw the most activity of all of the neighborhoods in Wailea. There were 8 closes in each subdivision.
Keawakapu Beach is located across the street from Wailea Kai
This shot shows beautiful Keawakapu Beach. The Wailea Kai subdivision is just across the street from Keawakapu. I am sure this golden stretch of sand factored into the decision making process of the eight Wailea Kai buyers this year.

Thoughts on Recent Activity and the Outlook for the Wailea Home Market

Needless to say, the numbers above point to a robust eight plus months of home sales in Wailea. While many second home markets took off in the spring and summer of 2020, Maui’s market remained relatively quiet due to quarantine requirements. We started to see an uptick in buyer activity after the governor lifted quarantine restrictions in October. Buyer activity started to increase during those last few months of 2020. It hit a whole other level in 2021. I checked the MLS data going back to 2003. Only January-September of 2005 came within 10% of this year’s total.

While this spring marked the peak of the frenzy, buyer demand remains strong. Inventory, on the other hand, is particularly limited. There are only eight active home listings for sale within the Wailea Resort. An additional seven homes are under contract. Barring any significant changes in the global economic picture or an unexpected influx of new listings, Wailea should remain a seller’s market through the rest of the year with sales volumes slowing due to the lack of inventory.

Notable Numbers From the 2021 Wailea Condo Market

  • Maui Realtors reported 232 condos sold in Wailea between January 1, 2021 and September 22nd. That is a 362.5% increase over the 64 sold during the same period of 2020.
  • The median price of the 232 condos sold is $1,398,000. The average price is $1,910,153. That is 15.3% and 12.2% higher than last year’s median and average respectively.
  • The highest priced condo sale for the year to date closed for $14,000,000. This Wailea Beach Villas condo features 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, almost 3,000 square feet of living space and a direct beachfront location.
  • The lowest priced Wailea condo sale for the year to date closed for $647,000. This is a studio unit at Wailea Ekahi.
  • I did a double take when looking at the data for the lowest priced condo sales in Wailea. I saw two closes at Wailea Point for $375,000 and $425,000 respectively. That is a shockingly low price for one of the more premium developments in Wailea. Closer examination revealed that the two seemingly low priced condo sales were for boat garages in the development.
  • According to MLS statistics, Makali’i was the busiest condo for sales thus far this year. It is worth noting that the majority of the 47 closes were new developer sales. These new developer sales were based on pre-construction contracts penned two to three years ago.
  • While closes at Makali’i juiced this year’s total sales volume based on older contracts, it is worth noting that quite a few properties went under contract in 2021 that won’t close until at least 2023. La’i Loa at Wailea Hills is the newest condo development in Wailea. Sales began in the spring of 2020. A roll out right at the start of Covid-19 blunted momentum. That said, it picked up steam in the fall of 2020. Strong demand in the first few months of 2021 resulted in the reservation of all 75 units by this spring.
  • Maui Realtors reported the most resales at Wailea Ekahi and Grand Champions. Both developments stand at 25 sales for the year to date.
  • Of the 232 sales, MLS records show 129 were cash transactions. That is 55.6% of the total sales. That is up from 47.9% over the same period last year.
  • Competition also increased significantly in the Wailea condo market. Of all of the closed transactions, 35 closed for over asking price. Over the same period of 2020, not a single transaction closed for over asking price.
The Wailea Point Condos saw more sales activity thus far this year than any other comparable span over the last 20 plus years.
An aerial shot of the Wailea Point condos flanked by the Four Season and Fairmont Kealani. Wailea Point saw more sales activity for the year to date than any comparable period over the last 20 plus years.

Thoughts on and Outlook for the Wailea Condo Market

Like the Wailea home market, the Wailea condo market experienced strong activity through the first nine months of the year. Also like the home market, the trajectory of the market showed a similar pattern over the last 18 months. It was a slower spring and summer of 2020 as the island felt the impacts of Covid-19 and a lack of visitors. A gradual ramping up of activity followed when tourism reopened in October. The start of the new year brought a whole other level of interest in Wailea Condos. We entered the year with a fairly balanced market between supply and demand. That shifted as buyers ravenously chewed through the market inventory. As with the home market, we are seeing all time high levels of sales activity for the year to date.

With high levels of demand and a shrinking supply, we also experienced a lot of upward price pressure in the market. With variability in value between units, it is hard to quantify the exact levels of appreciation. If I were to guess, I would saw 10% or greater appreciation is quite likely with variability between some of the different developments.

As for the outlook for the rest of the year, it really comes down to inventory. Plain and simple, the active condo inventory is shockingly low. At the date of this post, there are 6 active condo listings in all of the Wailea resort. There are active listings at only four of the seventeen condo developments within Wailea. Needless to say, this will constrain sales volume unless we see a considerable uptick in active inventory. It will also lead to some upward pricing pressure.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in buying property in Wailea. We would be happy to keep our eyes and ears open for new inventory or unlisted properties. You can also keep tabs on the current inventory of active Wailea Condo listings and Wailea Homes for Sale on MauiRealEstate.com. I don’t think you could find a much better time to go to market if you are a Wailea property owner thinking about selling. Send us a message or give us a call to arrange a free consultation and an estimate of the current market value of your condo.

Pete Jalbert

Maui Real Estate Blog

Tour Some of Maui’s Stunning Oceanfront Properties

It’s the weekend. Or at least I think it is. With stay at home rules in place, many buyers are turning to video and 3D tours as a safe way to tour property. We already posted video and 3D tours for the Maui Real Estate Team’s listings. If you need a little distraction and you’ve binged all that Netflix has to offer, I thought we might take you on a tour of some of the island’s more impressive oceanfront listings. Whether you are an oceanfront home buyer stuck on the mainland waiting for the all clear to fly out, or you just want a little Maui eye candy, we hope you enjoy the tour.

9 Bay Drive, Kapalua

This beautiful property of just under 10 acres is currently the most expensive active listing on Maui. The eight bedroom, eight and half bath home has 6,645 square feet of interior living space and a stunning pool area. Situated on a bluff overlooking the Pailolo Channel between Maui and Molokai, the views of the ocean and neighbor islands are stunning.

Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers listed this home for $37,500,000. Sold in 2020 and relisted in 2021. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for additional details.

4508 Makena Road

This new home is located along one of our favorite beaches on the island. Palauea or White Rock is a beautiful sandy beach with good snorkeling at either end. The four bedroom, five and half bathroom home has 5,065 square feet of living space. Never lived in before, the builders completed construction in 2018.

Sold in 2021.

11485 Honoapiilani Highway

I always loved this Olowalu Oceanfront home for its classic Kama’aina style. While built in 2001, it features a lot of the best design elements of 1930s Hawaii Architetcure. The main house is four bedrooms, five and a half baths and includes over 6,065 square feet of living space. There is a 75 foot long pool, a separate one bedroom ohana and a third structure with a gym steam room and suite above.

Listed by Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, the asking price is $9,395,000. Sold in 2021!

7381 Makena Road

This Makena property isn’t direct oceanfront, but it is pretty darn close. Makena Road is what separates this home from a small rocky beach. Built by renowned local builder John Cahill, this 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath home includes 3,919 square feet of living space. There is a separate two bedroom, two bath cottage.

Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers listed the home for $12,990,000. Sold in 2021!

Wailea Point 102

There are some pretty stunning oceanfront condo options. Wailea Point 102 is arguably one of the best. It is a double unit overlooking Wailea Beach, Ma’alaea Bay, Kaho’olawe, Molokini and Lanai. The three bedroom, three bath unit includes 3,805 square feet of living space. The video for the property shows a lot of the scenery surrounding Wailea Point. It is easy to see why. This is one of the premier locations on the island with the Four Seasons and the Grand Wailea located to the North and the Fairmont Kealani located just to the South.

Island Sotheby’s Realty listed the property for $17,995,000. Sold in 2021!

Makena Surf G 301/302

This is another double unit just down the coastline from Wailea in Makena. Makena Surf offers beautiful vistas and a great setting on Po’olenalena Beach. The combination of two units means plenty of space for friends and family with five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Romvari Realty listed this beautiful condo for $6,999,999. Sold in 2020!

More Oceanfront Options

If you need to binge on more Maui Oceanfront Property, you can check out the full inventory of Maui Oceanfront Homes and Maui Oceanfront Condos. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team for assistance buying or selling oceanfront homes on Maui.

Pete Jalbert

Maui Real Estate Blog

April 2016 Maui Real Estate Statistics

As we hit the midpoint of May, I wanted to give an update on the April Maui Real Estate Statistics. April is the last month of Maui’s “peak” home buying season. Once we get past April 15th, visitor numbers typically dip reducing the number of potential buyers. That said, the bulk of the sales that we see in April are from contracts written earlier in the buyer season. These stats take a look at the number of properties sold, median prices, properties that went under contract in April and notable numbers from the April sales activity. I also give a few thoughts on the state of the market and the numbers that stood out to me in April. Without further ado, here are the April numbers.

April Maui Real Estate Sals Volumes

This chart compares the real estate sales volumes for Maui County during April 2015 and April 2016

There were 99 home sales reported in Maui County during April with a median sales price of $680,000. In April of 2015, there were 87 homes sold with a median price of $581,000. That calculates to roughly a 14% increase in sales activity and a 17% increase in median price.

There were 125 condo sales reported in Maui during April with a median price of $445,000. Last April there were 105 condos sold with a median price of $410,000. That is a 19% increase in sales volume and roughly a 9% increase in median price.

There were 10 land sales reported in Maui County for the month of April with a median sales price of $453,500. In April 2015, there were 12 sales with a median price of $417,500. That calculates to a 17% decrease in sales and an 8% increase in median price.

While compiling the median sales prices and sales volumes, I came up with some numbers that I thought were worth sharing from the April numbers.

Notable Numbers from the April Maui Real Estate Sales

  • The highest priced home sale in April closed for $6,550,000. This Kula Estate included a 4 bed, 4 bath home with 7,809 square feet of living space, 2 cottages, a 9 car garage building and a lot more on 23 acres.
  • It was a busy month for luxury home sales with 13 closes more than $2,000,000. In addition to the big Kula sale, there was one additional Kula sale, 3 sales in Wailea, 3 sales in the Launiupoko area of Lahaina and one sale each in Paia, Haiku, Kapalua, Kihei, and Ka’anapali.
  • The highest priced condo sale in April closed for $5,490,309. This Honua Kai Condo has 3 beds, 3.5 baths with 2,770 sq feet of living space and a 2,200 square foot lanai.
  • The big Honua Kai close was one of 13 condo sales over $1,500,000. Other sales included 4 more closes at Honua Kai, 2 Wailea Point Condos, a Montage Kapalua Bay, a Polo Beach, an Alaeloa, Mahana, Kaanapali Shores and a Masters Ka’anapali Unit.
  • The highest priced land sale in April closed for $850,000. The 1.45 acre condominiumized agricultural lot in Launiupoko has the entitlements to build the main house for the condo.
  • There were 11 bank owned transactions that closed in April. That is up slightly from the 9 bank owned sales in April of 2015. There were 4 successful short sales that closed in April 2016. That is the same total as April 2015.

Pending Real Estate Sales in April
Sales are a lagging indicator. They do not show current buyer demand. That is why our stats posts include the number of properties that go pending in that particular month.

This chart compares the number of properties that went under contract in Maui during April 2015 and April 2016

The number of properties that went pending in April was lower compared to April of 2015. New contracts for homes and lots were down while condos were up. I am not sure that is indicative of any sort of trend. As a whole it is something of a reversal of what we saw during the first quarter of the year where home sales were up significantly, land was up slightly and condo sales were down. One month of varied market activity is one thing. If we were to string a few months together, we might be seeing a trend.

Thoughts on the April Sales Number and The Maui Real Estate Market
Of all of the sales figures from April, the luxury property sales stood out the most to me. There were more homes sold over $2,000,000 in April than the previous three months of the year combined. The 13 condo sales over $1,500,000 wasn’t too far behind the 17 total sales during the first quarter of 2016. After a slower start to the year, there appears to be a little bit of a bump in high end sales activity. It makes some sense as the stock market has seen a recovery from the doldrums of earlier this year. It will be interesting to see if that was just one month or if this increased activity will sustain itself.

The high median sales price for homes was noteworthy. This was the second highest median sales price since the recovery of the real estate market. The high median is related to the high number of higher priced sales. It is also due in part to a shrinking inventory of lower priced homes. Rising values and just a tight overall market have resulted in a shrinking pool of homes available for sale for less than $500,000.

The condo market numbers were also somewhat notable in that sales were up and pending sales were up compared to April 2015. The condo market was slower during the first quarter of 2016 when compared to 2015. This may be a blip or it may be the start of an uptick in activity in the condo market. It will be interesting to see the numbers in the next couple of months.

While the April condo market bucked the first quarter trends, the home market continued the momentum of the first quarter. April home sales were well above the totals for April 2015. That made it something of a surprise to see April pending home sales were well below April 2015. As mentioned above, one month may just be due to variability in the market. We will see what unfolds in the coming months.

If you are a buyer or a seller thinking of entering the Maui Real Estate market, you will find that market conditions are not monolithic. While this blog post discusses the generalities of the Maui market, market demand and inventory varies by geography and price point. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team to discuss market conditions specific to your real estate needs. We look forward to being of service.

Pete Jalbert

Maui Real Estate Blog

March 2016 Maui Real Estate Statistics

It has been a while since I have beaten the the local Realtor association to the punch with a true sneak peek at the Maui statistics. That said, I think it is important to still put out a monthly stats post on our blog. We are able to offer some unique data with our pending data and notable numbers. I also try to avoid the hype train that can come with real estate statistics. You will never read the words “the market is on fire!” in one of these posts. That said, here is my look at the March Maui Real Estate sales, and a few thoughts on what some of the numbers might mean.

Maui March Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

This chart compares the number of properties that sold in Maui County During March 2015 and March 2016

By my count, there were 97 homes sold in Maui during March with a median price of $610,750. In March of 2015, there were 86 homes sold with a median price of $632,625. That is a 12.8% increase in activity and just over a 3% decrease in median pricing when comparing this March to last March.

There were 104 condos sold on Maui in March with a median sales price of $494,000. Last March, there were 123 condos sold with a median price of $440,000. That is just over a 15% drop in sales activity and a 12% increase in median price when comparing the two Marches.

There were 17 lots sold in Maui County during March with a median price of $439,000. The March 2015 numbers included 16 lot sales with a median price of $451,000. That is a 6% difference in volume and a 3% decrease in median price when comparing this March to last March.

Notable Numbers from the Maui March Real Estate Sales Numbers

  • The highest priced home to sell in March closed for $5,700,000. The six bedroom, six and a half bath home with 8,210 square feet of living space and 3,100 square feet of lanai space is located in Ka’anapali Golf Estates.
  • That was one of 4 homes sold for more than $2,000,000 in March. The other big closes included two properties in Kapalua and one home in Wailuku Country Estates.
  • The highest priced condo to sell in March closed for $4,600,000. It was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom beachfront unit at Ka’anapali Ali’i.
  • That was one of seven condo sales over $1,500,000. The other sales included 3 units at Honua Kai, 2 units at Wailea Point and a Mana Kai condo.
  • The highest priced land transaction closed for $1,825,000. That was a 24 acre parcel on Waipoli Road in Kula.
  • There were 16 bank owned transactions that closed in March. That is up from the 13 bank owned transactions that closed last March. There were only 4 successful short sales completed in March. That is up 1 from the 3 short sales completed in March of 2015.

March Pending Sales
March is the last full month of our peak season for visitors and buyers. Looking at the total number of properties that went pending gives us some sense of what kind of buyer activity occurred with all of those visitors on island.

This chart compares the number of Maui County properties that went under contract in March of 2015 and March of 2016

As the chart shows above, it appears to have been a good month. Homes, condos and land all had more pending sales compared to March of 2015. Home and condo sales activity were up pretty significantly. The increased home buying activity stems from a few factors. Low interest rates, high rents and limited supply have created strong buyer demand at or below the median price points in the market. The bump in condo sales is something of an anomaly from recent market activity. I will discuss that in more detail below.

Thoughts on the March Market
March was a microcosm of the first quarter of 2016 for Maui Real Estate sales. Home sales were up, land was up slightly and condo sales were down. I discussed the boost in the home market above. The dip in condo sales is due in large part to a dip in luxury condos. For the quarter, luxury condo sales on Maui were down 32%. I think we can attribute the drop in the luxury market to a number of different factors. A recent Wall Street Journal Article on price adjustments in the luxury property market suggests that there is a broader slowdown on the mainland. Maui appears to be following part of an overall national trend. I surmise that some of the national weakness could be due to weakness in the stock market during the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Looking locally, I think another factor could be a reduction in new developer inventory at Honua Kai. Honua Kai has been one of the strongest condos for luxury sales on Maui over the last couple of years. There were 3 fewer sales over $1,500,000 at Honua Kai in the first quarter of this year. The other factor hampering the luxury condo market is the weakness in the Canadian dollar and the Canadian Oil Industry. A number of Maui luxury buyers over the last 5 years were coming from Alberta’s Oil industry. With that industry hurting and a bad exchange rate, those buyers are not as active as they had been.

What Can Buyers and Sellers Entering the Market Expect if They are Entering the Maui Market?
It is tough to paint the Maui market with a broad brush. Some parts of the market are strong and some are slow. It depends in part on the type of properties and the price point. That means the strategy of buyers and sellers is going to be contingent on budget and property type. If you are looking for entry level homes or entry level condos to be used for a primary residence, a pre-approval from a lender is a prerequisite before you start looking at property. When listings that appear to be good values hit the market, showings should be scheduled as soon as possible. If a buyer wants to put in an offer, they are usually advised to act quickly. If it is a potential multiple offer situation, buyers should put their best foot forward on initial offers. While less common, you can see this level of competition at higher price points in the market if the property is extraordinary, well priced or both. Buyers shopping in the vacation rental condo market can expect a different market place with fewer buyers and more inventory. That means a little less pressure to act and a different offer strategy. Reading the above, you might expect that most sellers should have an easy go of things. That isn’t necessarily the case. Overpriced properties can still sit in this market regardless or price point. Shooting for the moon can result in a lower sales price down the road and a much longer period on market. Sellers should also also do what they can to address potential transaction pit falls before they go to market. Deferred maintenance or unknown issues can be identified with a pre-listing home inspection. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling a property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to sit down with you to listen to your real estate needs and market conditions specific to properties that might fit your needs.

Pete Jalbert