If prompt and punctual blogging was my New Year’s resolution were my New Year’s resolution, I would have already failed. I am a little slow out of the gates this year. The good news is that the delay is due to a busy start to the year with clients. If you have already seen the December Maui Real Estate stats elsewhere, there is still reason to keep reading. We report on a few things that other outlets don’t, and we don’t treat fluctuations in median prices with breathless hyperbole. Without further ado, here are the December 2015 numbers.

December Maui Real Estate Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 93 homes sold on Maui in the last month of 2015 with a median sales price of $550,000. By comparison, there were 63 homes sold during the last month of 2014 with a median sales price of $565,000. That is almost a 48% increase in sales activity and a 3% decrease in median price.

There were 101 condos sold in December with a median price of $410,000. Last December there were 125 condos sold with a median price of $380,000. That is roughly a 20% drop in sales activity and an 8% increase in median prices.

There were 16 lots sold with a median price of $281,750 in December of 2015. In December of 2014, there were 12 lots sold with a median price of $650,000. That is a 33% increase in sales volume and a 57% drop in median price.

Notable Numbers from the December Maui Sales
While compiling median prices and sales volumes, I came across some other notable numbers from the December Maui Real Estate Sales activity.

• The highest priced home sale was for an oceanfront property on Front Street in Lahaina. The 3 bedroom, 3 bath home with 3,747 square feet of living space sold for $4,375,000.
• That was one of four home sales over $2,000,000 in December. The other three sales included another oceanfront home on Front Street and two closes in Kula.
• The highest priced condo transaction was for a three bedroom, three and a half bath unit at Montage Kapalua Bay. That 2,789 square foot condo sold for $4,625,000.
• That was one of eight total condo sales over $1,500,000. The other closes included one sale at the the Ritz Carlton Residences and two sales each at Wailea Point, Wailea Beach Villas and Puamana.
• the highest priced residential land transaction was $1,100,000 for 67 acres in lower Kula. There was also a commercial land transaction that closed in Kahului for $1,510,000.
• There were 18 REO or bank owned transactions that closed in December of 2015. That was up from 13 REO sales in December of 2014. There were only 2 short sale transactions in December compared to 4 last December.

December Maui Pending Real Estate Sales
December is usually a pretty quiet month for properties going under contract. Many buyers will put their home buying on hold while they negotiate the already hectic holidays. Maui tends to see a slight uptick at the end of the month when an island filled with holiday visitors means more potential buyers.

This December, we saw a little more home buying activity. I would surmise that there are two factors at play. Buyers trying to lock in rates at the beginning of the month before the fed rate increase, and buyers who kept their focus looking for new listings in an otherwise limited inventory.

This is another shorter than usual stats post. I want to save the analysis for some forthcoming 2015 overviews. Stay tuned for those posts in the next week. In the meantime, please contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have any questions about the stats or buying and selling Maui Property. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you and learn more about your real estate needs for 2016.

It seems like just a few days ago when I was writing about the September Maui Real Estate statistics. Actually, it was a just last week when I wrote that post. Last month, a busy schedule kept me from posting the stats until the last week of the month. I had an opportunity to get the October stats out a little sooner. They are early enough in the month that I may even miss a few late reported sales. This is my sneak peek at the October sales volumes, median prices, notable sales numbers and pending sales. I also give a few thoughts on the state of the market, and what it all means for buyers and sellers. Without further ado, here are the October numbers.

October 2015 Sales Volumes and Median Prices

By my count, there were 103 homes sold in October with a median sales price of $585,000. Last October, there were 84 homes sold at a median price of $566,000. That is almost a 23% increase in sales volume and roughly a 3% change in median price.

There have been 102 condo sales reported to date for October with a median sales price of $391,450. By comparison, the October 2014 numbers were 95 condos sold at a median price of $419,000. That is a 7% increase in volume and a 7% decrease in median price.

There have been 16 lots reported sold in October with a median sales price of $375,000. Last October, there were 14 sales at a median price of $467,500.

Notable Numbers from the October Maui Real Estate Sales Activity
While compiling the numbers above, I came across some notable numbers from the October sales that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home to sell on Maui in October closed for $3,750,000. The home in the Wailea Golf Estates Subdivision has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 4,277 square feet of living space. The home is located on the fourth green of the Wailea Blue Course. It has unobstructed ocean views and a 20 meter pool.
• The Wailea Golf Estates sale was the only home to close for over $2,000,000 last month.
• The highest priced condo to sell in October closed for $3,650,000. The condo in question is a 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom oceanfront condominium in the Kapalua Ironwoods complex.
• The Kapalua Ironwoods transaction was one of 7 condo sales to close for over $1,500,000. The other sales included 2 condos at Honua Kai, 2 at the Ritz Carlton Residences, a Wailea Point condo and a unit at Ho’olei.
• The high land sale last month was at the Makena Golf and Beach Club. The .4399 acre parcel in the Maluaka Estates neighborhood sold for $8,500,000.
• That was one of three land sales over $1,000,000. The other sales included a home site near Manele Bay on Lanai and a 131 acre parcel in Haiku.

October Pending Maui Real Estate Sales
Sales are a lagging indicator of buyer activity. Most of the sales referenced above were based on contracts that were written in August and September. The chart below shows the number of properties that went pending or under contract in October.

The October pending sales look pretty strong with only home pendings down compared to October of last year. That said, the dip in home pendings is noteworthy as the home market had been particularly strong over the last couple of months. The modest dip in activity comes as a bit of a surprise as I have been in three multiple offer situations over the last month for homes below $600,000. That is a small sample, but it still feels like there are quite a few buyers in the market. It will be interesting to watch home sales over the next couple of months. Are things cooling down a little or was this an aberration?

Thoughts on the Maui Real Estate Market and What it All Means for Buyers and Sellers
The October Stats showed another strong month of buyer activity. As mentioned in other recent stats posts, the stronger sales activity can be attributed in part to buyers trying to get into the market to take advantage of what has been a long run of really low interest rates. The federal reserve continues to discuss an increase in rates and buyers are trying to tie properties down before any rate increases occur. The low borrowing costs are that much more appealing due in part to a really tough rental market on Maui. Rental prices have gone up significantly over the last few years and some borrowers are finding that mortgages are equivalent to or in some cases better than monthly rents.

Buyers who are interested in entering this market place will find that they need to be well positioned to act quickly when good opportunities are listed. Homes under $600,000 will often attract bidding wars if they are well priced. It is not uncommon to see bidding wars on well priced homes at significantly higher price points. Sellers will find pretty favorable conditions when going to market. That said, over priced properties are still sitting even with stronger than usual fall buyer activity. There are also some parts of the market that are a little slower than others. Sellers should look closely at market conditions specific to their type of property when determining go to market prices. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of buying or selling a property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to discuss your real estate needs and talk about the market particular to properties that might be of interest.

It has been a busy month for me and the rest of the Maui Real Estate Team. We have seen more buyer activity than usual for our “slow” season and we have some exciting new listings that we have brought to market. Our busy fall is reflected by the fact that I am not putting out a monthly stats post until October 28th. Since it is so late in the month, this is going to be more abbreviated than usual. That said, I will still have information on sales volume, median prices, pending sales and some notable numbers from the September sales activity. Without further ado, here are the numbers.

Maui Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 97 homes sold in September with a median price of $573,000. During September of 2014, there were 95 homes sold on Maui with a median sales price of $570,000. That calculates to 2% increase in sales volume and a .5% increase in median price.

There were 109 condos reported sold in September with a median price of $399,000. Last September, there were 80 condo sales with a median sales price of $462,500. That calculates to a 36% increase in sales activity and a 14% drop in median price.

There were 17 land sales reported in September with a median sales price of $625,000. Last September, there were 12 land sales with a median price of $520,000. That is roughly a 42% increase in sales activity and a 20% increase in median price.

Notable Numbers from The September Sales Activity
While compiling the median prices and sales volumes, I came across some other numbers from the September Real Estate sales activity that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home sale during the month occurred Upcountry. A 22 acre estate in Kula with a 4,972 square foot main house and a 1,268 square foot cottage sold for $6,500,000.
• That was one of five total home sales of $2,000,000 or more in September. There was one other sale in Kula, 2 sales in Wailea and one sale in Kapalua.
• The highest priced condo to sell in September was located at Montage Kapalua Bay. The 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath condo with 2,789 square feet of living space sold for $4,900,000.
• The Montage sale was one of 8 sales over $1,500,000 during September. The other 7 transactions included another sale at Montage, 2 Hoolei, a Honua Kai, a Kai Malu, a Ritz Carton Residence, a Wailea Point and a Kai Malu.
• There were two separate lots in the Maluaka Estates neighborhood of the Makena Golf and Beach Club that closed for $9,000,000 a piece in September. The lots were 19,602 and 17,340 square feet respectively. It is safe to say that the Makena Golf and Beach Club is continuing to see the highest per square foot prices for land on the island.
• There were 15 bank owned transactions that sold on the Maui MLS in September. In September of 2014, there 13 bank owned sales.
• There were 4 successful short sale transactions in September of 2015 which is down from the 6 short sales that closed in September of 2014.

Pending Sales in September
The majority of the September sales were based on contracts that were written in July and August. With that in mind, we wanted to see what type of activity we were seeing from buyers in September. The following chart shows the number of homes, condos and parcels of land that went under contract in September compared to the number of properties that went under contract in September of 2014.

It was a strong month of buyer activity in September with the number of homes that went under contract significantly higher than the number in September 2014. Condos activity is up slightly and land contracts mirrored what we were seeing last year. I would surmise the big increase in home activity is still related to the low interest rates and buyers wanting to obtain properties while those low interest rates last.

Thoughts on the September Stats and the State of the Market
This is the fourth month of a row where the 2015 sales volumes were higher than the sales numbers for the same month of 2014. As mentioned above, I believe most of this can be attributed to buyers trying to “get in” before interest rates increase. The urge to get in is heightened by a difficult Maui long term rental market that has seen rents increase drastically over the last 3 years.

What does all of this mean for buyers and sellers? Well priced properties continue to be very competitive, particularly with properties below or near the median home price. The last three offers I submitted were for homes located in Upcountry Maui that were near or below the median sales price. All three offers were competitive bidding situations. This type of activity is common throughout the different geographic areas of the island. This means buyers will need to be prepared to act quickly when a good opportunity comes on the market. If a buyer will need a mortgage for their purchase, they should get pre-approved before they even start looking at homes. Sellers, particularly those with homes that are valued near or below median prices, will find that this is a good time to sell. To be clear, that doesn’t mean sellers have carte blanche when it comes to pricing. Overpriced properties are still sitting in this market. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are interested in buying or selling a property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to sit down with you and listen to your real estate needs.

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.

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.

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.