Time for our weekly report on Maui Real Estate market activity. New pending sales increased between August 26th and September 1st as did closed transactions. The market also saw another surge of new inventory with new condo listings leading the way. Keep reading for more details on this week’s numbers.

This Week’s New Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 60 new pending sales over the seven day period between August 26th and September 1. That is an 11% increase over the previous seven days. It is less than a 2% increase over the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers from This Week’s New Pending Sales

• The 60 new pending sales include 28 homes, 26 condos and 6 lots.
• Of the 26 condos, 12 of the new pending sales are in developments that allow vacation rentals. Two more of the pending sales are resort area condos that prohibit vacation rentals.
• It was a particularly busy week for luxury home buyers. Maui Realtors reported seven new pending sales over $2,000,000. That includes four homes and 3 condos.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 59 sales over the seven day period between August 26th and September 1st. That is a 9% increase over the prior seven days. It is a 5% decrease from the same seven day period of 2019.

This Week’s New Inventory

Maui Realtors brought 96 condos to market over the seven day period between August 26th and September 1. That is an 8% increase over the previous seven day period. It is a whopping 37% increase over the 7 day period of 2019.

It will be interesting to watch the difference between new inventory this fall compared to fall of 2019. Historically, fall is one of the quieter times in the Maui Real Estate market as it tends to be a slower time for visitors. Some sellers will pull their properties off the market and relist closer to our winter visitor season. I would expect dynamics might be different this fall.

Once again, it was the condo market that far and away saw the most new inventory over the last seven day tracking period. Realtors listed 60 condos between the 26th and the 1st. Of the 60 condos, 46 are in developments that permit vacation rentals.

As mentioned in previous posts, growing inventory is starting to impact the vacation rental condo market. We are seeing prices go down in complexes where inventory is particularly high.

The 28 new home listings that came to market over this tracking period match the 28 homes that went under contract. Inventory for homes remains relatively limited on island and that is helping to sustain and even increase prices.

The 9 lots that came to market represents a slight uptick in inventory. That said, the overall inventory levels remain pretty steady for land. This is helping to sustain current land prices.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

I remain surprised by the resiliency of the local real estate market. Considering our lack of tourism, demand is coming in pretty close to last year’s levels. That said, we are seeing some increasing signs of variability in the market. Navigating dynamic market conditions requires quality representation. The Maui Real Estate Team is working actively with buyers and sellers to help find success in these unusual times. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui. We look forward to listening and learning about your real estate needs.

New pending sales for the seven day period between August 19th and 25th remained similar to the week prior. Closed transactions jumped back up closer to normals after a quiet previous seven days. New listings are up this week led once again by more new condo inventory. Find out more details on the numbers below.

New Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 54 new pending sales over the seven day period between August 19th and August 25th. That is a modest 4% increase in activity over the week prior. That is 5% less activity than the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers from This Week’s Pending Sales

• The 54 new pending sales include 27 homes, 22 condos and 5 lots.
• While condo sales outpaced pending home sales for about a four week period in July and early August, pending home sales outnumbered condos over the last two weeks. Buyer preference for homes remains higher overall during Covid-19. This mirrors trends in other markets across the country albeit for different reasons. On the mainland a desire for less density and more yard space is hurting the condo market. On Maui, decreased demand for vacation rental condos is hindering condo sales volumes.
• The 22 condo pending sales include 11 listings in vacation rental friendly condos. Two of the other listings are resort area condos that prohibit vacation rentals.
• The five pending lot sales are a slight bump over last week but below the weekly numbers in much of July and the first half of August.
• Maui Realtors reported four new pending home sales on properties listed for more than $2,000,000. One of the new pending sales is for a home in Makena listed for $11,750,000.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 54 sales over the seven day period between August 19th and August 25th. This is a 46% increase over the closed transactions for the week prior. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the big increase over the week prior is a reflection of a quieter period between August 12th and 18th and more of a return to normal rather than a bug uptick in sales. The 54 sales is 4% above the same seven day period of 2019.

This Week’s New Listings

There is one thing to note about this week’s new listings. There were a few agents with a significant number of listings who switched brokerages between the 19th and the 25th. When agents switch brokerages, they cancel their listings under the old brokerage and relist under the new brokerage. This leads to an inflated number of “new” listings. I filtered this weeks new listing numbers to make sure I was only counting listings that were truly new to market.

With that caveat out of the way, Maui Realtors reported 89 new listings this week. That is the highest number to date for any week in the chart above. That is 11% higher than the number of new listings for the week prior. It is an impressive 71% higher than the same seven day period of 2019.

Once again, the condo market saw the highest number of new listings with 57 units coming to market. With only 22 condos going under contract over this week, the active condo inventory continues to increase. Many of the condos coming to market are vacation rentals. With no income to offset monthly overhead, some owners are feeling enough pain to go to market.

The higher inventory and motivated sellers are translating to price adjustments and decreases in value. This isn’t true of all vacation rental condo developments. Some with limited inventory are holding value. That said, anecdotally it seems like the number of developments with declining values is increasing. I may need to do a deeper dive into this market over the coming weeks.

The other market that seems to be seeing some downward price pressure is the entry level condo market in Kihei. A lot of owners and tenants in these developments work in the tourism industry. With tourism still shut down and no clear time frame to reopen, this is another area where sellers are experiencing some pain.

Maui Realtors brought 24 homes to market between the 19th and the 25th. That is less than the 27 homes that went under contract. This continues the trend of shrinking inventory for single family homes. The decrease in inventory is sustaining to potentially increasing home values on island.

Maui Realtors listed seven lots between the 19th and the 25th of August. That is a little more than the five lots that went under contract. The recent trend has been towards a slight decrease in inventory. The inventory levels are sustaining current pricing for lots on Maui.

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Overall market activity on island remains pretty resilient when you consider the state of the world and the current shape of the Maui economy. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering dipping your toes in the waters of the Maui Real Estate market. We look forward to learning more about your needs, and providing guidance on market conditions specific to your needs.

Maui Real Estate activity was a little quieter over the seven day period between August 12th and 18th. New pending sales dipped. Closed transactions went down substantially. Listing agents were busy though with lots of new condo listings coming to market. Learn more details about this week’s numbers in the paragraphs below.

This Week’s Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 52 new pending sales between August 12th and 18th. That is a 16% drop in buyer activity from the week prior. It is a 2% increase in activity compared to the same seven day period of 2019. This is the fourth week in a row when 2020 pending sales exceeded the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers From This Week’s Pending Sales

• The 52 new pending sales include 28 homes, 21 condos and 3 lots.
• In something of a shift, only 7 of the 21 new condo pending sales are located in vacation rental friendly complexes. Remember, one week does not make a trend.
• The 3 new pending lot sales represent a dip from recent activity. Again, I am reticent to read into one week’s activity.
• Activity increased in the luxury real estate market this week. There were 5 pending sales over $2,000,000 including 4 homes and 1 condo.

This Week’s Sales Activity

Maui Realtors reported 37 sales over the seven day period between August 12th and the 18th. That is a 43% drop in closings from the week prior. It is a 3% drop from the same seven day period of 2019. It was a particularly quiet week for condo and lot sales with only 12 and 1 closed transactions respectively. I am not sure that the quiet week of activity is indicative of too much other than variability in the market. Keep in mind, sales are a lagging indicator of buyer demand.

This Week’s New Inventory

Maui Realtors brought 80 properties to market between August 12th and 18th. That is almost a 10% increase over the week prior. It is a 20% increase over the same seven day period of 2019.

Of the 80 new listings that came to market, 58 are condos. Of the 58 condo listings, 35 are vacation rental condos. The growth in condo inventory continues. Whether it is due to lack of access or the pain of holding costs with no rental income, more vacation rental condo owners are choosing to bring their condos to market. As mentioned in recent updates, this increase in not universal across all condo developments. In those where the increase in inventory is more pronounced, values are starting to show some downward pressure.

The home inventory appears to be following a completely different trajectory than the condo market. Maui Realtors only listed 19 homes between the 12th and the 18th. That is well below the 28 that went under contract. The contracting home inventory is supporting and in some cases putting upward pressure on current market values.

Only 3 new lots came to market between the 12th and the 18th. With 3 lots going pending this week, active land inventory levels managed to stay steady. Overall, land inventory is slightly decreasing over the last month or two. The decrease in inventory is supporting current land values over most of the island.

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While this may have been a little quieter week for transactions on the island, Maui’s real estate market remains resilient. Buyers are taking advantage of the historically low interest rates. We also may be experiencing a bump from what Zillow CEO Rich Barton coined “the great reshuffling.” This is a nationwide trend towards remote work. Some buyers are taking their companies offer to work anywhere as an opportunity to work from Maui. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of buying or selling property on Maui. We continue to work hard to meet the needs of buyers and sellers during this unique time. We look forward to our first conversation to learn more about your real estate needs.

Maui Realtors reported another busy week for buyer demand over the seven day period between August 5th and August 11th. Sales activity tied the week prior for the busiest week since late March. New inventory ticked up over this last seven day period, but there appears to be a growing divergence in the amount of new inventory by property type. Find out more details below.

This Week’s New Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 62 new pendings over the seven day period between August 5th and August 11th. This seven day period ties the first week of July for the busiest week of buyer activity since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is almost a 9% increase over the week prior. It is just under 35% more activity than the same seven day period of 2019. This is the third week in a row that 2020 pending sales exceeded the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers from the Pending Sales Activity

• The 62 new pending sales include 22 homes, 31 condos and 9 lots.
• This is now four out of five weeks with condo pendings outpacing home pendings. This is a reverse of what we saw through the first three and a half months of the pandemic. Scarcity may be reason for fewer homes going under contract with inventory low. We may also be seeing more buyers responding to price adjustments in the condo market. I can’t say definitively.
• Of the 31 condo pendings, 18 are located in developments that permit vacation rentals. It is worth keeping in mind that we have very few visitors on island and tourism reopening is looking more likely to be delayed past September 1. It is likely that most of these purchases are sight unseen.
• The nine new lot pending sales over the seven day period are a new high during the pandemic. I think that number may need an asterisk though. Three of the new pendings are in a Kula development where the developer reserved a number of the lots for himself. These properties went under contract on the same day the developer raised the price of these lots 18%. I am not one for conspiracy theories but…
• One home and one condo priced over $2,000,000 went under contract over the seven day period. The two new pendings are in line with recent luxury real estate market activity levels.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 65 sales during the seven day period between August 5th and August 11th. That is the same number as last week, and a 38% increase over the same seven day period of 2019. Last week’s sales continue to reflect the higher buyer activity in June. The numbers also received a slight bump due to four new developer closes. Those closes were all based on contracts originally written in 2019.

This Week’s New Inventory Numbers

Maui Realtors brought 73 new listings to market between August 5th and August 11th. That is a modest 1% bump over new listings during the week prior and a 38% increase over the same seven day period of 2019.

Of the 73 new listings that came to market, 52 are condo listings. Of the 52 condo listings, 36 are in developments that permit vacation rentals. While buyer activity is up in the condo market over the last month, the inventory continues to grow with more properties coming to market.

Owning a vacation rental condo comes with overhead. Vacation rental income helps offset that overhead. As of now, it has been over four months since any of these owners earned rental income to help offset these costs. At this point, it is inevitable that our reopening for tourism is going to be delayed past the current scheduled date of September 1 based on the state of affairs with Covid-19. With no immediate relief in sight, the increase in inventory should continue.

The increased inventory started to impact values at some vacation rental friendly condos over the last month. At this point, the increased inventory and the downward price pressure are not universal. Some developments still have scarce inventory and those developments are holding values. This continues to be a market worth watching.

On the other end of the spectrum, the inventory of homes listed for sale is tightening. Maui Realtors only brought 14 homes on the market between August 5th and August 11th. That is the lowest number of weekly new home listings since April. Low inventory levels are supporting values and in some areas increasing values.

Nine new lot listings came to market between August 5th and 11th. That is the same as the number of lots that went under contract over the seven day period. Land market values seem to be holding steady to modestly increasing with inventory levels holding steady to slightly decreasing.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

The Maui Real Estate market remains resilient albeit increasingly complex. Different parts of the market appear to be taking different trajectories. The home market is holding steady while growing inventory is beginning to impact the condo market. That said, there is variability within the different property types based on price point and location. With all of that in mind, market knowledge and good representation remain important. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of buying or selling property on Maui. We welcome the chance to listen and learn about your real estate needs.

The Maui Real Estate market concluded another pretty busy seven day period between July 29th and August 4. It was the third busiest week for new pending sales during Covid-19. Sales activity was the strongest since the end of March. While new inventory was up this week, that increase wasn’t uniform across all property types. Keep reading for more details and numbers.

This Week’s New Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 57 new pending sales over the seven day period between July 29th and August 4th. That is a 7% decrease from last week and 14% higher than the same seven day period of 2019. This is the second week in a row when pending sales this year exceeded the same seven day period of 2019. It is only the third time this has happened during Covid-19.

Notable Numbers from This Week’s Pending Sales

• The 57 new pending sales include 21 homes, 29 condos and 7 lots.
• Demand for homes is outpacing demand for condos through most of the pandemic. Over the last month, condo activity seems to be picking up while home sales are down a little. I can’t give a definitive reason why, but I surmise scarce home inventory could be a factor.
• Of the 29 new pending condo sales, 19 are in complexes that allow vacation rentals.
• Two homes listed for over $2,000,000 went under contract this week.
• The demand for land remains consistent on a weekly basis. This week there were 7 new pending lot sales. Over the last six weeks, we are averaging 6 new pendings per week.

This Week’s Closed Real Estate Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 65 sales over the seven day period between July 29th and August 4th. That is a 59% increase over last week and down 8.5% from the same seven day period of 2019. This is the busiest week for sales since the last week of March. The higher sales numbers are reflecting the increased buyer activity in June. The numbers also received a boost from ten sales in new developments. Nine of those sales are from contracts written in 2019. One sale at Makena Golf and Beach Club goes all the way back to a contract agreed upon in 2017.

This Week’s New Inventory

Maui Realtors brought 72 properties to market in the last week. That is 26.3% more than last week. It is 9% lower than what came on the market during the same seven day period of 2019.

Once again, more new condo inventory came to market than any other property type. The 43 new condo listings exceeds the 29 that went pending in the last week. The difference between new condo inventory and condo pending sales isn’t quite as drastic as it was a month or so ago, but there is still a net increase in condo inventory.

As mentioned over the last couple of weeks, the increase in inventory isn’t occurring in all parts of the condo market. It is more pronounced in some vacation rental friendly condo developments and the entry level non-vacation rental developments in Kihei. We are starting to see the impact of increased inventory as some sellers are reducing prices below recent comparable sales.

There were 23 new home listings between July 29th and August 4th. That is slightly above the 21 homes that went pending. The inventory of homes for sale on island remains limited overall. The limited inventory supports and in some cases means upward pressure on current home values depending on location and price point.

Between July 29th and August 4th, 6 land listings came to market. That is less than the 7 lots that went under contract over the same period. Inventory in the land market grew over the first few months of the pandemic. Over the last month or more, inventory stabilized. Pricing for land across most of the island is stable to slightly up depending on location and price point.

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While the situation in the world remains wildly unpredictable, the national real estate market remains resilient. While that is true for Maui in general, we are seeing potential signs of market bifurcation. Some parts of the market remain strong while others are starting to soften. We continue to monitor the island’s various market segments closely. Contact the Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui. We welcome the chance to learn about your needs and offer our market expertise.

The seven day period between July 22nd and 28th was the second busiest for buyer activity since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales activity was the second strongest since April. The amount of new inventory coming to market decreased. Find out more details on recent Maui Real Estate market activity in the paragraphs below.

This Week’s Pending Maui Real Estate Sales

Maui Realtors reported 61 new pending sales over the seven day period between July 22nd and July 28th. That is a 20% increase in new pending sales over last week. It is a 15% increase over the same seven day period of 2019. This is only the second time since the start of the pandemic that weekly pending sales outpaced the same seven day period of 2019.

Digging Deeper into This Week’s Pending Sales

• The 61 new pending sales included 32 homes, 23 condos and 6 lots.
• After two weeks of stronger pending condo sales, home sales rose back to the top. This is in line with the overall trend during Covid-19.
• Of the 23 new pending condo sales, 14 are vacation rentable. One more is a higher priced condo in Wailea that prohibits short term rentals.
• New pending lot sales totaled six for the fourth time in five weeks. The one exception was pretty darn close with five pending sales. The land market activity is up from earlier in the pandemic and seems to be plateauing. That of course means that next week’s numbers will likely be either significantly higher or lower.
• The luxury home market continues to see pretty strong activity with four homes priced over $2,000,000 going under contract between the 22nd and the 28th.

The Latest Closed Transaction Numbers

Maui Realtors reported 41 sales over the seven day period between July 22nd and July 28th. That is down 5% from the week prior and down 36% from the same seven day period of 2019. That said, this last seven day period is just one of three weeks since late April when sales numbers exceeded 40.

Comparing this week’s numbers to the same week in 2019, the biggest decline in sales is in the condo market. Condo sales are down 46% compared to the same week last year. Home sales are only down 22%. Land sales are down 25%, but that is a bit of a misleading number. There were four sales last year vs 3 this year.

New Inventory Numbers for the Week

Maui Realtors brought 57 new listings to market between July 22nd and July 28th. This is down 26% from the week prior and 14% from the same seven day period of 2019. This is the slowest week for new inventory since May.

Staying true to recent trends, more new condo inventory came to market than other property types. When factoring in pending sales, there was a net decrease in active condo inventory albeit not drastic. On previous market updates, we noted the increase in condo inventory at selected developments around the island. We surmised that the growing inventory could lead to a softening market. Our broker talked to an appraiser this week who closely tracks the market. The appraiser noted a handful of West Maui Vacation Rental Condos and entry level condos in Kihei where sales over the last week or two were below recent comparable sales.

Single family homes are not following the same trends. New inventory for the last seven day period was lower than the number of homes that went pending. We continue to see shrinking inventory in the home market. This in turn is causing continued upward price pressure.

While land inventory increased earlier in the spring and early summer, this marks four out of five weeks when pending sales exceeded new listings. Values in the land market appear to be stable to potentially increasing depending on location and price point.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Looking at the numbers above, it is clear that the Maui Real Estate market continues to be resilient despite the current state of the economy and continued issues with Covid-19. That said, there is variability in market conditions based on property type, price point and location. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to listen to your needs and discuss market conditions specific to your interests.