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

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.

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.

Spreckelsville has had one of the strongest real estate markets on Maui over the last few years. This North Shore neighborhood is desirable due to good beaches, great water sports, and its proximity to the Maui Country Club, Paia Town and Central Maui amenities. While the volume of properties sold is never that high, there has been strong appreciation and a good number of the properties have been sold before they are even listed. With that context, it has been a slow start to 2016.

The map above shows the current inventory of properties listed for sale in Spreckelsville and the 2015 sales. It is noteworthy that there have been no sales in 2016 and no sales in the second half of 2015 for that matter. What gives?

Well, for a good part of the second half of 2015 there was limited inventory in Spreckelsville. For a few months, there were only two listings. There was one condo at Sugar Cove that was priced well above market comparables. There was also one home that was listed in the Spreckelsville V neighborhood. The home backed up to Hana Highway and it was listed at a higher price than any previous Sprecks V sales price. That home was pulled from the market in October. 477 Laulea came to the market in October and 1050 Kapakaulua came to market in November of 2015. Limited inventory at higher price points tends to lead to fewer sales. Since the calendar has turned, we have seen 3 additional listings come on the market.

The combination of new inventory combined with a recent significant price reduction on the Sugar Cove condo suggests that the Spreckelsville dry streak for sales will likely end within the next few months. Check out the Spreckelsville Real Estate Listings for additional photos and details on the current inventory. Check out the Little Blue Beach House listing page for more details on our current Spreckelsville listing. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have questions about the community or are interested in buying or selling property in Sprecks. Martin and Billy both call Spreckelsville home. They know the community as well as any agent on island.

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

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.

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.

We are two months into the new year and more than half way through Maui’s peak real estate season, that means it is a good time to check in with the Maui Real Estate statistics. After a slow start for sales in January, we saw an increase in sales volume among all property types in February. We will have all the details on sales volumes, medians, February new pending sales, notable numbers and a few thoughts on the market below. Without further ado, here are the February Maui Real Estate Statistics

Maui Sales Volumes and Median Prices

By my count, there were 69 homes sold on Maui in February with a median sales price of $595,000. In February of 2015, there were 60 homes sold with a median price of $558,625. That calculates to a 15% increase in sales activity and a 6.5% increase in median price.

There were 102 condos sold in February 2016 with a median sales price of $444,450. Last February, there were 95 condos sold with a median sales price of $475,000. That represents a 7% increase in sales activity when comparing February 2016 to February 2015 and a 6% decrease in median price.

There were 20 lots sold last month with a median sales price of $512,500. In February of 2015, there were 14 sold with a median price of $490,000. That is a 43% increase in sales volume and a 4.5% increase in median price.

Notable Numbers from the February Maui Real Estate Sales
While compiling the sales volumes and the medians, I came across some other notable numbers from the February Real Estate sales activity on Maui.

• The highest priced home to sell on Maui in February closed or $5,550,000. Located in the Wailea Golf Vistas subdivision, the 4 bedroom, 5.5 bathroom luxury home includes amenities like an infinity pool and big ocean views.
• The Wailea Golf Vista Sale was one of six total home transactions that closed for more than $2,000,000. The other big transactions included a sale in Makawao, one in the Launiupoko area of Lahaina and three sales in Kapalua.
• The highest priced condo sale in February closed for $4,295,000. The 3 bedroom, 4 bath unit at the Andaz Residences offered top of the line finishing and 2,644 square feet of living space.
• The Andaz sale was one of six total condos that sold for more than $1,500,000 in February. The other sales were located at Montage Kapalua Bay, Honua Kai, Makena Surf, Wailea Beach Villas and Ka’anapali Ali’i.
• The highest priced lot to sell closed for $1,450,000. The big 25 acre parcel is located in the Honolua Ridge area of Kapalua.
• That was one of three lots that sold for more than $1,000,000. The others were located in Ka’anapali Coffee Farms and Launiupoko.
• There were 8 REO or bank owned sales in February. That was down from the 14 bank owned sales last February.
• There were 5 short sale transactions that completed successfully in February. All of them were home sales. That is up modestly from the 3 short sales in February of 2015.

February Pending Sales
The February sales are based primarily on contracts written in December and January. There may be a smattering of quick closes written up in February and a handful of longer term contracts. To get a better understanding of buyer demand last month, we wanted to provide some information on the number of properties that went pending in February.

Homes, condos and land all saw an increase in pending sales over February of 2015. Pending sales for homes were up sharply. Buyer demand remains strong on island for homes. Condo sales were up by the thinnest of margins and land sales saw a more substantial increase.

Maui Real Estate Market Thoughts
It is safe to say that , it was a pretty strong month for the market on Maui. February also was bolstered by having an extra business day since it was a leap year. With home sales and home pendings, February of 2016 clearly outperformed 2015 regardless of that extra day. With condos, things were a little less clear cut. When you subtract the 5 sales on the last day of the month, the increase in sales shrinks to 2. When you subtract the 9 pending sales that occurred on the 29th, the number of pending sales falls below what we saw during February 2015.

There is a lot of variability in activity within the condo market on Maui. There are parts of the market that are doing well like the entry level condo market. The luxury condo market is also doing pretty well. The vacation rental condo market is where we are seeing bigger drops in activity. With the big drop in the Canadian Dollar and the decline of Alberta’s oil industry, we have seen a shrinking pool of buyers. We have also seen growing inventory as some Canadians put their condos on the market. The net result is higher inventories and limited demand.

The home market continues to be strong. Demand is particularly strong for homes priced at or below the median prices of the market. Interest rates have dropped to levels even lower than what we saw before the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. With a tough rental market on island, demand continues to be strong from first time home buyers.

Land saw something of a rebound in February after the really low sales numbers in January. The number of land sales remain somewhat limited compared to other property types. That can make for some dramatic shifts in sales percentage wise with relatively modest changes in units sold.

The heterogeneity of the Maui Real Estate market conditions heightens the importance of savvy and experienced representation. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team today if you are interested in buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss your real estate needs and discuss market conditions specific to the areas and price points that are of interest to you.

I have to admit, I have been struggling to keep up with the blog as of late. It has been a busy start to the year between transactions and listings. On a personal level, we are finishing the remodel of a home and planning to move in on Friday. Needless to say, cobwebs and dust have been forming on the little corner of cyberspace known as our blog. I started the research for this post on the 6th and began to write this post over ten days ago. That said, I have a quick window this afternoon to finish up a look at the January numbers. January was a little bit off from last year’s numbers. I will give all the details below as well as a few thoughts on what it all means. Without further ado, here are the January 2016 Maui Real Estate Statistics.

January Sales Volumes and Median Prices

There were 73 homes sold in January with a median price of $630,000. Last January there were 75 homes sold with a median price of $577,000. That is roughly a 3% drop in volume and a 9% increase in median price.

Maui County Realtors reported 82 condos sold last month with a median price of $397,500. In January of 2014, there were 83 condos sold with a median price of $378,000. That is just over a 1% drop in volume and a 5% increase in median price.

It was a particularly slow month for land sales with 5 closes and a median of $850,000. Last year, there were 11 sales with a median price of $750,000. That is a 55% drop in volume and a 13% increase in median price.

Notable Numbers from the January 2016 Maui Real Estate Sales
While compiling the numbers above, I came across some other notable numbers that I thought were worth sharing.

• The highest priced home to sell in January closed for $3,975,000. That house is an oceanfront home in the Baby Beach area of Lahaina. That was the only home sold for more than $2,000,000 last month.
• The highest priced condo transaction closed for $3,300,000. That was a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath top row unit at Ho’olei. It was one of the better located units in the complex.
• That was one of four condo sales for over $1,500,000 in January. The other sales included two transactions at Polo Beach and one sale at the Honua Kai Resort.
• There were no land sales for more than $1,000,000 in January. The highest priced land transaction for the month closed for $865,000. It was a 1.42 acre condominiumized lot in Launiupoko with entitlements to build a main house.
• There were 9 bank owned sales in Maui during January. There were also 9 bank owned sales in January of 2014.
• There was just one short sale that closed in January. Last year, there were 6 short sales that closed in January.

Pending Sales Activity in January
With the January Sales numbers down from last year, I was interested to see how many properties went under contract in January.

The number of homes that went pending in January was up 8% compared to January of 2015. The number of condos that were pending went down 8% compared to last year. Land was also down 26% compared to last year. That said, the 17 land pending sales is a nice improvement from the 5 closes in January.

Thoughts on the January Maui Real Estate Statistics
This is the first month since August 2014 where all three property types saw a decrease in sales volume compared to the year before. I can’t say that I am horribly surprised to see the decrease in activity in home sales. We saw accelerated demand in the later parts of 2015 as buyers were trying to grab properties before the anticipated bump in interest rates. After the rates bumped, albeit modestly, there was a a dip in demand. Looking at the pending numbers, this drop in activity for homes appears to be relatively short lived.

The condo market may be experiencing influences above and beyond fluctuations in interest rates. After seeing a decrease in sales compared to last January, condo pending sales were also down compared to January 2015. I would postulate that there are two additional factors at play. January was a bumpy month for the stock market. Purchasing a condo as a second home on Maui is a discretionary purchase that is more likely to occur when the potential buyer is feeling flush. If a potential buyer takes a big hit to their stock portfolio, that typically isn’t when they are reaching for their wallet to make a big discretionary purchase. The other factor that is dragging on our condo market is the weakened Canadian Dollar. From 2007-2014, the Canadian Dollar was at or near par with the U.S. Dollar. It is now sitting at roughly 70 cents on the dollar. A significant number of the Canadian buyers were from Alberta. The big dip in oil prices, one of the big drivers of the decrease in the Canadian Dollar, has been an extra hit to the oil driven Alberta economy.

The five land sales recorded in January was the second lowest monthly total since 2010. That said, we saw a pretty healthy number of land listings go under contract in January. The land market has never come close to reaching the sales numbers we saw during the last boom. Financing is harder and that is a factor. There also appear to be fewer lower priced lots on the market. We saw a little more activity a couple of years back as there were some lot prices that made more sense when doing a build vs. buy preexisting analysis. I am not saying there aren’t lots like that still on the market, but they appear to be fewer in number.

Overall, this remains a somewhat schizophrenic market with some parts of the market scorching hot while other segments are chock full of inventory with limited demand. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the change to listen to your needs and give you our thoughts on market conditions for the type of property that might fit your needs.

Before we head into February, I wanted to take a quick look back at the 2015 Maui Real Estate market. This is a review of sales volumes, median prices and other notable numbers. I also wanted to address a few questions that arose in my own mind while compiling the statistics. Without further ado, here are the 2015 statistics.

Maui Sales Volume, Median Prices and Total Dollar Volume
There were 1090 homes sold on Maui during 2015 with a median sales price of $580,000. The total dollar volume of homes sold in 2015 was $931,646,757. There were 942 homes sold in 2014 with a median price of $570,000. The 2014 total dollar volume was $825,770,160. That means we saw almost a 16% increase in sales volume, just under a 2% increase in median price and a 13% increase in dollar volume when comparing 2015 to 2014.

There were 1,199 condos sold in Maui County during 2015 with a median sales price of $410,000. The total dollar volume of condos sold was $763,806,071. The 2014 condo totals were 1,201 sales with a median price of $414,750. The 2014 total dollar volume was $755,031,268. That means sales volume dropped two tenths of a percent, median price dropped just over one percent and the total dollar volume rose one percent in 2015.

There were 154 land sales in Maui County in 2015 with a median sales price of $447,650. The total dollar volume of land sold was $136,353,541. The 2014 sales figures for land were 166 sales and a median price of $520,000. The total dollar of land sold in 2014 was $119,330,455. That is just over a 7% drop in volume, a 14% drop in median price and a 14% increase in the total dollar volume.

Notable Numbers from the 2015 Maui Real Estate Sales

• The highest priced home to sell on Maui during 2015 closed for $41,775,000. This was by far and away the highest ever priced paid for a home on Maui. The subject property consists of 6,737 square foot house on 4.23 acres in Makena. More than a few eye brows were raised by a sale that was priced well above other comparable properties in the area. The property was not listed at the time that it sold.
• That was one of 56 homes to sell for more than $2,000,000 during 2015. The 56 homes sold over $2,000,000 was down by 14% from 65 sold in 2014.
• The Makena and Wailea area were busiest part of the island for sales over $2,000,000 with 13 total closes.
• There were 17 beach or oceanfront homes that sold in Maui County during 2015. That was a 29% decrease from the 24 oceanfront sales in 2014.
• On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest priced home to sell in Maui County closed for $94,750. That home is located in the Maunaloa Village area of Molokai. The lowest priced home to sell on the island of Maui closed for $210,000. The three bedroom, one bath home in Wailuku was situated on a tiny 2,370 square foot lot.
• The highest priced condo to sell on Maui during 2015 closed for $8,500,000. The beachfront, three bedroom unit at Wailea Beach Villas has over 2,900 square feet of living space.
• That was one of 91 condos sold for over $1,500,000 during 2015. That exceeded the 83 high end condo sold in 2014 by almost 10%.
• The Honua Kai Resort saw the most high end condo sales activity with 25 closes over $1,500,000. Montage Kapalua Bay was notable with 9 sales over $3,950,000.
• The lowest priced condo to sell closed for $20,000. That was a 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit at Harbor Lights in Kahului.
• The highest priced land transaction to close in 2015 sold for $10,800,000. That was for a half acre lot in the Maluaka Homesites area of the Makena Golf and Beach Club.
• That was one of 6 land sales in this neighborhood for $7,800,000 or more.
• There were 25 total land transactions of $1,000,000 or more in Maui County during 2015. That was up slightly from 24 sales over $1,000,000 in 2014.
• The lowest priced lot to sell in Maui County closed for $20,000 for a 5,351 square foot lot on Molokai. The lowest priced lot to sell on Maui proper closed for 26,000. That was a leasehold lot in the Hawaiian Home Lands in Kula.
• There were 168 bank owned or REO transactions that closed in Maui County during 2015. That was up from the 116 bank owned sales in 2014. That is almost a 45% increase in bank owned sales.
• There were 49 successful short sales that closed in 2015. That is down 49% from the 97 short sale transactions in 2014.
• Of the properties that closed in 2015, 36% were reported to have been cash sales. That is down from 2014 when 42% of the sales were said to have been cash transactions.

Some Questions and Answers About the Numbers
While reviewing the numbers above, a lot of questions came up in my mind. In the paragraphs below, I wanted to address some of these questions and give my thoughts on potential answers.

What drove the increased home sales activity this year?
When looking at the numbers above, homes were the only property type to outperform the 2014 numbers. What drove the increase in sales? There were a couple of factors that came into play. I believe a lot of the activity was driven by on island buyers. Island rents have soared over the last few years. Lower interest rates made the buy vs. rent argument that much more compelling. The threat of increased rates in the near term added to buyer urgency. Evidence of the increased demand from local buyers could be found in the big bump in activity in Central Maui. Home sales in that part of the island were up 33% over last year. The Upcountry area also saw a bump with Pukalani, Kula and Makawao sales up 28,31 and 7% respectively. These are communities that tend to draw on island vs second home buyers. A couple of strong years for tourism helped put local buyers in a better position to afford their purchase.

If sales activity was so strong, why did the median home price only increase 2%?
The first thing to note when answering this question is that changes in median price are not a direct reflection of changes in property values. Median price is also driven by shifts in where sales activity occurs. More high end sales can push up the median sales price while more low end sales can push down the median price. While values increased quite a bit more than 2% in many parts of the market, that was offset by a shift in where sales were occurring. There was a 14% decrease in sales over $2,000,000. As mentioned in the paragraph above, we were also seeing higher levels of activity in more affordable communities around the island. These shifts in market activity helped to offset stronger appreciation in some of the lower and middle priced communities on island.

As a follow up question, one might ask exactly how much Maui home values increased in 2015? That is a really tough question to answer. First and foremost, the rates of appreciation varied largely by price point and location. Homes at or below the median saw the most appreciation due to simple supply and demand. These price points had a much larger pool of buyers and supply was relatively limited. Higher end homes have much more inventory and a much smaller pool of buyers. As a result, upward price pressure has been far more limited.

Why did the condo market see a dip in activity?
If home sales were so strong, why were condo sales down? Condo sales are driven more by off island buyers. I would say the weakening Canadian Dollar played a big part in the decrease in condo sales activity. Maui has seen a significant number of Canadian Condo Buyers since about 2007. That was the first year that the Canadian Dollar was on par with the U.S. dollar. The emergence of Canadian buyers in 2007 helped to buoy the Maui market while a lot of mainland markets were already starting to see big decreases in sales and pricing. They continued to be buyers through the downturn and into the start of the recovery. Around 2013, the Canadian dollar started to dip below par and more substantial decreases occurred in 2014 and 2015. At the time of this post, the Canadian dollar is currently worth 72 cents in American dollars. Less buying power means fewer Canadian buyers. It doesn’t help that a lot of the previous Canadian buyers were coming from Alberta. The weakening Canadian dollar is a reflection of weakening oil prices. The drop in oil prices is a double whammy for buyers from the oil rich province of Alberta.

Final Thoughts
I know tomorrow is the first of February, but I still plan on putting out more posts specific to how different communities around the island performed during 2015. Those posts will also include some thoughts on what we might expect to see in those communities during 2016. Feel free to contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you have any questions on the numbers above, or if you need assistance buying or selling property on Maui. We welcome the opportunity to be of assistance.