Maui’s Real Estate market started 2021 on a similar foot to how it ended 2020. Strong buyer demand continues to persist. I haven’t quite gotten back to weekly posting, but this week’s post should at least have us caught up. I will take a brief look at the numbers over the seven day period between December 30th and January 5th followed by a more in depth look at the very busy week between January 6th and January 12th. Keep reading for more numbers.

Buyer Activity Between December 30th and January 5th

Christmas time is traditionally thought of as the start of peak buyer season on Maui. This correlates with the start of peak visitor season. That said, the weeks right after Christmas and around the new year tend to be something of a mixed bag for Maui Real Estate. Some years, buyer activity is particularly robust. Other years it is more quiet. Despite comparatively low visitor numbers, the seven days between December 30th, 2020 and January 5th, 2021 showed solid activity.

• Maui Realtors reported 62 pending sales between the 30th and the 5th. That is 11% higher than the week prior. It is 63% more activity than the same seven day period last year.
• The 62 pending sales include 21 homes, 35 condos and 6 lots.
• The high end market remains busy with 9 properties priced $2,000,000 or above going under contract.
• Sales were solid with 65 closed transactions. This reflects the solid buyer demand from October through early December.
• New inventory was limited between the 30th and the 5th with 40 new listings. That includes only 12 homes and 1 lot.

While this week represented represented a solid start for our “typical” buyer season, the numbers for the 6th-12th of January are pretty eye popping.

New Pending Sales January 6th-12th

Maui County Realtors reported 92 new pending sales over the seven day period between January 6th and 12th. That is a 48% increase in buyer activity over both the seven days prior and the same seven day period of 2020.

Notable Numbers From the Pending Sales Between January 6th-12th

• The 92 pending sales included 35 homes, 47 condos and 10 lots.
• This is a highest number of weekly pending sales than any seven day period of 2020.
• The 47 new pending condo sales represents the highest weekly total since I began tracking this data during Covid.
• Of the 47 pending condo sales, 26 are vacation rental friendly condos. Another 6 new pending condo sales are located in resort developments that prohibit vacation rentals.
• The high end market continues to be busy with 10 new pending sales over $2,000,000. That includes 7 homes and 3 condos.
• The 10 new pending land sales ties the previous Covid era weekly high.

January 6-12 Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 57 closed transactions over the seven day period between January 6th and 12th. That is 10% lower than the seven days prior. That is 68% higher than the same seven day period of 2020.

New Inventory Between January 6th and January 12th

Maui Realtors listed 74 properties over the seven day period between January 6th and 12th. That is an 85% increase in new listings over the week prior. It is 4% lower than the same seven day period of 2020.

Of the 74 new listings, 22 are single family homes. That is well below the 35 new home pending sales this week. That means a further reduction in inventory. Thus far, the new year is not bringing a respite from our home inventory shortage.

Forty new condo listings came to market between the 6th and the 12th. Normally, that would represent a pretty strong week for new inventory. That said, it is still below the 48 new pending condo sales. The condo inventory is not as limited as the single family home inventory. It is worth noting that there is also a fair amount of variability in the supply depending on geography and price point.

The land inventory is the only market segment with a net increase this week thanks to 12 new listings. That compares to 10 pendings. This modest increase is hardly anything to move the market. As a whole the inventory of lots for sale remains pretty stable.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Needless to say, the numbers point to continued robust market activity. Buyer demand remains strong and supply limited. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of buying or selling property. We look forward to working with you and learning more about your real estate needs.

I haven’t quite reclaimed my weekly posting mojo hence the title of this post. That said, I wanted to look at sales activity for the seven day period between December 23rd and 29th. I also wanted to highlight some of the numbers from December 16th-22nd. That was a pretty extraordinary week for real estate activity on Maui. Keep reading for notable numbers from those 14 days.

A Quick Recap of December 16th-22nd

While it may not be getting its own post, this week can’t go without mention. It was far and away the busiest seven day period of 2020. That includes the pre-pandemic market. While it isn’t unusual for us to be outperforming pre-pandemic numbers, the weeks right before Christmas don’t typically see robust market activity. The winter time off island buyers tend to become more active right after Christmas. On island buyers tend to be more focused on the holidays than home buying.

Here are some notable numbers from the 16th-22nd.

• There were 86 new pending sales. That is 21% higher than the previous high for 2020. It is 56% more activity than the same seven day period of 2019.
• The home market was a big driver for this robust week of activity. The 40 new weekly pending home sales is a high for the year.
• Heightened activity at higher price points also played a role. An impressive 11 properties went pending listed over $2,000,000 including 5 over $6,000,000. Of note, 2 homes subsequently fell out of contract.
• The 16th-22nd also saw a lot of high end sales with 9 transactions closing for more than $2,000,000. That includes a $19,000,000 oceanfront sale in Makena. That comes on the heels of an oceanfront estate in Kapalua that Closed for $24,000,000 the week prior. That sale was the highest ever in West Maui.

Needless to say, the 16th-22nd was an extremely busy week for buyers. Now on to our latest seven day tracking period.

New Pending Sales for December 23-29th

Maui Realtors reported 56 new pending sales over the seven day period between December 23rd and December 29th. This is a 35% drop in activity from the the extremely busy seven days prior. That said, it is 65% higher than the same seven day period of 2019. It is worth remembering that this seven day period includes Christmas. The drastic increase over last year provides some context for the high demand this year.

Notable Numbers From The Pending Sales Between December 22nd-28th.

• The 56 pending sales include 23 homes, 30 condos and 3 lots.
• The 30 condo sales include 16 vacation rentals . There are 4 additional condos located in resort areas that prohibit vacation rentals.
• Seven properties listed for more than $2,000,000 went under contract. They include 5 homes and 2 condos.

Closed Transactions Between December 22nd and 28th

Maui Realtors reported 55 sales over the seven day period between December 23rd and December 29th. This is 21% fewer transactions than the seven days prior. It is 62% higher than the same seven day period of 2019. As with the pending sales, we would expect lower numbers compared to the week prior. There is one less day for recorded sales, and some sellers and buyers would want to avoid closing right around Christmas. That said, the 2019 numbers provide some context as to how busy things were comparatively.

New Listings December 23rd-29th

Maui Realtors listed 40 properties in the seven day period between December 23rd and 29th. That is 34% fewer properties than the seven days prior. It is 5% more new listings than the same seven day period of 2019. It is not a big surprise that this is a quieter week for new inventory. Listings that come to market right around the holiday may not get as much visibility with buyers.

Of the 40 new listings, only 12 are homes. This is quite a bit less than the 20 that went under contract. Scarcity of inventory remains a big factor in the single family home market as we enter the new year.

The new listings between the 23rd and 29th included 27 condos. This is also below the 30 condos that went under contract. While there is more condo inventory than home inventory available, buyers may find limited inventory depending on where they are searching.

There was just 1 new land listing to hit the market between the 23rd and the 29th. The land market saw a slight decrease in inventory over December. While there is variability based on geography, the land market also suffers to an extent from a lack of options.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

As we enter the new year, buyer activity remains strong and supply limited. At the same time, there seems to be growing instability in the world with Covid numbers continuing to rise and significant political unrest. Will that impact the market? Thus far, the Maui market remains resilient. If anything there is an argument that the relative safe haven of Maui may be appealing to buyers. We continue to work hard for buyers and sellers in these challenging times. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are looking to buy or sell property on Maui. We look forward to talking to you and learning more about your real estate needs.

The title of this post is something of a misnomer. I last posted an update almost a month ago. That is a reflection of current market conditions. More time showing property and less time time to blog. Being that it’s been a while, this will be a bulked up post. I wanted to give a quick update on market conditions over the period when I didn’t post. I will also have specific details on market activity for the seven day period between December 2nd and 8th.

Catching Up on The Market

With your resident blogger slacking over the last four weeks, here is a higher level overview on the market dynamics through the end of November. These are some of the key points on recent market activity.

• Pending sales activity dipped slightly for the three weeks prior to December 2nd-8th. After averaging 60 plus weekly new pending sales for 7 straight weeks, weekly new pendings over this period dipped into the high 50s. While not as robust as October, this is still pretty strong demand. A lack of inventory at lower price points isn’t helping sales numbers.
• Sales are pretty strong. In August and September, weekly sales numbers were fluctuating quite a bit. Recent numbers are more consistent. This is a reflection of the higher number of properties that went under contract earlier in the fall..
• Home inventory remains tight. There was slight growth in the number of new home listings during the last three weeks of November. That said, buyers shopping at or below the median sales price didn’t see a lot of new listings. It is also worth noting that the luxury home inventory is tightening with really limited offerings available in places like Kapalua.
• From June-September, we saw a lot of new condo inventory come to market. The increase in inventory slowed in October and it slowed even further in the last three weeks of November. There was a net decrease in inventory over that time.
• The luxury market is particularly strong. Employees are taking advantage of their employers work from anywhere edicts during Covid-19. We are seeing an influx of high income earners relocating to Maui. We are seeing market dynamics we have never seen before in the high end property market. Short days on market and multiple offer situations were unheard of until the last few months. We also are seeing more activity than usual in the $10,000,000 and above market.

Now that you are caught up a little on recent market dynamics. Let’s get to the numbers from our most recent seven day tracking period.

This Week’s New Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 60 new pending sales over the seven day period between December 2nd and 8th. This is a modest 3% increase over the seven days prior. It is 13% more activity than the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers from This Week’s Pending Sales

• The 60 new pending sales include 34 homes, 22 condos and 4 lots.
• This is the first time in six weeks that new home pending sales outpaced new condo pending sales. It is the most new weekly home pending sales since late September.
• This is the first time in four weeks that weekly pendings went back above the 60 mark.
• The 22 condo pending sales included 12 vacation rental condos.
• There are 6 new pending sales priced over $2,000,000 for the period between the 2nd and the 8th. They include 4 homes, 1 condo and 1 lot.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 54 sales during the 7 day period between December 2nd, and December 8th. That is 5% fewer sales than the seven days prior. It is 32% higher than the same seven day period of 2019. Of note, there were 7 transactions that closed for over $2,000,000. Six of the seven properties sold are located in West Maui.

Weekly New Inventory

Maui Realtors listed 66 properties between December 2nd and December 8th. That is 14% higher than the seven days prior. It is 8% higher than the same seven day period of 2019.

Of the 66 new listings, 28 are homes. That is the highest number of homes listed in a seven day period since late September. The median price of the new home listings comes in at $905,000. While that is a lower median than quite a few recent weeks, it is still a pretty high number for those looking for properties at lower price points. Due to the high number of pending sales between the 2nd and the 8th, the inventory of active home listings decreased.

Between December 2nd and December 8th, 32 new condo listings came on the market. With only 22 condos going under contract over the same period, the inventory of active condo listings increased.

Maui Realtors listed 6 lots between December 2nd and the 8th. That represents a slight increase of inventory with only 4 lots going pending over the same period.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

These posts speak in pretty broad brush strokes about the island’s real estate market. In reality, there is still some variability in market conditions by town, neighborhood and price point . Contact The Maui Real Estate Team to discuss market conditions in an area of the island specific to your interests. We welcome the chance to talk, zoom or e-mail and learn more about your real estate needs.

Maui Real Estate activity remained strong over the seven day period between November 4th and 10th. While much of the world seemed glued to their phone or TV watching election results, buyers continued to submit offers. Closed transactions were strong over this period, while the number of new listings coming to market remained relatively limited. Keep reading below for more details on the numbers.

This Weeks New Pending Sales

Maui Realtors reported 63 new pending sales over the seven day period between November 4th and November 10th. That is the same exact number of new pendings as the seven days prior. It is 4% less than the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers from This Week’s New Pending Sales

• This is the seventh straight week of over 60 new pending sales.
• This week’s new pendings include 23 homes, 34 condos and 6 lots.
• Of the 34 new pending condo sales, 14 are located in vacation rental friendly condos. Three more are located in developments that prohibit vacation rentals.
• Buyers are returning to some of the entry level condos in Kihei that were quiet through much of Covid-19 with the active inventory steadily decreasing in places like Kihei Villages and Southpointe at Waiakoa.
• It was another busy week in the high end real estate market. Seven properties listed for over $2,000,000 went under contract including 4 homes, 2 condos and 1 lot.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 67 sales over the seven day period between November 4th and November 10th. That is approximately a 16% increase over the previous seven days. It is 49% higher than the same seven day period of 2019.

How Much New Inventory Hit The Market?

Maui Realtors listed 68 properties over the seven day period between November 4th and 10th. This is 8% lower than the previous seven day period. It is 24% lower than the same seven day period of 2019.

Once again, the condo market led the way with 43 new listings. With 34 condos going pending, that means a net increase in condo inventory. The condo market is interesting right now. There is pretty good demand coming from buyers. It seems like some of the increase in demand is for entry level non-vacation rental condos as I mentioned above. It’s not clear if that is coming from a resurgence in local buyers or off island buyers at this point.

Only 21 homes came to market between the 4th and the 10th. With 23 properties going under contract, that means a net decrease in active inventory. The median price of the new home listings for this period is an astounding $2,495,000 and the average price of the new listings is $4,446,333. Needless to say, this week didn’t provide much relief for buyers hoping for an increase in lower priced listings. The home market continues to feel upward pricing pressure due to limited inventory.

It was a quiet seven days for land listings with only 4 lots coming to market between the 4th and the 10th. With 6 lots going under contract over the same period, the active inventory of lots shrunk modestly.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

The Maui Real Estate market didn’t just survive election week. It thrived with strong buyer demand. While overall market conditions are strong, there is still variability in the market. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are considering buying or selling property on Maui. We would welcome the chance to sit down and listen to your real estate needs and provide market insights specific to your interests.

As the calendar flipped from October to November, buyer demand remained strong on Maui. The seven day period between October 28th and November 3rd is the sixth in a row with 60 or greater new pending sales. Closed transactions were solid over this period. Meanwhile, new inventory for the week increased. Keep reading below for more details.

Maui Realtors reported 63 new pending sales between October 28th and November 3rd. That is a 7% decrease from the seven days prior. It is 43% more activity than the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers from This Week’s Pending Sales

• This week’s new pending sales include 19 homes, 37 condos and 7 lots.
• Of the 37 condos, 21 are located in developments that allow vacation rentals. Three more condos are resort area condos in complexes that prohibit vacation rentals.
• Compared to recent weeks, the high end market was quieter with 3 properties with asking prices in excess of $2,000,000 going under contract.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors reported 58 sales over the seven day period between October 28th and November 3rd. This is a 5% increase over the seven days prior. It is 15% less sales activity than the same seven day period of 2019.

This Week’s New Inventory

Maui Realtors brought 74 new listings to market over the seven day period between the 28th and the 3rd. That is roughly a 40% increase over the seven days prior. It is a 14% drop from the same seven day period of 2019.

There are 47 new condo listings that came to market over this period. While the 37 condos that went under contract during the week ties the Covid-19 era weekly high, the inventory increased thanks to this wave of new listings. The condo market is in something of a state of flux. For three of the last five weeks, we saw a net decrease in inventory. Stronger demand combined with fewer condos coming to market. We also saw a couple of weeks like this one when a large number of new listings hit the market.

At this point, I would say condo inventory trends are uncertain. Will we see a higher number of new listings go to market as we get closer to what is our traditional peak buyer season? What type of a peak buyer/visitor season will we have with a rapid increase of Covid cases on the mainland?

Only 23 new home listings came to market between the 28th and the 3rd. That still represents a very modest boost in inventory when compared to the 19 homes that went pending. The median price of the new listings also slipped well below $1,000,000 for the first time in a while. The median price of $744,900 is due in large part of a number of new listings in the new Upcountry subdivision Kua’aina Mauka. Regardless, the home inventory remains very limited on the island.

Only 4 new land listings came to market over this seven day period. This represents a net decrease in land inventory with 7 lots going under contract during the same period.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

As we get further into fall, the Maui Real Estate market continues to chug along with strong buyer demand. Limited inventory remains a big factor in the single family home market. The condo market has far greater supplies of inventory, but condo buyer activity also increased over the month. Contact the Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking of buying or selling property on Maui. We are working hard to bring our buyers and sellers success in these dynamic market conditions. We would welcome the opportunity to earn your business and help you navigate the market.

October ends with a bang. The seven day period between the 21st and the 27th was the strongest week for buyer demand during Covid-19. Closed transactions ticked up quite a bit after another one of those anomalously slow weeks. Inventory remains tight with even the condo market showing a rare decrease in net inventory. Take a break from your election week angst and find out this week’s numbers below.

Maui Realtors reported 68 new pending sales for the seven day period between October 21st and 27th. That is 11% more than the seven days prior. It is 25% more than the same seven day period of 2019.

Notable Numbers From This Week’s Pending Sales

• The 68 new pending sales included 24 homes, 36 condos and 8 lots.
• Of the 36 new pending condo sales, 19 are vacation rental friendly. Three of the other new pending sales are higher priced resort area condos that prohibit vacation rentals.
• Demand in the high end property market remains strong with another 6 new pending sales priced over $2,000,000. That includes 5 homes and 1 condo.

This Week’s Closed Transactions

Maui Realtors Reported 55 sales over the seven day period between October 21st and October 27th. That is a 49% increase over the slow seven days prior. It is 11% slower than the same seven day period last year. It is worth noting that last year’s numbers were boosted by 5 new developer closes from longer duration contracts.

This Week’s New Inventory

Maui Realtors brought only 53 properties to market over the seven days between October 21st and October 27th. That is a 39% drop from the seven days prior. It is 35% lower than the same seven day period of 2019. After a busy week of new listings that coincided with the state’s reopening of tourism, new inventory plummeted over this seven day period.

There are 28 new condo listings that came to market between the 21st and the 27th. With 36 new pending condo sales over the same period, we are seeing a net decrease in active condo inventory. While there is still quite a bit of inventory in the condo market, the wave of new condo inventory may be subsiding. The question is whether the election or the approach of our traditional tourism season cause upticks in inventory.

The home market continues to see a dearth of new inventory. Maui Realtors only listed 19 homes between the 21st and the 27th. That marks another net decrease in inventory with 24 listings going under contract. Again, the new inventory skews towards higher price points with a median price of $1,750,000 and an average price of $3,017,157. Once again, buyers looking below $800,000 aren’t seeing much in the way of new inventory. The lack of inventory is putting upward pressure on pricing.

Only 6 new land listings came on the market this week. With 8 pending sales, that is a net decrease in inventory. The inventory in the land market remains relatively flat overall.

Contact The Maui Real Estate Team

Market conditions on Maui remain strong with heightened buyer activity and growing scarcity particularly in the home market. We are working hard to represent our buyers and sellers in these extraordinary times. Contact The Maui Real Estate Team if you are thinking about buying or selling property on Maui. We look forward to talking to you and learning more about your needs.