Maui Median Home Prices Only Off 1% !!

Buyers need to base their decisions on local facts, not generalized national statistics and emotional hysteria. HERE ARE THE FACTS: Home sales on Maui got off to a slow start in January, although the price of single-family homes held steady. The median price of a single-family home in Maui County last month was $558,000, just 1 percent off the median price of $563,225 in January 2008, according to statistics from the Realtors Association of Maui. The January median price was based on just 29 sales, however, a sharp drop from 57 sales during the same month in 2008. That included the sale of one home on Lanai for $340,000. There were no homes sold on Molokai in January. On the other hand, the median price of a condominium in Maui County fell 30 percent in January to $427,500, down from $610,000 in January 2008. The price was based on 48 units sold last month, a sharp drop from 89 units sold in January 2008. That included two units sold on Molokai with a median sale price of $287,500. There were no condo units sold on Lanai last month. Some regions of Maui are suffering and others not therefore contact an expert real estate broker, call Scott Berry 808-264-7016 or e-mail Scott@BerryRealtyGroup.com

Maui Parks Get $41 Million Improvement

Maui County would get 39 state parks capital improvement projects worth nearly $41 million under a “Recreational Renaissance” initiative backed by Gov. Linda Lingle and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.According to details released by the governor last week, the breakdown would be 32 projects for Maui island estimated to cost $35.7 million, six for Molokai carrying a $4.5 million price tag, and one for Lanai valued at $770,000.

Maui B&B Operations Approved

The Maui County Council gave final approval to a bill that revises county laws on permits for bed-and-breakfast operations. The legislation would set a cap on the number of B&Bs allowed in each district, as well as establish a simplified permitting process and impose rules to minimize visitor impacts on neighbors. Next year, the new council will take up a second set of bills to revamp regulations on transient vacation rentals, which are not within the operator's home or property. B&Bs have an owner living on-site, while "vacation rentals" have an off-site manager or owner. The number of B&Bs would be capped at 48 in Hana, 100 in South Maui, 40 in Upcountry, 88 in Paia-Haiku, 36 in Central Maui and 88 in West Maui - a total of 400 for the island.

Maui Honua Kai Closes $100 Million In January

It is an exciting time at Honua Kai Resort & Spa as the official opening of the Hokulani tower took place on Wednesday, January 28th. Over the past month, Honua Kai Resort & Spa has welcomed many excited and happy homeowners to their Hokulani condominium home. January marked the first $100 million in closed sales for January. Construction is progressing on the second tower, Konea, with the condominiums, pool amenity and spa scheduled for completion ahead of schedule in Spring 2010.

Baccarat Wailea Maui on Hold

Plans for the luxury Baccarat Wailea Resort & Residences on Maui have been put on hold. Starwood Capital Group announced the project in 2007, and sales reached $300 million in its initial offering. But Starwood said it is putting the project, which was slated to open in 2010, on hold. “We are going to take some time and pause to determine the proper course of action for our properties and evaluate some additional possibilities,” the company said in a written statement. The resort was to be built at the site of the former Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort.

2008 Maui Real Estate Statistics

For 2008 the numbers show average prices for single-family houses down 10 percent and condo prices up an average of 13 percent. Unlike many places on the Mainland, real estate prices haven't crashed. But the market has sort of gone to sleep. The number of sales is way down from 2007, 21 percent for single-family and 34 percent for condos. The decline is startling when contrasted with the peak in 2005, especially for condos. There were 2,050 condo closings that year. In 2008, only 788. There were 1,187 condo closings in 2007. For single-family sales, the peak in 2005 was 1,316. In 2008, only 907. There were 1,142 sales in 2007. The median price of a single-family house in Maui County was $577,867 in 2008, compared with $630,069 in 2007. The dollar total of residential real estate changing hands in 2008 was just under $1.5 billion, while in 2007 it was more than $2 billion.

The average single-family home price dropped 10 percent last year, to $831,424. Just half of all single-family sales, 448, occurred in Central Maui, where the average price also dropped 10 percent, to $483,792. However, a large fraction of those 448 sales, 103, closed at subsidized prices for legislated affordable housing at Waikapu Gardens, which accounted for 178 closings, or almost one in five during the year.

In Kihei, a much smaller market with only 140 sales last year, average prices fell only 1 percent, to $797,131. In Kula and in Lahaina, single-family prices jumped 9 percent, to $1.1 million in Kula-Ulupalakua-Kanaio and to $1.8 million in Lahaina. This also is an area where a few outlying transactions move the averages. The average condo price was up more than $100,000 to $921,063, but the median price, $549,500, did not move at all. At the median, half sold for more, half for less. That means that the prices of the more expensive condos moved higher in 2008 - or that contracts inked in 2006 were closed in 2008, at a time when market prices were actually falling. The biggest area for condos is Kihei, with 307 transactions. In Kihei, the average price was almost unchanged at $475,416, and the median dropped 7 percent to $395,000.


Some sellers got trapped by using their home equity line resulting in distressed sellers. This is evident in specific pockets of housing on the island. There are a lot more houses in the 400s than a couple of years ago and interest rates are the lowest seen in 25 years. It's a great time to buy and hold. Prices have declined considerably in the past two to three years. Buyers waiting for the 'bottom' may miss unique properties and opportunities as market forces, qualification requirements and rates may fluctuate.

New Funding For Kapalua Bay

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. and its partners in the Residences at Kapalua Bay have found new lenders to replace Lehman Brothers, which declared bankruptcy in September. Most of the money will come from lenders or investors who participated in the original package, but two German banks will bring $55 million of new money to replace commitments that Lehman cannot fulfill. On Monday, ML&P President Rob Webber said: "It is a good result for the company," because it establishes clearly that the luxury project will finish on time at midyear. How fast units then will sell remains uncertain, although Webber says there was strong interest in the Residences from attendees at the Mercedes-Benz Championship golf tournament over the weekend. Now everything will depend on whether buyers can find credit. In the restructuring, Central Pacific Bank will become the administrative agent for the new loan package. CPB is a $20 million participant, and it funded the first pulse of the construction. Most of the remaining money will be $35 million from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s estate in bankruptcy, and $55 million in new commitments from two German banks: Deutsche Hypothekenbank and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg. Another early participant, Swedbank, will maintain its $20 million share, and Marriott will up its original $17 million investment by another $10 million.
The joint-venture partners and the original banks had advanced a total of $19 million to keep construction going since September. The project, which occupies the site of the former Kapalua Bay Hotel, will have 146 residences, 84 to be sold individually as The Ritz-Carlton Residences, and the remainder as fractions in The Ritz-Carlton Club.