Hawaii Home Prices Appreciating

Hawaii's resort market has seen the average price for vacation homes soar by nearly 24 percent in the last year, even as the number of homes, land and condominium sales declined by 9 percent. The average price of a single family home in a resort-zoned planned community such as Wailea on Maui has more than doubled from nearly $1.4 million in 2004 to more than $3 million in 2007. Most of the slowing in the market has been in properties below $1 million, while the upper echelon is robust. High end sales have the best opportunity for going forward. Starwood Capital Group's Baccarat Wailea resort on Maui sold $300 million opening day with condominiums priced at $2,000 per square foot. Trump International Hotel & Tower in Waikiki set a worlds sales record when it sold $700 million in eight hours. Bottom line is today's buyers are in their 40's and 50's, have children, want at least three bedrooms and have made an astronomical amount of money. Thus, the resort home market in Hawaii will remain strong for a number of reasons. The baby boomers are just beginning to retire which will continue to fuel the growth. Furthermore, the Asian market coming from Japan, Korea and China are just beginning. Lastly, the weakening U.S. dollar is making purchases in Hawaii much more attractive to Canada, Asia and now even Europe.