Tips To Consider When Searching Maui Real Estate

I have had a number of comments from prospective buyers who are under the assumption the Maui market is, or will suffer, the same depressed market as seen in Florida and California. The most important comments I can contribute is do your homework and be market specific. Search for articles on the Maui real estate market. The bottom of my home page has some helpful links to recent articles as well as the "Market Update". Another common comment is prospective buyers feel prices are coming down drastically and the days a property is on market are much longer. Well, not really. Again, it is important to look at independent statistics. Days on market have only increased by 40 days since mid 2006 when the market was abnormally aggressive. More importantly, these comments are coming from prospective buyers who are looking at the inventory on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Buyers see active listings. They do not see the "selling prices", nor do they see the appraisals which incidentally are heavily scrutinized by the lending institutions today. Buyers need not worry about over paying as the banks have drastically changed their policies. The lending practices are entirely different such as to protect the lender, but indirectly protects the borrower from over paying. So when you see prices being reduced, there are a number of factors, but the two most prominent: 1. The seller is not realistic when setting the original asking price. 2. The seller is competing with better inventory in a discriminating buyers market. In conclusion, "Google" articles about Maui real estate, and be wary of making judgements on limited information from the MLS. Of course I always welcome your call if you would like to discuss Maui real estate.