Hawaii Real Estate Reporter

Maui Real Estate midyear 2008 – key observations.

You can download the complete Maui 2008 Midyear Report with includes relevant historical graphs regarding Maui single family homes and condo sales from Prudential Locations. It is completly free, but registration is required for the download.

The first half of 2008 in Maui saw fewer real estate transactions compared to the first half of last year, with 25.9% less single-family homes and 17.8% fewer condominiums being sold. Home prices experienced a drop of about 8.9% to $590,000 from $647,000 last year. Condominium median price numbers show positive growth, however much of the 9.5% increase can be attributed to high-end condo sales in the Wailea area.
Overall condominium prices for the rest of the island remain stable with a slight 0.9% increase.
For single-family homes the majority of sales in the first half of 2008 occured in Wailuku, followed by Kihei and Kahului. Condominium sales were strong in Kihei and Wailea/Makena, accounting for more than half of the overall sales number.

What does this mean for Maui real estate investers and homebuyers?
SPOTLIGHT: REACTING TO TODAY’S MARKET CONDITIONS
This report contains real estate activity for several general areas on Maui.
In evaluating the current real estate market, a helpful tool for providing insight is factoring in numbers from previous years. Looking at historical data allows for the formulation of broader perspectives and provides for a better indicator of trends that are happening in the market. Single-family & condominium home sale prices started to dramatically increase in 2001 and 2003 respectively. Condominiums continue to maintain this growth into mid-year 2008 while single-family homes started to decline in 2006. Sales continue to decline from highs between 2003 to 2005 into mid-year 2008 for single-family homes similar to condominiums in Maui.

A variety of factors play into current trends regarding sale and price activity. Buyers are now currently taking their time with purchases due to the high market inventory, sellers are adjusting their prices to suit the current economic situation, and investors are taking advantage of the slow market.
 
Maui Homes Buyers:• Buyers have a clear advantage in this
market with more inventory (more choices
for you). Keep in mind though: days on the
market numbers for new listings remain low
which means that you still have to act
quickly to avoid competition with other
interested buyers.
• Interest rates are still low, but don’t wait
too long as interest rates are slowly rising,
& will probably continue to rise. Buyers
can easily be priced out of the market with
interest rate increases.
• For those looking to upgrade, or buy for
the first time, the current market provides
satisfactory conditions to do so.

Maui Home Sellers:• Homes that sell quickly are those that
are priced at the neighborhood’s market
value. Pricing correctly is crucial especially
in the first two weeks on the market.
Avoid buyer’s indecision – a Prudential
Locations agent can help you determine
your neighborhood’s market value.
• Pricing even slightly below market
value can help to bring in multiple offers.
• Tighter lending laws also benefit sellers
by bringing in offers from more
qualified potential buyers, decreasing
the risk of offers falling through.

Maui Real Estate Investors:
Conditions for current investors are
ideal. In this less frenzied market,
investors have more time to analyze
and evaluate their properties and may
have more room for negotiation.
• For those with current real estate
investments that have appreciated
over the years, it is an opportune time
to reposition investments to better performing
areas via a 1031 Exchange.