Victory Development Hawaii in conjunction with Wells Fargo Bank is offering an extraordinary financing opportunity at Kai Ani Village. Today, qualified buyers in buildings 1,2 and 3 can obtain financing a full percentage point below that available in the marketplace generally for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. Today those rates would be in the 4.25% range. That savings translates to approximately $300 per month and $100,000 over the life of the loan. For details contact us at Coldwell Banker Island Properties.

From the Wall Street Journal's Bret Arends

Maybe the moment of maximum pessimism is at hand after all…So let me play devil's advocate and consider the positive case for buying a home right now. The key factor: Interest rates. If you can borrow at 4.5% or 5% over 30 years, many purchases start to look appealing. Especially if we get a hefty dose of inflation down the line. If that happens, your monthly payments will be low and you'd get to repay the principal over time with devalued dollars. That's a double win.

The entire article is worth a read.

We are pleased to announce that Makena Surf unit B-107 has been placed under contract. This extraordinary property is listed for $3.75 million. The market for Maui real estate may be slow, but the Leading Edge Marketing Plan continues to prove its effectiveness. For more information on The Leading Edge Marketing Pan, contact us.

Don't just list your home. Sell it!

Richard Brenner of Morgan Stanley has been one of the better economic prognosticators recently. Here is his take on 2009 and how it applies to Maui real estate. 

• The Global economy will grow at only .9%
• Home prices in the US will fall another 7%

This is not good news for Maui real estate, but as Brenner sees the economy rebounding in the second half of the year, one wonders if we are finally near the bottom.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism has released theMaui tourism numbers for November. Here are the highlights.

• Air visitors fell 15% in November
• Domestic visitors down 16%
• Canadian visitor count was up 23%
• Per day spending was down 11%

These numbers are actually a bit of a year over year improvement compared to the July-October period, but it is still not good.

Another dismal housing report. The Census Bureau reported October new home sales to be as follows:

 Sales of new one-family houses in October 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.3 percent (±15.0%)* below the revised September of 457,000 and is 40.1 percent (±9.9%) below the October 2007 estimate of 723,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2008 was $218,000; the average sales price was $272,300. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 381,000. This represents a supply of 11.1 months at the current sales rate.

There is no way to feel good about this report.

We are pleased to announce that Kamaole Sands unit 4-408 has gone into escrow. This remodeled two bedroom unit features an ocean view and a large lanai. More evidence that even in the difficult Maui real estate market, the Leading Edge Marketing System works! Contact Us for More Information on the Leading Edge Marketing System.

View From Lanai