Homes sales dialed back a bit over the summer
First time buyer credit a bust for single family home sales on Maui
While summer temps heated up on Maui, home sales cooled, dropping back below 60 units per month for both July and August. The 52 units sold in August is about the average for the year so far. If the $8,000 first time buyer credit is helping, we aren't seeing evidence of it in the single family home segment.
That may be because the price of a home on Maui is still out of reach for the majority of first time buyers. At a median price of $500,000, one can argue that in terms of recent history Maui is on sale. However, a mortgage on a half a million dollar home is still going to carry too much of a monthly nut for most young workers like teachers, fireman and hospitality employees.
Area Trends
Over one third of home sales in July and August were in the Central District (Kahului/Wailuku) where the median price for the last 2 months was just under $500,000. Of the 39 sales in the Central District, only one was a short sale and six were bank owned properties. All of the bank owned properties went for near the asking price and one went for more than asking.
As selling prices Upcountry (Pukalani, Kula, Makowao) came down, sales went up. You'd think there was a relationship or something. With a median selling price of $522,000, there are some bargains up there. There were 2 short sales and 3 bank sales Upcountry, which accounted for more than 20% of the homes sold.
Kihei had only 14 sales for the two month span. There were 14 sales in Kihei in June, so that's quite a drop off for the last 2 months.
The median selling price for the 2 months was around $400,000, well below the Maui median and even well below the Central area.
Just like Kihei, the west side, Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kapalua, had 14 sales. Unlike Kihei the median selling price was $700,000 - $200,000 higher than Maui and $300,000 higher than Kihei.
Distressed Properties
Of the homes sold, 12 were bank owned and 9 were listed as short sales. Distressed properties accounted for 19% of total home sales for July and August. That's down from 24% in June.
The bank owned properties are selling near or a little above asking price. There's a reason for that. If the bank prices the property at a bargain price, it goes quickly and at around asking price. If the bank prices the property too high, nothing happens - for a while. Then the bank starts dropping the price. When it gets to the right price point, they get offers and the offers are, once again, near the new asking price.
Nine of the homes sold in the last 2 months were short sales. These also sold at close to asking price, and some higher than asking.
Highs and Lows
The lowest priced home to sell on Maui was in Wailuku. The listing for this house says it has 0 (zero) bedrooms and the agent describes it as "very aged". This charmer sold for $125,000.
The high end homes really took a hit over the last couple of months. The most expensive home in Maui went for $1,155,000. That's not even a luxury home in this neck of the woods.
This month we looked at dozens of homes before coming up with this house and ohana in Kihei listed for $479,240. It's in a nice central Kihei location. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in its 1,400 square feet. It also has an ohana that could be rented for a little extra income. It is a short sale, MLS 338921.
Our pick for luxury oceanfront living is on the west side. This spectacular 5 bedroom, 6 bath home offers over 5,200 square feet of living area and sits on almost ½ acre on the water. Asking price is $7.9M and it too comes with an ohana. It is MLS number 336534.
For more information send an email with your request to lee@alohapotts.com , or see all of the listings on Maui at www.alohapotts.com .
To see the report for sales of all types of property on Maui visit Maui Real Estate Advisor.
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