*excerpts from this blog post taken from online Maui News article:
Statistics: ’11 valley for real estate market
January 10, 2012 / By Harry Eagar
Was 2011 the year the real estate market touched bottom and started back up? Statistics published by the Realtors Association of Maui and released Monday suggest it might have been.
After four years of decline and a flood of foreclosures and short sales, the average price of a single-family house on Maui went up 5 percent to $787,552 during 2011. The number of sales rose 10 percent from 817 in 2010 to 898 last year.
Terry Tolman, chief staff executive of the association, said strong sales interest is being confirmed by actual reported sales, “with multiple offers competing for well-priced properties.”
There are still plenty of lender-owned repossessed properties and desperate underwater owners trying to escape via short sales out there.
Broker Billy Jalbert at The Maui Real Estate Team writes a blog about conditions, and he noted this week that half of all single-family sales in December and two-fifths of condo sales were either short sales or bank-owned properties. “It is safe to say buyers are still looking to the bank-owned and short-sale market for opportunities,” he wrote.
For years now, Tolman has been cautioning that until the overhang of distressed properties is worked through, the market cannot return to normal, whatever that is.
Still, prices are low now, even if they go lower still, and mortgage rates are very low So he believes now is a chance for “Maui’s worker bees” who want to own their own homes to buy at comparatively low prices and absolutely low interest rates.
But in doing that, the buyer should be prepared to buy and hold – “at least five years” – and not try to get rich quick, he said.
MAUI HOME VALUES/NUMBER OF SALES WENT UP ISLAND WIDE
In Spreckelsville, Paia and Kuau, (about two dozen sales of single-family homes) average prices zoomed 92 percent from $595,000 to $1.1 million. Somewhere in between were Pukalani (five-dozen, single-family home sales), up 8 percent to $515,000; and Lahaina (about 40 sales), up 17 percent to $967,000.
LUXURY MARKET IS APPRECIATING QUICKLY!!!
Median prices are thought to give a clearer picture, because they are not affected when prices at the very top end are rising faster than the overall market, which was the case in 2011. Kapalua average prices were up 25 percent to $4.3 million; and Wailea-Makena averages were up 20 percent to $4.5 million. Wailea-Makena medians were up 32 percent to $2.3 million.
Makena, Maui Golf Course views of Molokini
HERE IS A LINK TO ALL THE HOMES FOR SALE IN MAKENA AND WAILEA
WAILEA/MAKENA MEDIAN PRICES ARE UP 32%!!!
CONDOS
“The lower ends of the market for homes and condos have relatively limited inventory. As you start to go up in price, you see a greater range of inventory.”
Tolman has an explanation for that: “The majority of condos on Maui are second homes or investments and experienced a steeper price drop as Mainland owners ‘let go’ of them in order to keep their ‘primary’ residences on the Mainland.”
Still, he noted, not all condominiums are for the well-to-do. For aspiring homeowners who find $250,000 too high, a lower-priced condo can be the ticket in, he said.
If Maui real estate prices start going up again (which has been the long-term trend, no matter what the past five years have shown), then the appreciation could generate the down payment that is often the obstacle to buying a single-family house for working people.
For the moment, not only Maui’s real property economy but the general outlook seems to be rosier than it has been for a while.
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For more information on the Maui Real Estate Trends or assistance in finding the best deals on Maui contact Meghan Clair!
EcoBroker, Realtor(S) Meghan Clair of Coldwell Banker-Wailea Shops Office specializes in assisting Buyers find THE BEST South Maui Oceanfront and Luxury Investments.
She is pleased to represent you as a Buyer’s Agent on any unique Maui home or condo.
Meghan Clair
Realtor (S), EcoBroker
MauiGreenRealtor@Gmail.com
Coldwell Banker Island Properties-Shops at Wailea
(808) 463-8485 Direct Phone
(808) 874-8668 Office Phone
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