Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles faced by potential home buyers is finding appropriate properties. There is a wealth of information available to prospective buyers, but knowing where to look for that information can be tricky. In the past, we relied heavily on real estate agents to guide us in the direction of suitable properties but as technology has improved many buyers try to gather information before they visit a real estate agent. Indeed, online searches can provide many of the details about a property that we could only get from a real estate professional even 10 years ago. Most home buyers are becoming much more sophisticated in their knowledge of available properties and so can you. Currently, you can search for a new Maui home in a number of ways: the MLS System, available listings on local real estate websites, and other online tools.
MLS System
The MLS System is your most comprehensive tool for accessing information about various properties. MLS stands for the multiple listing service which includes information about every home listed for sale by a real estate agent in Maui. In the past, most of this information was available only to real estate agents, but there are a number of online searches that can give you much of the information you need. In fact, many local real estate websites have links to their own Maui listing service where you can conduct a search of all properties in an area.
You also have the opportunity to refine your search in a wide variety of ways:
- Property Type
- Location
- View
- Land Tenure
- Price
- Number of Bedrooms
- Number of Bathrooms
- Interior and Land Area
These MLS searches are truly remarkable in the sense that you can be very specific or very broad in your search. For example, you can search all 2 bedroom properties in Maui listed at under $500,000 or you can be incredibly detailed in you search and choose a bank owned beach front property in the district of Haiku with a golf course view. For many prospective home buyers, an MLS search is a great starting point for their property search.
Listings on Real Estate Websites
In addition to an MLS search, you can also check local real estate websites for their own listings. Most sites, like mauisales.com, offer a page that lists their best properties as well as some pertinent details about these properties. Some real estate sites will even let you search their properties in a similar way as the MLS search.
You can refine your search by property type, price range, and location or you can browse all the listings of a particular Realtor®. Whether you want to work with a particular local Realtor® or you just want to get a sense of what properties are available in Maui, this is another great source of information. Even a simple Google search of “Maui Realtors®” will put you in contact with various agencies on Maui.
Other Online Tools
Once you have done some research about the homes that are available in Maui, you’ll have a sense of what your money can buy and where you should focus your search. Obviously, different regions of Maui offer different property types and depending on your budget you may or may not be keen to buy in a particular area. You should start to rely on other bits of information to help you in your search. At this point, you’re ready to start talking to real estate agents. But you can also use the tools they provide on their websites.
At mauisales.com you’ll find a weekly newsletter that should provide you with market information, highlighted homes, and specialized properties.
Moreover, they have comparable sales tools that allow you to compare sales figures against a set of criteria.
The value of the comparative sales tool is that it allows you to see a wide range of examples of a particular type of property, along with their list price and sales price. Therefore, you’ll be able to get a very good idea of what you should expect to pay for that type of property.
Finally, mauisales.com also provides you with detailed information about all of their properties. Through their “Property Details” button on the listing page you can find information about the location, tenure, status, and property type in addition to detailed remarks that give you a more intimate picture of the property.
You may also find information about the listing history, the interior and exterior features of the property, and a detailed location map. You’ll even find property details that may include a floor map, community and neighborhood information, amenities, photos, and more.
So while you may not know much about Maui properties at the moment, you can learn a great deal with just a bit of time on the internet. Use the resources available to you to make yourself a savvier home buyer and to get more involved in the home search process.
Posted in Maui Real Estate, Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Read our Recent Newsletter.
Join Our Mailing List and receive your FREE Maui Real Estate Guide now!
Maui County is the collection of 4 separate islands in the state of Hawaii: Lana’i, Kaho’olawe, Moloka’i, and of course Hawaii’s second largest island Maui. The region is known for stunning landscapes and tropical weather and as such has become one of the top tourist destinations in the United States. Recently, real estate in Maui has begun to see a resurgence and if you’re interested in Maui properties, the Smith Team can give you valuable insight into different regions on the islands.
Sub-regions
Maui is divided into several distinct sub-regions that are defined by major geographic features like mountains or valleys. Generally speaking, each region is met with a unique climate and these regions can be broken down crudely as follows:
- Windward lowlands
- Leeward lowlands
- Interior lowlands
- Leeward High-altitude mountain slopes
- Leeward Low-altitude mountain slopes
- High mountains
Climate
As with all the Hawaiian Islands, Maui’s climate is defined by a two season year. Most of the regions throughout Maui will have mild, consistent weather patterns characterized by warm temperatures and high humidity. However, geographical idiosyncrasies in Maui allow for much more variability in weather patterns than other Hawaiian Islands and rainfall, cloud cover, and winds can differ markedly across regions. Indeed, more than any other of the Hawaiian Islands, Maui’s weather is influenced by marine environments. Weather patterns tend to be determined by elevation and the effect of trade winds and because of the rugged topography of Maui weather patterns are highly variable.
Since the climate in Maui is dependant on the geography, we see patterns emerging in each of Maui’s distinct sub-regions. In the windward lowlands, which are generally below 2,000 feet and located on the north and north-east sides of an island, the weather is moderately rainy as the trade winds bring showers. It’s not uncommon to see overcast skies and temperatures tend to be very consistent.
In the leeward lowlands temperatures during the day are slightly higher while evening temperatures are cooler, on average. For the most part, the weather is dry but it is not uncommon to see periodic rain showers that follow the wind patterns. The interior lowlands are marked by more variable weather and this region will share weather patterns with other lowland sub-regions. Strong afternoon showers and hot afternoon weather is quite common.
The highest rainfall averages come in the leeward high-altitude mountain slope regions. Cloud cover is predominant and extensive rainfall is observed year round. The temperature is usually quite mild while humidity is relatively high. On the leeward low-altitude mountain slope side there is also more rainfall but less than on the windward side. Higher temperatures and cloud cover are also common.
Finally, the high mountains of Maui exceed 3,000 feet and as your elevation increases, rainfall decreases quite rapidly. Relative humidity is fairly low but you also see the lowest temperatures in Hawaii. In fact, air temperatures can drop below zero.
Throughout Maui, rainfall is much more common than you would expect. Nevertheless, showers tend to be light and they don’t last long. Thunder and lightening are very rare and during the summer we see dryer weather due to the dominant trade winds.
Economy
In Maui, there are two predominant industries: agriculture and tourism. In recent years, the government has been trying to encourage technology companies to invest in Maui because its business environment is ideal for expansion in such industries. Still, coffee, macadamia nuts, papaya, tropical flowers, pineapple, and sugar are the major exports of Hawaii and this holds true for Maui as well. Maui Land & Pineapple Company and Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company are the major agricultural players in Maui. Some 37,000 acres of sugarcane are produced by Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company making it the largest operation of its kind in Hawaii. In addition, Maui has become an important location for space research and is home to advanced satellite tracking facilities as well as research and development facilities that are world renowned for data collection and communication support.
As of March 2009, the unemployment rate spiked to a staggering 9% due to growing economic concerns throughout the country and the world. However, over the past several months the island has seen dramatic improvements in industry that suggest unemployment rates will start falling very soon.
Tourism
Tourism is obviously one of the leading industries on the island. The major tourist destinations in Maui include Hana, Lahaina, and Haleakala National Park. Maui is blessed with curving roads, soaring mountains, black sand beaches, and luxurious waterfalls making it a dream spot for any tourist. Visitors tend to congregate around West and South Maui and 2004 figures show 2,207,826 people visiting Maui. By far, domestic tourists make up the bulk of visitors to the island but there is also a thriving cruise ship industry.
Maui Landsat satellite photo source: [1]
Posted in Maui Real Estate, Hawaii Real Estate, Hawaii Tourism | No Comments »
Read our Recent Newsletter.
Join Our Mailing List and receive your FREE Maui Real Estate Guide now!
Some good news about home sales has come from the Realtors Association of Maui as figures continued to rise last month. In fact, the sale of single-family homes rose 25 percent compared to a year ago while condo sales jumped a staggering 82 per cent. These increases were unexpected, but welcomed, to say the least.
More importantly, there is some early evidence that prices are starting to rise too. In fact, the average price for a condominium was actually 9 per cent higher in March 2010 than the same month a year ago. The figures show a total of 70 single family homes were sold this March which is 14 more than the total from the same month in 2009. The number of condos sold nearly doubled from 67 last year to 122 this year.
This all means that the first quarter of 2010 saw house sales rise an impressive 42 percent from 121 sales last year to 172 this year. As far as condos are concerned, the figures were also impressively high. In the first quarter of 2009, 259 sales were recorded while this first quarter saw 291 sales finalized.
Without question we are seeing the signs of recovery in Maui real estate. Recently, experts at the University of Hawaii affirmed that the market is rebounding. Economic indicators are improving and this can be seen in the improved sales figures during the first quarter of this year. Still, experts are predicting peaks and valleys in this recovery and the market will likely follow economic trends.
Fortunately, tourism is picking up dramatically and there looks to be an even larger number of visitors coming through as the summer heats up. Obviously, this will lead to increased spending and hopefully a positive impact on the job market. Construction looks to be rebounding the most slowly as the recession maintains its foothold.The national economy is on the rise and with an increase in tourism and the real estate industry improving the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel is certainly in view
Posted in Maui Real Estate, Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Read our Recent Newsletter.
Join Our Mailing List and receive your FREE Maui Real Estate Guide now!
