As seems to be the case for much of the country’s real estate market, Maui’s market is still marked by both positive and negative aspects. While some experts are putting positive statements out there, they are typically cautious or modified by somewhat less optimistic follow-ups. The reason behind this mix of good and bad is simply that certain aspects of Maui’s real estate market have begun to improve but others are still lagging behind.
For example, Maui sales volumes are on the rise but such increases have occurred at the expense of sales prices. As compared to the first and second quarters of 2009, Maui has experienced a 64% increase in condominium sales volume so far in 2010. Volume increases of 43% and 42% have also been recorded for residential property sales and vacant land sales respectively. Sales volume increases for West Maui in particular have been 16% for condominiums, 59% for residential properties and 120% for vacant lots.
While those numbers looked at in isolation would suggest a strong improvement for the Maui real estate market, such statistics must be compared to other numbers for a more complete picture. As previously mentioned, the rises in sales volumes have been accompanied by declining sales prices. The median sales price for condominiums dropped 32% for Maui as a whole and 3% for West Maui. There have also been respective declines of 7% and 16% for Maui and West Maui residential properties as well as drops of 31% and 32% for vacant lots.
One of the most predominant characteristics of Maui’s current real estate market is the marked excess in inventory. At the moment, there is more than an eight month supply of both condominiums and residential properties, and more than an 11 month supply of vacant lots. Of course, the number of distressed properties is still remarkably high as well, with a significant reduction unlikely to occur anytime soon due to the backlog of properties in some state of foreclosure.
When taken all together, the above statistics and information can be boiled down to this — for potential homebuyers, now is an excellent time to look for some great deals on the Maui real estate market. With low asking prices and low mortgage rates, there are many opportunities for good real estate investments. For sellers, on the other hand, this is not the best time to put a home on the market, unless the homeowners are truly serious about selling.
Posted in Maui Real Estate, Hawaii Real Estate |
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