According to Inman News, almost every major market in the U.S. has posted double-digit decreases in listings for sale.

With the decreasing inventory, buyers are getting more frustrated with what’s available.  According to a recent survey by Redfin, 7 out of 10 homebuyers surveyed reported that they’ve faced competition on at least one of their offers recently, but 31 % say they would back off when faced with a multiple offer situation.

Our recommendation is that if you are interested in a property that is priced right, make your highest and best offer right away.  We see all too often when buyers come in at 80 % of what the property is worth, try to negotiate, and end up losing the property to another buyer that made a higher offer.

The inventory on Maui has also decreased in all districts.  See inventory report from August to September 2012.  The Central Maui and Kihei areas now only have 4 months of available inventory.