Maui Luxury Real Estate LLC ~ http://www.MauiRealEstate.NET ~ 808-879-3667 

Our Annual Holiday Toy Drive on December 4th is rapidly approaching!  Any and all donations are greatly appreciated.  We will gladly come to you for pick up, or stop by our office to drop off your donation.  This annual Hansen Ohana event has grown each year thanks to your generosity!

LATEST REAL ESTATE STATS:

Semi-annual figures released, Year to Date as of August 31, 2015.
Statistics show the last few years have been a very stable and smooth market.  Prices have been on the slow, but steady rise since 2011.  There was a slight blip down however in August.   At the end of August 2015 the median home sale price was $550,000 which is a slight decrease from last year which was $570,000.  Condo median price dropped from $410,000 a year ago to $355,000 last month.  The month before however, the median condo price was $394,000 and in May were as high as $459,500.  The month-to-month changes can be deceiving as Maui is a small island and the number of sales and sample is small.  A few sales can change the numbers significantly. Days on the market for both condos and homes remain fairly stable at around 4 months.  Days on market generally depend on how well a property is priced.  Over six months on the Maui real estate market is considered to be a Buyer’s market. Under six months on the market is a Seller’s market.

Some people have surmised that the reason we may have seen a slight decline is due to the Canadian Dollar being worth about 75 cents to the US dollar.  Certainly, it is a consideration for Canadian buyers, but we are seeing many Canadian owners taking advantage of the exchange rate and putting their Maui property on the market (increase in Canadian sellers and decrease in Canadian buyers).  Sellers are doing well when it comes to selling as the exchange rate works well in their favor.

Maui property is popular with a large pool of potential buyers.  The actual numbers for buyers by area are as follows:  1. Hawaii at $285M     2. California at $194M     3. Washington at $78M     4. All of Canada at $53M     5. Colorado at $44M    6. Texas at $43M   7. Illinois at $29M   8. New York at $21M   9. Oregon at $17M     10. Arizona at $14M     11. Alaska at $12M.  The next highest country is Japan at $6M then Singapore at $5M.  Other International buyer activity is currently minimal.

We were at a presentation about a month ago by Paul Brewbaker, the premier economist for the State of Hawaii.  He continues to believe that we will maintain steady increases in prices.  The last couple of years we have been in the 8 to 10% increase range. This year so far we have seen about 7% increase to the end of July and Paul expects that we will settle in at about 6% for the next year then maybe 5% for the next 3 or 4 years.  This forecast has not changed much since the beginning of this year.

Summary:  The current thinking is that purchasers of condos and homes should continue to be optimistic until at least 2018. We still have some catching up to do price wise.  What does this mean to you?  This little blip down in the market in August could mean that this might be a great time to buy a condo or a home.  With our historic low interest rates and lower prices (which we fully expect to be temporary) it could be an opportunity.  Much depends on the global economy, as well as local and national events and politics.

WAILEA DEVELOPMENTS
THE ISLAND COUNTRY MARKET: The market, located on the north-east upper side of The Shops opened September 15^th.  The wine bar will open at a later date.
WAILEA GOLF ESTATES II:  Recently purchased by a third party, the sixteen lots will become sixteen (16) custom designed luxury homes.  For more information, contact us at dad@MauiRealEstate.NET
WAILEA BLUE: The Club House and pro shop have moved back to its original location.  The current 10,000 square foot buildings housing Manoli’s, Urgent Care and Snorkel Bobs includes the Pro Shop.  Ask us about Phase two expansion of square footage.
PIILANI SUITES: Wailea Residence Inn is a 200 Room All-Suite Hotel is going full steam.  Located on Wailea Ike Drive, the main entry will be across from Ekolu Place with the secondary entrance by the Wailea Town Center.  This “Wailea Value” hotel is designed to attract families.  A pool will be on site.  The hotel roof appears near completion with the opening date scheduled for April 2016.
KEALA O WAILEA: This condo project located by the Gateway Center has begun sales.  Both Phase One and Phase Two lottery have occurred.  Many units are reserved by the Developer’s friends and family of the Developer. There are several available.  For additional information or receive updates contact us at dad@mauirealestate.net
SINGLE FAMILY LOTS AT GOLF ESTATES: This new subdivision will be a part of the Wailea Golf Estates just below the current subdivision.  They anticipate 16 lots of approximately 14,000 generous square feet each, with almost all having either ocean view or golf course frontage.  The infrastructure has begun; completion should be soon. This just in, a developer may be purchasing the whole project and offering completed homes and building them as sales are made.  Email us with your questions: dad@MauiRealEstate.net
MAKALI’I O WAILEA:  This property is owned by Wailea Golf LLC and is planned to be co-developed by Armstrong Builders.  It is located across the street and up from the Fairmont Kea Lani.  The project is a sharp departure from the typical Wailea look.  The look and feel will be mid-century modern with Hawaiian touches.  There will be 17 buildings of 4 units each in a townhouse style.  Most of the units will have grand ocean views and will be 2 or 3 bedroom homes with a garage. Construction is currently on hold waiting for WCA approval.  To keep updated contact us at dad@mauirealestate.net
HOKU O WAILEA:  This condo project consisting of 75 Multi-family units in 15 three-story, five-plex buildings located on the corner of Wailea Alanui and Okolani Drive is several years away.  Email us for further updates.

MORE INFORMATION
Presently there are a lot of new developments under way in Kihei, Kula, Kahului, Wailuku and West Maui.  If you would like to learn about any of these new, current or future developments, contact us at dad@MauiRealEstate.NET

On a personal note, 2015 continues to be a great year to date for The Hansen Ohana and Maui Luxury Real Estate LLC.  We now have 16 licensed agents and we choose to remain medium sized with no more than 20 licensed agents. We will only work with agents who have the same attitude of helping our clients the best way possible.   Over the years we have had a combined almost a billion dollars in closed sales between the three of us.  We have enjoyed assisting so many old and new friends in their purchase or sale of Maui property.  We are proud of our combined over 70 years of real estate experience and truly love what we do.  As full time Maui residents for over 26 years and a website second to none for Maui, we have valuable contacts, experience and resources to assist our clients.  Please call us anytime and if you or someone you know is considering buying or selling property on Maui.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,
Bob, Clint and Donna

Bob Hansen, Realtor® Principal Broker ~ Clint Hansen, Realtor® Broker-in Charge ~ Donna D. Hansen, Realtor® (S)
The Hansen Ohana Real Estate Group  ~  Maui Luxury Real Estate LLC  ~ Wailea Town Center  ~ Suite A-106