Maui condo sales, prices rise in Kihei & Wailea

By Allison Schaefers

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 10, 2009

Single-family home sales and prices fell on Maui last month, but condominium sales and prices rose, according to statistics from the Realtors Association of Maui.

While Maui’s single-family home sales fell 11.3 percent to 71, condominium sales rose 24.5 percent to 61. The median price paid for a single-family home fell to $487,000, a 4.4 percent drop from the previous year. However, more than half of condo buyers paid at least $400,842 for a unit, a 4.1 percent gain from the year-ago October.

Terry Tolman, RAM’s chief staff executive, said the recent data, along with shrinking inventory, is an indication that the market “appeared to be getting its footing.”

But he also added that there are a considerable number of short-sale and foreclosure properties that need to be sold before the market can move ahead.

“Best deals are selling; everything else is getting old,” Tolman said.

Sales on Maui finally have picked up as those short sales and foreclosures have begun to drive down prices, said Howard Dinits, a Realtor with RE/MAX Resort Realty in Wailea, who specializes in Big Island and Maui sales.

“I have six foreclosure properties waiting to hit the market, and there are people walking away from $800,000 and million-dollar homes,” Dinits said.

Sellers who were once reluctant to drop their prices because “Maui is no ka oi” have had to get more realistic, he said.

“Unfortunately, we had the same problems as everyone else that had to drop their values, and so did we,” Dinits said.

Home sales

The number of homes sold on Maui in October with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year:

 

HOME SALES
October 2009	71
October 2008	80
Change	-11.3%
MEDIAN PRICE
October 2009	$487,000
October 2008	$509,500
Change	-4.4%
CONDO SALES
October 2009	61
October 2008	49
Change	+24.5%
MEDIAN PRICE
October 2009	$400,842
October 2008	$385,000
Change	+4.1%

Source: Realtors Association of Maui

Maui condo sales, prices rise in Kihei & Wailea

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