Maui home sales
No Ka OiSingle-family home transactions
in 2003 rise 41.6 percent over 2002
The pace of single-family home and condominium sales in December contributed to a strong finish for Valley Isle real estate in 2003.
There were 141 single-family homes and 157 condominiums sold on Maui last month, according to the Realtors Association of Maui. By the end of the year, 1,410 single-family home transactions had occurred, a 41.6 percent increase over the 996 homes sold in 2002.
Median prices for single-family homes in December and the year as a whole also showed strong overall increases. The median price paid for a single-family home on Maui reached $523,815 during December, the second highest median recorded during the year and a record median sales price statewide. Single-family home median prices on Maui reached an all-time high of $527,500 in October.
By the time 2003 came to a close, Maui's single-family home median price settled at $440,000, up 17.3 percent from the previous full-year median of $375,000 and a statewide record year-end median.
While the Big Island set the Neighbor Island overall record with 2,261 single-family homes sold during the year, Maui led the way in condominiums sales with 1,986 sold in 2003, a 26 percent increase from the 1,573 sales of 2002.
Maui Realtor Keoni Ball of Carol Ball & Associates said home prices in Kahului's residential neighborhoods illustrate just how much appreciation has occurred in Valley Isle real estate in the last year -- even in local neighborhoods such as Kahului.
"For Kahului there are 29 active listings, but only three homes are under $400,000," he said.
Likewise, with plenty of activity in Maui's condominium market, the median price in December reached $275,000, a record for 2003. For the entire year, the median price finished at $241,622, second to Kauai's full-year median of $289,000.
Much of the condominium sales activity occurred in Kihei, which led the way with 850 sales for the year. The neighborhoods of Napili/Kahana/Honokawai came in a distant second with 489 condominium sales.
Continuing strong demand and few new condominiums being built has helped to keep prices rising, said Terry Tolman, executive director for the Realtors Association of Maui.
"On Maui, there have been very few new condominiums built since 1991, so it's just about all resales. With less to choose from, there has been a feeling of, 'Buy it now because it won't be there later,'" he said.
Tolman noted the average number of days a condominium is on the market for sale is down to 88 days -- the lowest it's been since the association began recording such information in January 1998.
For single-family home sales, Kihei again took top honors, recording 450 sales, selling the most of any neighborhood. Central Maui, which is primarily home to long-time local residents, finished the year with 244 sales.
All the activity in 2003 kept Realtors busy, Ball said. But it wasn't always easy to predict sales prices.
Some homes that were priced too high got their asking price while others languished on the market, he said.
"Right now, for people taking listings, it's hard to advise what they should ask for. It's pretty amazing where the prices have gone," he said.
