Real estate inventory increases on Maui

Maui's active residential real estate inventory has continued growing and the market has continued to soften and see more short sales and foreclosures, according to statistics released yesterday by the Realtors Association of Maui.

Since the market peaked in 2005, unit sales have continued to lag but median prices in some neighborhoods have held and properties that are priced right have sold, said Terry Tolman, RAM's chief staff executive.

Last month, 11.6 percent more single-family homes changed hands than they did in July of 2007. However, condominium sales dropped by 36.4 percent.

Half of the single-family home buyers in Maui paid $615,000 or more to purchase their properties last month, which represented a 5.4 percent drop in the median price from the previous year. On the other hand, the median price to purchase a condominium in Maui rose 12.7 percent to $575,000 from the year prior $510,000.