StarBulletin.com

Maui home sales rise as prices become more affordable


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POSTED: Friday, January 08, 2010

Maui home sales reached a 17-month high, while condo sales in December more than doubled compared with a year ago, according to the latest data from the Realtors Association of Maui.

Ninety homes were sold last month, up 63.6 percent from December 2008 and up 34.3 percent from November.

The higher number of sales may have been spurred, in part, by a 16.3 percent drop in the median price to $477,000 from $570,000 the same time a year ago.

The median price, however, rose from November, when it was recorded at $465,000.

Condo sales more than doubled to 80, up from 38 a year ago. They also beat November, when 69 condos were sold.

The median condo price, meanwhile, dropped 22.3 percent to $401,500, compared with $517,000 a year ago. The median was just slightly higher than in November, when it was recorded at $400,000.

Maui's upward home sales trend follow those of Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai, which also experienced increases in December.

Terry Tolman, chief staff executive of the Realtors Association, said the market seems to be getting its footing as sales increase and inventory decreases.

Median prices, however, continue to “;bounce along the bottom,”; he said.

Many of the current home listings on Maui include short sales and real estate owned (REO), or bank-owned, sales, according to Tolman, which will need to be absorbed before the marketplace can normalize again and return to rising prices.

Sellers need to beat the competition with realistic pricing, flexible terms, good marketing and better property conditions. Average days on market figures show that homes priced right will sell in a reasonable time frame, according to Tolman.

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

First-time homebuyers, meanwhile, have plenty of incentives, including a first-time homebuyer's tax credit of up to $8,000 that has since been extended up to April 30, in addition to continued low interest rates.

Existing homeowners also can get up to a $6,500 credit for purchasing a new or existing home until April 30.

The income limits for qualified buyers increased to $125,000 for single buyers and to $225,000 for married couples.

Sales volume for homes in 2009 were recorded at $494.8 million, down 35 percent from $755.8 million in 2008.