Gary Mooers Maui Real Estate

Maui Real Estate Stats Encouraging

2012-01-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

You might be surprised to see some of these statistics. Please shoot me an e-mail if you would like the pdf of all stats in the County of Maui for 2011.

Wailea Average Sales Price for single family residences up 20%.

Wailea Median Sales Price for single family residences us 32%.

Wailea Dollar Volume of sales (SFRs) for 2011 up 24% to over $134 mm.

Maui county-wide Average Sales Price for single family residences up 5%.

Maui county-wide Median Sales Price for single family residences down 6%.

Maui county-wide Dollar Volume of sales for 2011 up 16% to over $707 mm.

Wailea Average Sales Price for condos up 2%.

Wailea Median Sales Price for condos up 6%.

Wailea Dollar Volume of sales 2011 up 1%.

30-year mortgage drops to 3.89%

Part of the reason for the surge in sales in 2011 are the record-low interest rates we are seeing. Freddie Mac announced last week that the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.89%. That's below the previous record of 3.91% reached three weeks ago. The average on a 15-year mortgage ticked down to 3.16%, also down from the previous record of 3.21%.

Tourism Up

Tourism is the largest single source of private capital in Hawaii. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, tourism makes up $1.05 billion of the total state tax revenue in Hawaii.

As of October 2011, the percentage of visitor arrivals increased by 2.7 % from 2010. The largest number of visitors came from the US West with 41.2 %.

On Maui, the visitor arrivals were up by 3.8 % as of October 2011.

More than 104,000 arrived on cruise ships, a 14.5% increase from 2010.

South Korean visitors numbers are up due to flights to and from Seoul four times per week. Hawaiian Airlines plans to increase those flights to daily beginning in July.

Hawaii bankruptcy filings declined in 2011

Hawaii bankruptcy cases in 2011 fell for the first time in five years. Data from U.S. Bankruptcy Court show there were 3325 cases filed during the year, down 15.9% from 2010. Nationwide, bankruptcy filings were down 12% from 2010.

More Good News

Retail Sales: America's retailers enjoyed a record 2011 and their first $400 billion sales months ever. December was the second straight month that sales topped $400 billion.

Employment: The nation added 200,000 jobs in December in a burst of hiring that drove the unemployment rate down two notches to 8.5%, its lowest in almost three years. This was the sixth month in a row that the economy added at least 100,000 jobs, the longest streak since 2006. The economy added 1.6 million jobs for all of 2011, quite an improvement over the 940,000 new jobs in 2010. Economists project the nation will add almost 2 million jobs this year.

Manufacturing: Manufacturing rose 0.9% in December, the biggest gain since December 2010. Factory production has surged 15% above its lows of 2.5 years ago. Over the past year, factory output has risen 3.7%.

Maui News, and Pick of the Day

2011-12-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hot Pick of the DAY- Palms at Wailea #2101

This one-bedroom home boasts 1022 square feet, and a stone's throw from the famous Keawakapu Beach, named the "#1 Beach in the World" by Conde Nast Travel Magazine. The Palms enjoys concrete construction, beautiful low-density design, and huge lanai. The unit has new appliances, tile floors, and a partial ocean view from the living room and master bedroom. You can't beat the price of $549,000.

Honolulu Approves $760 Million Project

The Honolulu City Council has approved a $760 million project that would nearly double the number of time-share units at the Hilton Hawaiian Village over the next 10 years. This newest expansion project includes more than 500 time-share units, swimming pools and parking.

Hawaii Bankruptcy Filings Drop 26%

Hawaii bankruptcy filings dropped last month for the eighth month in a row, according to data released by U.S. Bankruptcy Court. There were 242 filings in November, down 26% from 327 filings in the same month last year.

Through the first 11 months of the year, Hawaii filings are down 14.6% from the dame period a year ago, supporting the overwhelming evidence that Hawaii is coming back to good times economically.

November Oahu Real Estate Sales Rise

Sales of Oahu houses and condominiums were up last month and sold more quickly compared to last year. The Honolulu Board of Realtors announced there were 251 single-family homes sold last month, up 1.2%, and condo sales increased by 5.4% with 333 units sold.

Maui's Hotel Room Rate State's Highest

Maui led the state with the highest average daily hotel room rate, nearly $210 in October, an 8.1% jump over the same month last year. Occupancy for the month dropped 1% to 66.1%. For the year to date, Maui's occupancy rate increased from 68.7% to 70.7%, the average daily rate was $243.02, up from $222.41 for the first ten months of the year.

More Good News

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: has surged to its highest level since July, the Conference Board reported. The holiday shopping season has supported that statistic, with sales from November through Saturday up 2.5% from last year. The Consumer Confidence Index climbed 15 points in November to 56, the biggest one-month jump since April 2003. Most economists think the economy will grow at an annual rate of more than 3% from October through December.

JOBS: The number of people applying for unemployment benefits came in at 366,000 last week, down from a peak of 659,000 in March 2009. In good economic times, the figure would be between 280,000 to 350,000. Employers have added 100,000 jobs five months in a row, the longest streak since 2006. And the unemployment rate fell from 9% to 8.6% last month.

INVENTORIES: Businesses are restocking shelves and warehouses, more confident that customers will buy their products. In October, their inventories were up 8.7% from a year earlier. Housing is even showing signs of recovery. Home construction rose more than 9% in November from October, driven by apartment building. And the National Association of Realtors said wednesday that sales of previously occupied homes rose 4% in November.

Hot Pick in Makena, and Other Maui News

2011-11-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hot Pick of the DAY- 7155 Makena Road

Two meticulously landscaped acres in one of the most prestigious locations in the world, overlooking the blue Pacific just south of Big Beach in Makena.

A rare Makena Private Resort, highlighting contemporary Asian design Created with privacy in mind, the 7,600 square foot total living area home stretches over two acres in a one-of-a-kind design. Seven buildings all single level, or pods, feature a main living with private home theater, kitchen and dining area, the Master Suite with office and fitness room, two cozy guest suites, a separate caretakers residence and a three car garage. Features include: quartzite stone floors, curved vaulted ceilings lined with cedar planks, hand-finished Venetian plasterwalls and copper roofing. State of the art Lutron audio/visual, security and lighting systems integrated throughout the home. Designed for minimal maintenance. Two acres of tropical landscaping with bananas, papayas, mangoes and more, a lighted tennis court with covered entertainment pavilion, solar heated infinity pool and separate 25 meter lap pool, one spa and outdoor showers. Perfectly peaceful garden settings with incredible ocean vistas of Kaho'olawe, and the sounds of the soothing waves.

Click Here for Customer Listing Synopsis

Hawaii Bonds get S&P's AA Rating

Standard & Poor's has assigned a AA rating to $800 million in Hawaii general obligation bonds. S&P's credit analyst Gabriel Petek said that state revenue has begun to improve, and that tax collections were great in July through September compared to the past two fiscal years. He noted that the tourism industry is also showing signs of growth.

Visitor Rebound

The Hawaii Tourism Authority reported Tuesday that September saw a gain of 4.7% in visitor count over the same month in 2010. For the first nine months, Maui County has welcomed 4.5% more visitors than the same period of 2010.

Molokai is up 14.9%, and Lanai is up 14.1%.

International traffic has recovered better than domestic.

International visitors, which only make up about one-sixth of Maui's count, in September were up 38.3%, and year-to-date were up 17.3%.

Maui vacation condos and hotels were two-thirds full in September, not unusual for one of the dullest months of the year, but hotel operators were able to boost their rack rates by more than $15 a night. So far this year Hawaii's lodging business is doing 12.8% better than last year, and 20.9% better than in 2009, measured in room revenue. For the first nine months of 2011, Maui had the highest average daily rate of $246.52, up 9.3%. Occupancy rates are up about the same amount in each county so far this year. YTD, Maui is up to 71.2% from 68.8% last year.

Hawaii foreclosures drop 66% year over year

According to an article in Pacific Business News (Click here for entire article), there were a total of 427 properties with foreclosure notices in October - including notices of default, public auctions and bank repossessions - which was one per every 1,208 housing units, RealtyTrac said. That was a 66% drop from October 2010.

Nationwide, foreclosures were down 31% in October.

Hawaiian Airlines Adds More Aircraft

The airline announced Thursday that it had ordered five more Airbus A330 aircraft to be completed within the next four years. This will bring Hawaiian Airlines' total order of that aircraft to 13. The airline says it has been meeting an increased demand for service to Honolulu from other cities. The A330 will be used for flights between New York City and Honolulu beginning June 5, 2012.

Other Good News

The four week average which economists check because it smoothes out the week-to-week fluctuations in the job market, dropped below 400,000 for the first time in seven months. The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits fell to 3.6 million, the lowest number since September 20,2008 - the week that Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and started the financial meltdown.

Employers posted more job openings in September than at any other point in the past three years, nearly 3.4 million jobs, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That's the most since August 2008, one month before the financial crises intensified.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $43.1 billion in September, its lowest point of the year, the Commerce Department said. The deficit has narrowed for the last three months.

Consumers are giving the economy a boost- they spent more on trucks electronics and building supplies in October, to boost retail sale for the fifth straight month. Retail sales rose 0.5% from September to October. A rebound in consumer spending is a key reason why the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in the July-September quarter, the best quarterly performance in a year.

Maui News and Pick of the Day

2011-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hot Pick of the DAY- Maluhia House #5!

Maluhia at Wailea is the ONLY single family detached home subdivision on the beach in Wailea.

For those who are only interested in the VERY BEST...Maluhia is Wailea's most luxurious beachfront community and sets the standards for high end resort living. Nestled among 10.5 oceanfront acres in Maui's most desirable location, Maluhia at Wailea is an extraordinary community composed of just 14 residences, which are THE ONLY single-family homes and home sites on Wailea's shoreline. Combining luxurious tropical living with unrivaled comfort, service, and privacy, Maluhia is a magical place, from the dramatic gated entrance to the private Beach Club which also houses Maluhia's resident concierge. The gentle terracing ensures a sense of privacy and exclusivity as well as guarantees extraordinary views that are actually deeded to each residence so that each homeowner and their guests will be able to enjoy the same unobstructed ocean views, as well as views of neighboring islands and breathtaking Maui sunsets, for years to come. This custom designed home takes full advantage of Maui's tropical climate and allows indoor & outdoor spaces to flow together naturally, with expansive lanais, a private pool & spa, a large waterfall & stream, and many other expensive custom finishes. The interior features a large designer kitchen, a gracious master bedroom with vaulted ceilings, and multiple expansive guest rooms.

Maui Visitor Spending and Arrivals Up

Hawai'i's tourism economy continues to fare well despite global economic uncertainty, with an increase in arrivals and visitors who are staying longer and spending more than they did in 2010.

Through the first seven months of the year, increased airlift to the neighbor islands has better distributed visitor arrivals and expenditures across the state, reaching $7.2 billion in total.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority anticipates continued growth through the fourth quarter and into 2012 with the continuation of China Eastern Airlines' direct service from Shanghai, additional flights from Korea and Japan, and Australia's Strategic Airlines launching service from Brisbane and Melbourne.

Hawaiian Airlines has just announced two NEW direct routes from the West Coast to Maui:

San José - Maui begins January 10 7X/week

Oakland - Maui begins January 11 3X/week

Oahu Real Estate Sales UP

There were 279 single-family homes sold in August, a nearly 21% increase from 231 in August 2010. Last month's median price was $557,500, down about 13% from $641,277 in the same month last year. Condo sales were also up last month, by 15%, to 338 units sold in August, vs. 294 last year, same period. It took only a 1% hit in median prices over the past year, to $300,000, a good sign of stability in the market.

The most recent stats for nationwide home prices is also encouraging. Rices rose 3.6% in the April-June quarter, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price study. Prices rose in 19 of the 20 cities tracked in June from May. That was the third straight month of increased home prices.

More Positive News

It is easy to find bad news. It's funny how most news articles stress the negative side of the story. But there always seems to be good news out there too, if you look for it.

For example, a surge in demand for autos and aircraft drove orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, with a 4% increase last month, the biggest increase since March. All factory orders rose 2.4% in the same period, also the largest since March. Orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 9.8%, the largest increase since January 2003. This is great news on the heels of the sad 0.7% GDP growth announcement for the first half of 2011.

Hawaii Mortgage Delinquencies Fall Again

Delinquent mortgages fell to 4.9% of all mortgages in the second quarter, down from 5.7% a year ago.

Maui, Wailea Real Estate Hot!

2011-08-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

Maui Real Estate Still Hot!

Keawakapu Beach, a beautiful South Kihei home on the beach, has a $16.5 million home in escrow. Makena Place, also beachfront in Makena, has had a good month too- one closed for $6,131,000, and another- listed at $8,250,000 - is in escrow. The Wailea Highlands has one home listed at $3,780,000 in escrow. Then go over to the high-priced Napili and Kapalua side, and you'll find 20 homes either in escrow or closed in the past 30 days! The people buying these properties are most often cash buyers. Where better to put your money these days? Treasuries at under 2%? Stock market with the wild gyrations? Gold at almost $2000 per ounce? It seems the rich and famous are putting their money in the safest investment on the planet- real estate.

Then go to the low-end side of the market. Kihei condos, such as Kihei Villages, has 530 units in North Kihei, across from Sugar Beach. These units were selling over 350k, now under 140k. Seven active listings, ten in escrow, and 24 closed in the past six months. That is less than two months' inventory! If you are in the single-digits on absorption, you are in a seller's market. The low-end has turned, it is now a seller's market, and prices are rising fast.

The middle market is seeing good activity as well. Just a quick for instance, here in Maui Meadows. There are over 600 homes, 24 active listings. Eight homes are in escrow, and ten sales have closed in the past six months. Again, less than six months' inventory.

Don't miss this bottom. We may never see these prices again in our lifetimes!

Economic Statistics Encouraging

Maui real estate seems to be responding to the volatile stock market, and the positive news gives us the confidence to know real estate is the place to be.

For example, industrial production rose 0.9%, the largest gain this year.

Also, employers added more than twice the number of jobs in July than in the previous two months.

It is also encouraging to know that housing starts are the lowest in 40 years. What do you think that will do to prices while demand returns, but the supply doesn't? Economics 101.

Business are leaner and, even more important, in a stronger financial position than they were three years ago. The companies in the S & P 500 now have nearly $1 trillion in cash, up from $648 billion in September 2008.

AP sources say Las Vegas Strip was still bustling last weekend, hotels are near capacity through the end of August. Lines are still long at Walt Disney's parks, Bloomingdales is reporting brisk sales. Coach net income is up 4%. Shoppers are not staying out of the high-end shops!

Bankruptcy filings continue to drop- filings fell in all counties across the state of Hawaii. There was a 38% drop on the Big Island, 22% drop on Oahu, 14% drop on Kauai, and a 13% drop in Maui.

The auto industry is on a hiring spree- VW opened a plant last month in Tennessee with 2000 workers. Honda is hiring 1000 in Indiana. GM is looking for 2500 in Detroit. And that is after a 12% increase in auto employment since June of last year.

U.S. consumer confidence is up in July, from June, according to a private research group.

Hawaii Foreclosure Filings Fall 58%

RealtyTrac released a report last week that 390 foreclosures were filed in Hawaii in July, compared to 930 filings a year earlier. There were 344 filings in June, the lowest for any month since January 2009.

If you are looking for Maui real estate, be it Wailea real estate, Wailea condos, Wailea homes, Kihei Condos, kihei homes for sale, kihei real estate, or just a Maui Real Estate Agent, please call me. Wailea Beach Villas are hot, with a super value in a top floor foreclosure. The number of Wailea condos for sale is shrinking, so act now, while the selection is good!

Hot Pick of the Day Plus Maui's Good News

2011-06-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hot Pick of the DAY!

Papali Wailea is a truly unique 24 single family home community of exceptional construction quality. This is a low density enclave situated on a terraced 10.466 acre site providing expansive views. The single-story, copper-roofed homes with attached private garages and storage rooms feature a spacious 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath floor plan, high volume ceilings, custom cabinetry, premium finishes, fixtures/hardware, and appliances. Each residence allows privacy from neighbors and enjoys unparalleled common amenities including lush landscaping, an exquisite 75-foot infinity pool/spa pavilion and fitness center, and an on-site property manager.

The last several closed sales at Papali considerably exceed the list price of this home. Unit #19 is an exceptional value at $2,595,000.

Click Here for Customer Listing Synopsis

Maui Occupancy Up Again

April hotel occupancy was 69.2% on Maui, up from 66.7% a year before. That is especially good news considering the 20+% drop in Japanese tourism after the earthquake and tsunami.

Hawaii Island's rate was only 54.6% in April, and Kauai's was 57.8%.

The Maui rack rate rose $30 a night, to $259. That coupled with the occupancy increase rose the RevPAR (revenue per available room) about 10%.

U.S. mainland and Canadian markets continue to show pent-up demand that has been fueling Hawaii's double-digit recovery rate in room revenue through the first four months of this year.

Four Seasons Resort Maui Rated Nation's 2nd-best

According to a report by U.S. News and World Report, The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea is the second-best hotel in the U.S. "Boasting luxurious rooms, prime beach access and a serenity pool so beautiful it made the cover of the June 2011 edition of Conde Nast Traveler, this hotel easily earns the number-two spot on our list."

Oahu - Shanghai Flight in the Works

As China begins to become a viable economic factor for Hawaii, the state is working with China Eastern Airlines to establish a direct flight between Honolulu and Shanghai. It is expected to run twice a week beginning August 9.

Tourism officials estimate the new flight to provide up to $60 million in annual visitor expenditures and stimulate new jobs in Hawaii.

Maui Unemployment Rate Continues to Fall

The unemployment rate for Maui County was 7.2% in May, a decline of one percentage point from the same time last year.

Statewide, unemployment is down to 5.9%, from 6.4% a year ago.

Within Maui County, Molokai continues to drag the numbers down for the County, with unemployment at 10.2%. That is a huge improvement from the 13.5% rate a year ago, however.

Lanai had the lowest rate at 4.7% (down from 6.1% a year ago).

Fewer Homes were Repossessed in May

The number of U.S. homeowners who were put on notice for being behind on their mortgage payments fell in May to the lowest level since 2006. Mortgage lenders also took back fewer properties in May. According to foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc., banks are on track to repossess about 200,000 fewer homes this year than in 2010.

More Encouraging Economic News

Unemployment benefit applications fell to a seasonally adjusted 414,000, the second drop in three weeks. Unemployment applications grew to 478,000 in April, and they have declined slowly since then.

Home construction rose last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units, according to the Commerce Department.

Food prices at the wholesale level fell 1.4% in May, the Labor Department said.

Overall, the Producer Price Index rose only 0.2% in May, much lower than April's 0.8%.

Excluding a seasonal drop in car sales, retail sales rose 0.3% in May. That gain seemed to please investors- triggered a 123 point rise in the DJIA that day.

The Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs for the 200 biggest U.S. companies, said 51% of chief executives plan to step up hiring in the second half of the year.

The Commerce Department said businesses added to their inventories for the 16th straight month in April, another sign that companies are confident people will spend more in the second half of the year.

Maui's Positive News, and Pick of the Day

2011-05-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hot Pick of the DAY!

Hokulani Golf Villas rare offering, developer owned unit never before available!!! Spectacular setting at the 18th green with powerful Haleakala, Ocean and Sunset views from this one level custom home.

http://maui.paragonrels.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=f5737384-2814-4109-8dac-acd8035bf539&Report=Yes

Despite disaster, Maui's Japanese visitors climb

Although Oahu saw an 18.7% drop in Japanese visitors in March compared with the same month last year, Maui County's Japanese visitors actually increased 17.5% in the same period! Granted, Maui sees more Canadians and Oahu sees more Japanese visitors.

Unemployment Claims Tumbled on Maui

New unemployment claims for Maui and Molokai decreased 42.2% last week, compared to the same week a year ago, according to the state Department of Business and Economic Development. Statewide, initial jobless claims dropped 18% compared to the same week a year ago.

Investors lift home sales

Investors lifted U.S. home sales last month, plunking down cash to grab cheap homes at risk of foreclosure. Sales of previously occupied homes rose in March to an annual rate of 5.1 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That's a 3.7% increase from the February pace. Foreclosures and short sales rose to make up 40% of all purchases. Deals paid for entirely in cash accounted for 35% of all resold homes. NAR said that's the biggest percentage since it has been tracking all-cash sales.

New home sales also rose in March, 11% from February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000 homes, according to the Commerce Department. That follows three straight monthly declines. Sales of new homes fell last year for the fifth consecutive year. The median price of a new home rose nearly 3% from February. New home prices are about 34% higher than the median price for re-sales. That's more than twice the markup in healthy housing markets.

Other encouraging statistics

Service companies in the U.S., which employ 90% of the nation's work force, expanded for the 17th straight month in April, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

Consumer confidence, accoding to the Conference Board, rose to 65.4 in March, higher than expected. That's a 40-point increase since its all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that manufacturing activity expanded in April for the 21st straight month. The index was at 60.4 in March. Any reading over 50 signals growth.

Unemployment rate fell last month in more than 80% of the nation's largest metro areas. The rate fell in 303 of the nation's 372 largest cities, according to the Labor Department.

The Conference Board said last week that its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4% for March. The index, which is a measure of future economic activity, has increased for nine straight months.

So much for CNN and all the Constant Negative News!

The Economy Improves again for Maui!

2011-03-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hotel Numbers continue gains in January

Maui occupancy was at 73.6%, up 6.7 percentage points from last January.
Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) is up 6.7% to $345.23.
Room revenue per available room daily for the month was up 17.3%, to $180.49.
Maui visitor numbers reflected similar statewide trends. Statewide occupancy averaged 74.5%, up 8.1 percentage points.
Maui visitor count is up 9.2% in January, Molokai up 8.2%, and Lanai is up 17.5%.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said total spending for January was up 19.8% to nearly $1.2 billion.

Unemployment rate lower in Maui county

The unemployment rate for Maui County fell one percentage point in January from the same month a year ago, to 7.9%. State-wide, unemployment is doing even better, at 6.4%.

Nationwide, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has fallen over the past six weeks to the lowest level in over 2.5 years.

Home sales rise on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island

Oahu home sales climbed 2.3% in February, condo sales jumped 20.9% to 295 units! The median price for Oahu SFRs fell 1%, while condo prices climbed 7% to $320,000.

NABE survey

The National Association for Business Economics forecasts faster growth than previously expected.

The 47 economists polled in the survey expect the economy to grow 3.3% this year, and 3.4% in 2012. The outlook for consumer spending has improved, expected to grow 3.2% this year. Employers are expected, on average, to add 178,300 jobs per month this year.

Alaska Air adds Maui flights

Alaska airlines is adding more flights linking Northern California and Hawaii. It plans to fly from Oakland and Son Jose to Maui's Kahului Airport on a daily basis starting June 5.

Foreclosures down 2% last month

The number of Hawaii properties facing foreclosure activity declined 2% last month to 963 state-wide. The worst foreclosure rate by county was on the Big Island, with one filing per 270 households. The lowest foreclosure rate went to Honolulu, with only one per 825 households. Maui was in the middle, with one filing per 362 households. Bankruptcy's last month also fell, by 1% state-wide.

The Economy Keeps on Growing!

2011-02-18T00:13:00.001-08:00

Good Economic News Continues

-Retail sales are up 0.3% in January. Sales have risen more than 14% from the recession low in December 2008.
-Unemployment is down to 9.0%
-The stock market refuses to drop, with the DJIA over 12,000.
-Buyers purchased 329,000 new homes in December, a 17.5% increase from November 2010.
-The median price of a new home nationwide rose to $241,500 in December, up from a median of $215,500 in November. For all of 2010, the median sales price was up 2.4% from 2009.
-The Gross Domestic Product growth in the fourth quarter of 2010 was a robust 3.2%, according to the Commerce Department. That was up from 2.6% the previous quarter. For the whole year, GDP growth was 2.9%, the most robust growth since 2005. All told, the U.S. economy produced about $13.4 trillion worth of goods and services in 2010, a record.
-Consumers increased spending by 4.4% in the fourth quarter.
-Factory output had it's best month in seven years last month. It was the highest reading since May 2004, and the 18th straight month the sector has grown.
-Gary Mooers has more activity than ever in recent history, with twelve properties currently in escrow.

Six months ago, people would say "I think the economy is still dropping". I would respond by saying "Maybe, I'll tell you in six months."

Well, it is now six months later, and I can confidently tell you this: They were wrong!

Kihei Villages condos, which once sold for $350,000 dropped to $100,000. They have risen in the past six months, you can't get one for under $140,000.

Ho'olei, the new 2500 sf condos across the street from the Grand Wailea, was giving their front row units away for $1.7 million a year ago. Today there are three in escrow priced at $2,695,000, $2,788,000 and $3,100,000. The four most recent closed sales in Ho'olei were all over $2 million.

Jennifer Anniston set the record for the highest paid price for a home on Maui last year, at $18.9 million. The same month, another Makena house sold for $17.5 million. Shortly after that, we closed a Wailea Beach Villa for $12.5 million.

So the market is hot in every sector.

If you are thinking of buying in Maui, this reporter thinks you will never see these prices and this opportunity again, as long as you are on this planet.

Take advantage today of the relatively low prices, and get your flag planted on the "#1 Island Destination in the World"!

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-12-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

Resort Real Estate Sales See Rebound

2010-12-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

The turnover in resort real estate is expected to top $1 billion this year, marking a turnaround after a five-year slide.Ricky Cassida of Data@Work in Honolulu publishes an analysis of the market, released last week. He said sales statewide through three quarters indicate that total sales are "up almost 50% from a year ago".

Foreclosures made up only about 10% of the resales, but much lower on Maui, where he expects only 25 forced sales this year, compared with 434 market sales. That would put foreclosures closer to 5% on Maui.

RealtyTrac Inc. says home foreclosure sales fell 28% statewide to 404 in the July-September quarter. Foreclosure sales only rose in three states in that quarter. Sounds like the worst is behind us.

With Americans' net worth increasing, the Canadian dollar strong as it has ever been, and prices down on average around 35%, and interest rates near record lows, Maui real estate may never be as good of a bargain as it is today!

Maui Sales UP 27.7%!

2010-11-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

Year to date, sales of property on Maui is in excess of $1.7 billion, according to the Realtor's Association of Maui statistics. The same period in '09, sales were just under $1.3 billion.

What is amazing is the percentage of total sales done by our boutique office at Coldwell Banker Island Properties at the Shops at Wailea. So far this year, CBIP Wailea has closed about 12% of the total sales in Maui, over $206 million.

That's also a nice increase over '09. This time last year, we had closed just over $106 million!Maui Ranks High in Hotel Stays, Prices- A survey of world island tourist destinations puts Hawaii, and particularly Maui, at the top in hotel occupancy, prices, and revenue per available room. Oahu had the highest occupancy, at 78.3%.

Maui was fourth in the world for average daily rate, at an average $225 per night. But because Maui enjoyed better occupancy rates than the higher-priced resort locations, Maui had a higher revenue per available room amount of $155, up 7.7%.

The Renaissance has a New Owner/Developer

2010-10-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Spectacular ocean-front property located on Mokapu Beach in Maui, HawaiiCHICAGO, Oct 22, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm focused on real estate, announced today that affiliates of Hyatt and Starwood Capital Group have formed a joint venture to acquire an existing property and redevelop it into Andaz Wailea Resort and Residences, an ocean front resort on Mokapu Beach in Maui, Hawaii, within the premier master planned resort of Wailea.

Hyatt anticipates that its investment in the project will be approximately $90 million. Slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2012, Andaz Wailea Resort and Residences will mark the expansion of Hyatt's Andaz brand into a key resort market. Andaz Wailea Resort and Residences will be located along 600 feet of Mokapu Beach in one of the most sought after leisure and resort destinations in North America. The Wailea master plan includes a 1.2 mile-long oceanfront beach path connecting all of its world class beaches, a premier shopping center, distinguished restaurants and a 54-hole golf club and a tennis club. Andaz Wailea will feature 255 rooms and 35 suites ranging from 456 to 2,321 square-feet, as well as six four-bedroom villas averaging approximately 3,500 square-feet.

The property will include a variety of amenities including a three-meal specialty restaurant, cascading outdoor pools with an adjacent bar and specialty restaurant, a 15,000 square-foot spa, gym, lobby lounge, and meeting space. The hotel will be the second Andaz hotel designed by internationally acclaimed architect and designer David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, following the January 2010 debut of Andaz Wall Street in New York City. "The opportunity to develop a world-class resort along one of Hawaii's most desirable beaches is unique, and we are delighted to partner with Starwood Capital, a company with a long history of designing and building world-class hotel and resort properties," said Hyatt Hotels Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Mark S. Hoplamazian. "

Andaz Wailea will be a great addition to Hyatt's resort portfolio and an important new market for Andaz." "Wailea is truly one of the world's great treasures and we are very pleased to deepen our relationship with Hyatt through this partnership and create a unique destination resort there," said Barry S. Sternlicht, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Capital Group. "The burgeoning Andaz brand is a perfect fit for this vibrant community and the partnership structure with Hyatt ensures we will bring the best of both companies together to create a stunning property. Having been intimately involved in the design of the asset, it will be exciting to see it come to life as the Andaz Wailea." Personal and uncomplicated, Andaz is a new hotel experience that blends fresh, engaging hospitality and stylish, vibrant settings, created with simplicity and locality in mind.

Andaz Wailea will join Andaz Liverpool Street, London, Andaz West Hollywood, Andaz Wall Street, Andaz San Diego and Andaz 5th Avenue. Additional Andaz hotels under development include Andaz Amsterdam, Andaz Delhi, India; Andaz Papagayo, Costa Rica; Andaz Sanya Sunny Bay, China; and Andaz Turks and Caicos.

SOURCE: Hyatt Hotels Corporation Hyatt Hotels & ResortsLaurie Cole, 312-780-5935 laurie.cole@hyatt.com

Market Update

2010-10-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Beacon Economics analyzed home affordability and came away feeling optimistic.

Beacon Economics founding principal Christopher Thornberg, whose firm advises a variety of business clients, says the high level of affordability is likely to drive demand and reduce the stock of excess inventory, ultimately resulting in the need for new housing, a rise in prices, and a pickup in new construction. "While prices may fluctuate modestly over the next several months, we believe the worst of the housing crisis is behind us," says Beacon Economics Research Manager Jordan G. Levine. "We expect prices to stabilize around current levels and likely be higher in the next 12 months."

The Biggest and Best News in Three Years!

2010-10-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Maui Real estate buyers are seeing competition again.

First my personal experiences this week:

1. One of my listings, for $1,595,000, had three showings and three over full-price offers. Two are cash buyers, and they are still bidding against each other as I type this.

2. A small condo in North Kihei, listed at $138,000 has had two offers, one over full price, and is in escrow now.

3. A house in South Kihei listed at $489,000 has an offer in escrow with a bigger offer waiting in back-up position hoping for the first offer to fall out.

4. My buyer made an offer on a home on the market for over 1000 days ($5,900,000 list price). After months of negotiations and deliberations, appraisal, and writing an offer, the morning we expect a counter offer, the seller gets an all-cash offer that blows us out of the water.

Overall Trend Upward is the title of the article in today's Maui News.Closings of single-family homes through the first three quarters of this year, as reported by the MLS of the Realtors Association of Maui, were up to 616 in Maui County, compared with 462 in the same period in 2009. Average prices were up 10% to $779,769. The number of days on the market before closing is an amazingly small number, 122 days for houses, 130 days for condos. Many of these are short sales that take 3-4 months to negotiate with the bank.

So in many cases, we are seeing homes under contract in less than 30 days. So far this year, we have seen a 47% increase in dollar sales to $480 million for single-family transactions, and up 36% to $624 million in condo sales.

We expect a phenomenal winter, with all the pent-up demand out there.

Oahu Median Home price up to $622k from $605k in September '09. The median price for a condo increased to $335,000 from $309,500 a year ago.

Maui Named Tourists' Top Stop- AgainFor the 16th time in the past 20 years, Maui was named the Best Island in the World by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

Maui's Hotel Occupancy Up Considerably in AugustMaui hotel occupancy bounded up nearly 10 percentage points in August, according to the consulting firm Hospitality Advisors. Maui's occupancy rate was 73.4%, not impressive for a normal August, but much better than 63.5% a year ago. Prices held stable, at about $238 per night.

Every other county in the state also gained in visitors over the steady summer. This is on top of the 18.1% jump in revenue per available room in July, and an 11.7% increase in visitor days. Wholesale Inventories and sales up in August 0.8% following a 1.5% increase in July, a sign that businesses expect the economic recovery to continue.

More good news: A new federal report says personal income in Hawaii grew by 0.8% in the second quarter.

More Good News for Maui

2010-09-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

We get enough bad news on Constant Negative News (aka CNN), right? Even on Maui News, I have to dig to find the positive side of each article. Bad news sells.

Well, I am going out on a limb, in hopes that my readers actually want to hear good news! So here it is.

Maui visitor counts are up 11.5%! For the first time in a long tie, the monthly visitor count topped 200,000 in July, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Maui visitors from Canada were up 22.2%.

This is amazing, considering Hawaii hotel rates are the third highest in the U.S., behind New York and Massachusetts, according to Hotels.com. The average nightly rate in Hawaii is $141(unchanged from 2009), compared to $193 in New York (up 8%) and $152 in Massachusetts (up 3%).

According to professor Leroy Laney, who teaches finance and economics at Hawaii Pacific University, tourism is leading Maui out of the recession. (This statement is confirmed by the state Department of Taxation report showing that transient accommodations tax increased in the past two months by nearly 25%, compared to the same period one year ago.)

Laney pointed to credit card spending growth of the 300 largest customers at First Hawaiian Bank. In 2009, credit card charge volume fell 6%. So are this year, through June, volume is up 6%. These numbers are supported by consumer confidence reports.

Consumer confidence, according to the Commerce Board, improved to 53.5 from 51 the month before. As consumer spending accounts for 70% of our economic activity, it is important that consumers are confident. This figure has been recovering consistently since hitting an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009.

Mortgage rates, oh my gosh! Down to 4.32% on a 30-year fixed, with zero points! Maui real estate prospective buyers seem to be taking advantage of the low prices and low rates. There are 222 single family homes and 262 condos in escrow as of this writing. And as of this writing, 862 Maui condo sales have closed this year, and 573 single family home sales have closed this year!

And retail sales also confirm increased consumer confidence, as we saw retail sales up 0.4% in August, the best in five months. Excluding auto sales, that number was up 0.6%.

Hawaii's umemployment rate is holding steady, at 6.3%, the same as it was in June. Hawaii is continuing to see gradual improvement in employment. There were 40,250 unemployed in the islands in July, down from 44,750 last year.

The Commerce Department said last Friday that wholesale inventories rose 1.3% in July, triple the increase expected. That makes seven months in a row that that number increased. Sales at the wholesale level increased 0.6%, double the expected number.

New applications for uneployment insurance fell last week to the lowest level in two onths.

The U.S. trade deficit shrank in July as exports rose to the highest level in nearly two years.

The Institute for Supply Management said the manufacturing index rose to 56.3 in August from 55.5 in Juyly. A reading above 50 indicates growth. This index has surged since late 2009. Job gains at industrial companies have made up about 30% of net hiring by businesses and other private organizations in 2010. The survey also showed managers' desire to hire increased to 60.4- the strongest level since December 1983.

Hawaii bankruptcies are down. 329 in August, compard to 345 in July.

Productivity, or output per hour worked, fell by the largest amount in nearly four years, while labor costs rose. This is good news for people looking for work. Once businesses have seemingly gotten everything they can out of their workers, productivity begins to drop. Next comes job creation.

We are just starting to see evidence of same. Private employers added a net totalof 67,000 jobs in August.

With all this good news, it is easy to believe that we have seen the worst of the most recently passed downturn.

Strong Economic News, Low Mortgage Rates

2010-08-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

Despite what the newspapers and Rush would have you believe, there is good news out there.

A & B just had a strong quarter, with $28.9 million in earnings, compared with only $12.6 earned the same quarter a year ago. The first half's earnings rose by $13.9 million compared to the same period one year ago.

Hawaiian Airlines just reported $9 million in net income for the latest quarter, the ninth consecutive quarterly profit.

Initial jobless claims did drop by 11,000 last Thursday, according to the Labor department. Requests for unemployment insurance fell steadily last year from their peak in March of 2009. Yes, the unemployment rate is still 9.5%. Local governments are actually the biggest culprits in downsizing lately. Private enterprise is working hard and employment in those ranks is growing. The latest survey indicated that the jobless rate declined in 39 states last month. And Hawaii's jobless rate is actually pretty good, at 6.3%, the sixth lowest in the nation.

Some other good earnings reports have been keeping the Dow and S & P indexes high. UPS, 3M, Caterpillar, AT &T, Union Pacific railroad are all reporting strong profits and sales growth. Ford even reported great numbers, $2.6 billion in profit last quarter, its fifth straight quarterly profit. Ford predicts by the end of 2011 they will have more cash than debt.

The Institute for Supply Management's Index showed that job prospects are looking brighter, as the service sector, which makes up 80% of the economy, just grew for the seventh month in a row.

The manufacturing sector grew in July for the 12th straight month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. And in a second report, the Commerce Department announce that construction spending edged up 0.1% in June.

And consumers, although holding tight to their wallets, are still spending. The most recent retail sales figures show a 2.8% increase in July over a year earlier. And new home sales rose nearly 24% in June from the month earlier, according to the Commerce Department.

The recent AP Economy Survey shows the majority of economists believe the recovery remains on track. Economic growth is estimated at just under 3% for the year, even though it did grow at a 3.% pace for the first half of the year. Americans saved a higher percentage of their income last year, 4.2%, the highest level since 1998. That could explain the slower growth. But it also sets the stage for strong growth when the mood picks up.

And home builders showed strength by increasing spending earlier this year at the fastest pace in 27 years. They have since backed off though, with the expiration of the government tax credits.

The visitor count in Maui is up 7.1% so far this year, compared to the same period last year. Kathy Englert, resort rental agent in our Coldwell Banker Island Properties office, said that July was the best she has had in four years!

Hawaii real estate has some other bright spots too. Industrial real estate is seeing declines in vacancies according to CB Richard Ellis in Honolulu. Maui has by far the lowest vacancy rate in that category, at 1.4%. Statewide, the rate is down to 4.3%, as strong indicator that business is working here.

Bank of Hawaii is doing well, reporting its second-quarter profits jumped 50%. They say it is due to Hawaii's gradual improvement in the economy.

It seems the "smart money" is buying here on Maui. We recently closed two single family residences on Makena road for $17.5 million and $19.85 million. Condo closings include several homes at Wailea Beach villas which closed between $3,725,000 and $12.5 million; two units at Wailea Point for $3.7 million and $9,999,999; and a unit at Makena Surf sold for $3,375,000. And Steve Case, owner of AOL just increased his holdings of Maui Land and Pineapple Co, by purchasing 4.27 million shares for $16.5 million. This could actually give him majority ownership in the company.

Looking at the Maui condo real estate market, the number of listings in escrow is mind-boggling. As of this writing, island-wide, there are 1620 listings, of which 298 are Pending sales, meaning they are currently in escrow. That leaves on 1322 Active listings, or less than six months' inventory. That is a good indicator of market demand. What a great time to be a buyer of Maui real estate!

With mortgage rates at record lows, 15 year fixed rates are now below 4%! Unreal!

Economist: Real estate at low; hard times gone

2010-07-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

If Maui real estate prices haven't already hit rock bottom, they're not going to get much lower, economist Paul Brewbaker said Friday. He told the Realtors Association of Maui that his take-home message was that people shouldn't wait too long to buy if they're hoping to find bargains.

"It's not worth looking for that last five dollars," he said. Several weeks ago, Brewbaker told another Maui audience that the recession was over, even in Hawaii.

On Friday, he spent much of his hour in front of 120 real estate professionals at the King Kamehameha Golf Club defending that pronouncement, trying to explain why the hard times are past, even if they don't feel like it. Sure, it is a jobless recovery, he said. When a dip in the business cycle ends, "the last thing you do is hire somebody. First, you work your employees to death. Then you realize your buddy is going to steal them and pay them more. "That's when employers start hiring again, he said.
Brewbaker noted that the unemployment rate on Oahu, 5.5 percent, is about what has been considered "full employment" on the Mainland. The Neighbor Islands are lagging, but Brewbaker tried to explain that snapshots of statistics have to be interpreted in a longer time frame.

One Realtor worried about a large oversupply of housing for sale: about 3,000 listings today at the Realtors Association's Multiple Listing Service, and probably another 1,500 in various forms of foreclosure and distress that are going to be piled on top of that. But Brewbaker said that wasn't so bad. The backlog of foreclosures is more attributable to Maui's distance from the bankers and brokers who are doing the paperwork to work out the problems than to any real increase in distress. "I can't tell you how many people have told me about sales on the courthouse steps being postponed," he said. On the Mainland, where the technocrats are, things are just moving faster, he said.

A couple of years ago, Maui's proportion of housing in distress ranked it among the five best states. The proportion hasn't changed much, but now Maui ranks in the middle of the pack. But that's just because more of the Mainland's problems have been disposed of. The uptick in housing prices in California foretells an uptick here, since, as Brewbaker puts it, "Maui is the western edge of Orange County."

Brewbaker also noted very little new housing is being built, creating additional pressure on supply that will drive prices up. Building permits are running about 400 a year, only a fifth of past experience. For several decades, he said, the proportion of housing starts compared with the increase in population has been falling steadily, mostly due to government regulations. Maui County's snail's pace in keeping up with demand for infrastructure is only further suppressing the development of new housing, he said. "The Department of Water Supply looks more like the Department of Water non-Supply," he said.

Put it all together, and it looks as if the fall in prices - around 30 percent on average since 2007 - probably is about over, he said. Brewbaker acknowledged that agents are going to feel resistance from clients, who might still be wary. The Federal Reserve has said it intends to keep interest rates very low. Brewbaker does not consider worries about a "double-dip" recession compelling. Although the current recession was bigger than any of the previous six recessions - although at only about 3 percent contraction nationally, not even one-fifth as bad as the Great Depression - when graphed, it takes its place in the up and down curve of a business cycle. It isn't a double dip - that is, a new episode of the recession that ended in 2009 - that should concern people, Brewbaker said, but the occurrence of the next regular recession "in 2019 or whenever."

He did note some oddities of the current Maui real estate situation. Prices of single-family houses and condominiums have converged, while they used to be further apart, the way they still are on Kauai.Although, he said that there might be some structural changes (there was an explosion of condo building at the destination resorts, which aspired to more luxury), he expects the price gap to re-emerge.

Economists: Recovery continues, but slowly

The National Association for Business Economics said its latest survey, released today, found that 31% of businesses added workers between Aril and June, the highest level in three years. And 39% of those surveyed said they expected to hire more workers over the next six months - the most since January 2008. Manufacturers reported the strongest increase in demand and profitability. Finance, insurance and real estate sectors saw the slowest growth.

The number of companies reporting layoffs and job cuts through attrition is down by half from a year ago and about steady with the first quarter of this year, NABE found. Meanwhile, the number of businesses hiring jumped to 31% from 6% the same time last year, and is up from 22% of those surveyed at the end of the first quarter. Goods-producing companies are doing most of the hiring.

Of the NABE members that responded to the survey, 52% said demand increased in the second quarter, and 38% said it remained steady. Companies that raised prices outnumbered companies that cut them by three to one, which helped profit margins edge higher overall.

OTHER POSITIVE ECONOMIC NEWS:

Imports and Exports posted solid gains in May. U.S. exports rose 2.4%, and imprts grew 2.9%. This should prove supportive to economic growth in the months to come.
Federal Reserve forecasters predict 3% GDP growth this year.Computer sales way up. Intel just posted their best results in it's 42-year history, including its highest revenue and profit margins ever.
Companies increased spending on equipment and softwre 11.4% in the first three months of this year, the most recent period available, and 19% in the final quarter of last year.

Real Estate Sales Active on Maui

2010-07-08T15:34:00.001-07:00

Way up! is the best way to describe the volume of sales so far in 2010.

Here are some statistics for the first half of '10 that will get your juices flowing:

422 single family closings in single family residences , up 42.6% from last year, same period.

407 condominium closings, up 63.6%.

$828 million in closings, up from $569 in '09 same period.

Maui Meadows: 11 closings this year, vs. 2 in '09!

Wailea-Makena: home sales doubled to 18 closings, prices up 22% from same period last year.

Kaanapali, home sales also doubled, to 12 closings, but prices have fallen 6%.

Kapalua, sales are up to 4 closings, from 3 last year, and average price doubled!

Makawao, Olinda, and Haliimaile, home sales rose to 23 from 13, and prices are up 10%.

Kula, Ulupalakua, and Kanaio, sales are up from 19 to 27 closings, and average prices are up 14%.

Pukalani, closings rose from 28 to 34, but prices fell 7%.

Haiku, closings more than double to 23, and prices rose 10%.

Lahaina, home sales rose from 15 to 24 closings, and prices gained 8%.

Central Maui, 132 closings, from 113 last year, same period, but prices fell a dramatic 17%.

Kihei had 81 closings, up from 53, and prices were down 19%.

Top-end condos are moving like hotcakes. Kapalua condo closings jumped from three to 14, at average prices of $1.6 million, up from only $1 million a year ago.

Kaanapali condo closings increased by 27, from 157 to 184, but prices were unchanged.

Wailea-Makena, condo closings more than double to 64, and prices advanced 4% to an average of $1.7 million.

Maui's Real Estate Market is Showing Great Strength!

2010-06-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

I just had a $5 million ocean front buyer come into my office, and scheduled showings a few days out. In that three day wait, the only two Kihei under-$5 million beachfront homes went under contract! Makena just saw two big sales close. One for $17.5 million, one for an all-time Maui high of $19.85 million. A half-built home, sold by the investor at One Pala'uea, a $3.9 million listing, just went under contract. Wailea Kialoa just saw a closing of $2.975 million. Papali closed a $2.6 million sale, with another in escrow. Even Wailea Kai is seeing strong sales prices, with a recent $1,699,000 closing. South Maui is on fire!

The local developers must agree. Ho'ole'a, a new Stanford Carr Development project, was just launched last Saturday in Wailuku. Other projects in Wailuku are selling out, and the developers see that.

Canadian buyers are very bullish on Maui. They are coming here with a strong dollar, and relatively low prices - what a great combination. I can tell you that as conservative as Canadians are, the fact that they are buying here speaks volumes!

It is not just my observation, but statistics back what I am saying. The Hawaii Tourism Authority reports that international tourists in Hawaii spent 7.3% more through the month of April than in the same period in 2009. International arrivals were also up, by 5%, in April, reaffirming the fact the Hawaii is the dream vacation destination of the world!

Another encouraging article just published by the Associated Press is the increased company spending across America. "Corporate investment is not only growing, but accelerating". Business spending was up 2.1% in May, the second month of growth.

This type of growth is typical after a recession. Businesses were holding their wallets close to their vest for so long, finally they have to cut loose, increase spending, especially in computers and networking equipment. New orders in that area rose 2.5% in May.

Another interesting statistic is the decline of the unemployment rate in 37 states last month. Only six states across America had increases, seven had no change.

Maui's unemployment rate, and the State of Hawaii's unemployment rate both dropped. Hawaii is doing great, with only 6.6% unemployment, and Maui's rate dropped from 8.7% to 8.2% in May.

Add to all these signs low mortgage rates. The lowest since the 50's! Down to 4.69% this week, this is actually the lowest rate since Freddie Mac started keeping records in 1971!

The statistics are pointing toward more growth coming up. For that reason, I am putting my money where my mouth is. Personally, I am fully invested in Maui real estate. Also, I am stepping up my marketing, both on line and off, to capture those buyers coming to our market. If you want to be one of those, don't hesitate, call me now for my Best Buys list!

Maui Updates

2010-06-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

I just came back from a three week western tour in our motorhome. That's what all this hard work is about! We saw Yellowstone National Park, went up to South Dakota and saw the Mt. Rushmore, saw wild bear, bald eagles, and stuff Maui never sees!

Anyway, lots of catching up to do on the Maui news:

Maui again saw the highest growth in visitor
arrivals with 3% growth in April and is the only
island with continued visitor growth since the
beginning of the year. Maui saw positive YTD
2010 arrival growth in all top four visitor
markets, particularly from US West 8.7%, Japan
7.4%, and Canada 17%, that outpaced overall
Statewide results. Kahului had 11.8% more seats
in April due to seasonal and additional routes.
Maui County cruise passengers increased 20.8%
in April and 12.4% YTD over 2009.
Hawaii Tourism Authority 5/27/10

Maui again led the state with a 10.5% occupancy
increase to 66.7% in April due to higher arrivals
from Japan 17.6% and US West 6.7%. Maui
continued to have the state’s highest ADR at
$227.89, yet ADR decreased 7.1% in April due to
continued rate discounting in the market. YTD
ADR has decreased 10.8% over 2009. RevPAR
increased in April 10.9% as the strong occupancy
gain more than offset the loss in ADR. YTD
RevPAR is 1.7% above 2009. All market
locations and price segments saw occupancy
increases.
Hospitality Advisors Hawaii Hotel Flash Report April 2010

Wells Fargo ended up being the high bidder for
the Makena Beach and Golf Resort, bidding $55
million at a public foreclosure auction. Wells
Fargo is trustee for the mortgage lending trust
that foreclosed on the 1,800 acre South Maui
resort and is owed more than $192.5 million.
The resort’s hotel, formerly known as the Maui
Prince Hotel, has remained operational,
managed by Benchmark Hospitality International
since September 2009 and is overseen by courtappointed
receiver.
Pacific Business News, 05/28/10

The owners of popular Longhi’s restaurant chain
are repositioning the Hotel Hana-Maui and have
assumed management of the AAA Four Diamond
hotel’s food and beverage operations. The 64 year
old hotel is owned by Denver based real
estate investment firm, Amstar Group, and has
changed hands several times over the past
decade as investors have struggled with
profitability.
Pacific Business News, 05/21/10

Maui Land & Pineapple Co, Inc. reported a loss
of $2.7 million for first quarter 2010, an
improvement over its $13.2 million loss last year.
In December 2009, the company closed its
agriculture division, which generated a $2.5
million loss in first quarter 2009.
Pacific Business News, 05/10/10

Southern California Rebounds!

2010-05-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

It is easy to predict the future when it comes to Maui real estate. Take a look at the Southern California market six months earlier, and you know what is to come.

California State University Fullerton (my Alma mater) has been publishing a Southern California Leading Economic Indicator index for decades. The most recent 0.87 percent increase in the index for the first quarter was the biggest jump since the first quarter of 2004, and suggests a boost in regional economic activity over the next three to six months. The employment component of the indicator also signals growth. This sector just saw its first increase since the third quarter of 2007.

We just had an interesting election to replace Abercrombie in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican Charles Djou just became the newest member. He will need to win the GOP primary and election later this year in order to retain his seat. This is a clear signal to Washington that even Hawaii, one of the most liberal states in the nation, and birthplace (?) of President Barrack Obama, is not happy with status quo in Washington.

Good statistics in home sales- sales of existing homes rose 7.6% in April from a year ago. That sparked a 4% increase in new home prices.

Jobless rates declined in 34 states and the District of Columbia in April. Only six states reported higher rates, and 10 states remained the same.

Mortgage rates are near all-time lows, under 5% now, thanks to the big scare in the European Community. The record was 4.83% in December, so I would suggest we can expect rates are about as low as we can hope for. What a great time to be a buyer of Maui real estate!

For example, a Wailea Palms unit just went on the market for 499k! Unheard of prices out there, motivated sellers, and low interest rates make this a prime time to buy.

Call me and I'll shoot you my list of short sales, REOs and super-steals!

Very Few Foreclosures and Short Sales in Wailea or Makena

2010-05-19T21:53:00.001-07:00

Stocks didn't hurt for long over the Europe debt fears. The market just won't go down. That can only mean one thing, it is going up.

Foreclosures are down 2% in April from the same month in 2009. Still, the numbers are high. About 12% of all households with a mortgage had missed at least one payment in March. Thankfully, many Wailea and Makena real estate owners don't have mortgages, so the ratio is incredibly low here. As a matter of fact, there is only one bank-owned property in the entire area. And just five short sales listed on the mls fall in the Makena/Wailea district. All lower-end condos, except one house in Makena, under construction, not yet completed. That one will be a true bargain for the right person.

Retail sales rose 0.4% in April, stronger factory output is also helping our national economy. Retail sales rose in the first three months of this year at the fastest pace in three years, according to the Commerce Department. Industrial production posted a 0.8% gain in April. Total business sales gained 2.3%- the sixth straight increase and the best showing in four months.

GM announced that it had a great quarter. Revenue is up 40% over the first quarter of last year, and its net income rose to $865 million in the quarter, quite a nice reversal from the $6 billion loss in the same period one year prior. If people are buying cars, their probably buying airline tickets to Maui too!

Home construction rebounded last month, to the highest level in 18 months. I would find it hard to believe that the tax incentives have anything to do with building today, considering those incentives ended as of April 30.

In all, we are seeing some great signs here in South Maui. This is supposed to be our slow season. Tell that to the buyers. Properly priced properties are flying off the shelves here in Kihei, Wailea, and Makena.

Super Price on a Vacation Rental in Honokowai

2010-05-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

I just listed today a 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit at Honokowai Palms for $99,900. The last sale in there was a fixer-upper for the same price, and it sold immediately for 105k. You can check out pictures and details on my website at www.gmmaui.com, type in mls # 343272.

This will be gone quickly. If you want a bargain, check this out!

April was a Very Encouraging Month!

2010-05-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

The U.S. economy got what it needed in April: A burst of hiring that added a net 290,000 jobs, the biggest monthly total in four years! These job gains came mostly from private employers, surprisingly. Also, a separate survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found smaller companies were more optimistic in April about future economic trends than the previous month. That optimism index rose to 90.6 from 86.8, the highest since September 2008. Optimism leads to new jobs. New jobs leads to more disposable income, which leads to better vacations in gorgeous destinations like Maui! Those of us in the Maui real estate business like that kind of news, for sure.

A real encouraging month, April saw existing homes and condominiums on Oahu selling like hot cakes. The numbers were an increase of 52.9% for homes and an increase of 48.3% for condos, compared to t he same month last year. The median price paid for single-family homes in April was $563,000, down 6.2% from April, 2009. The median price for condos fell 2.2% in the past year, to $308,000.

Nationwide, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3% to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1% above March 2009.

More flights to Hawaii are being offered by Delta Air Lines, American, Continental and Hawaiian. Many new flights are coming from Tokyo Haneda airport in Japan, which has been off limits to U.S. carriers since 1978. Also, Korean Air recently announced that it will add additional service from Seoul to Honolulu beginning on June 12, 2010. The carrier plans to add three additional weekly flights every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, around 780 additional air seats per week, to supplement its existing daily service from Incheon International Airport to Honolulu International Airport. More Asians to Honolulu means more Asians to Maui. And more Asians to Maui means good things for the Maui economy, and the Maui real estate economy. Halelujah!

Alaska Airlines made two announcements on additional routes, adding a second year-round, daily service between Portland, Oregon and Honolulu starting September 20th ( the airline currently flies between Portland and Maui) and a nonstop daily flight between Kahului, Maui and San Diego, California beginning October 1st.

I have always been a proponent of letting free market take care of challenges. Such as when two airlines went out of business two years ago here on Maui. See what happens? The free market moves in, and fills the void, as needed. Are you listening, Mr. President? (oops, sorry for the political commentary... I couldn't help myself.)

Also Notable:

March Pending Home Sales increased 5.3% from February.
Nationwide foreclosures in April down 2% from April 2009.
The ISM manufacturing index rose to the highest level since June 2004.
As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) made no change in rates.
Oil prices declined more than $10 per barrel to $75 per barrel.
The Canadian dollar is back to almost par with the U.S. dollar. We who work the higher-end market (like Wailea Real Estate) love to see the Canadian dollar strengthen. That brings the conservative, all-cash buyers into our market. This plays a big part in the huge volume increases we have seen in Maui real estate sales.
Cruise ship passengers for year-to-date 2010 increased 6.8% to 59,690 from 55,908.
Maui led the statewide first quarter 2010 resultswith an 8% increase in arrivals due to substantial April 2010PAGE 3Cgains for both Canadian 20.1% and U.S. Westvisitors 9.5%, which drove Maui occupancy up8.5 percentage points to 72.5%.
Maui saw substantial increases for March 2010from U.S. West 15.6%, U.S. East 10.6%, Japan5.3%, and Canada with 21.4% more visitors.March 2010 was especially strong with 14.2%more visitors, the third consecutive month of increase.
Maui’s visitor spending was up 25.2% over lastMarch to $257.7M, and spending per person perday was up 9.4% to $175.20 for the sameperiod.
The foreclosure auction of the Makena Resort was postponed until May 28th due to new
background information to be provided to potential bidders. Deemed the most complex foreclosure auction in Maui County history, the former Maui Prince Hotel involves 1,800 acres, golf courses and other developments.