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Maui Kai Update
January 2019
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Aloha Maui Kai Owners,
There are a couple of events coming up on Maui where you can be more than just an observer, you can be involved. The 1st starts next Saturday (1/26) and continues on 2/23 and 3/30. It's
the Great Whale Count. Regular folks like us (formally called citizen-scientists) sign up to count Whales along certain stretches of beach. If interested,
click here. * The 2nd experience is the true premier art event on Maui -
Maui Plein Air. International professional artists have been invited to paint Maui landscapes in public settings where you can watch them create their works in under 4 hours. Over 200 paintings will be offered for sale, plus a free children's workshop, adult master classes, lectures, silent auction, and a gala ... with part of the proceeds going to build the West Maui Fine Arts Museum. Details
are here.
The sale of an oceanfront estate that belonged to the late
Jim Nabors closed earlier this month for $12 million. Nabors was best known for his role as Gomer Pyle on "the Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle USMC". *
Kapalua Golf's Plantation Course, will temporarily close on 2/11. It will undergo a multimillion-dollar enhancement project aimed at revitalizing the 27 year old sports facility.
According to
Michael Foley, a coastal engineer at
Oceanit, a new type of
artificial reef design that uses concrete with natural materials, instead of old cars and tires, could be proposed to the West Maui community later this year as a way to combat coastal erosion. Foley, who grew up on Maui, gave a talk at the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council on a novel solution to our beach erosion. It's a highly technical complicated system, but basically the shallow reef will cause waves to slow down, change wave height and shorten wave length, even cause waves to break. The reefs may also change the direction of approaching swells. That's important because waves that approach at an oblique angle may transport sand away from the beach. A reef that rotates waves so they approach parallel to the coastline may prevent longshore sediment drift. *
A slate of new laws took effect in the Islands at the 1st of this month. Some of the most significant: Pesticides containing the chemical Chlorpyrifos have been banned, Foam food takeout containers have been banned, a new law Fines owners of fake service dogs, Employers can no longer ask about salary history, and Motorcycles have been given the OK to drive in the shoulder lane in designated areas.
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Uncertainty regarding the government shutdown, slowing global growth, Brexit, a more patient Fed, and a volatile stock market continued to keep mortgages rates from seriously increasing. The spring homebuying season is almost upon us, and if rates stay lower, inventory continues to grow, and the job market maintains its strength, we do expect to see a solid spring market.
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There are as many opinions about forecasting the national housing market for 2019, as there are so-called experts. I put together the following cross section of forecasts for you.
The National Association of Realtors: expects home sales to increase 1% to about 5.4 million and the median home price to rise 3.1% to around $266,800 in 2019 and $274,000 in 2020.
Realtor.com: Because of diminishing affordability from mortgage rate and price increases, they forecast a 2% decline in home sales, and price growth rising just 2.2% in 2019. They also predict mortgage rates reaching 5.5% by the end of 2019.
Redfin: sees the housing market cooling in the first half of the year. Price growth will settle around 3%. They also see mortgage rates rising to 5.5% by the end of 2019.
Zillow: sees mortgage rates setting the scene for 2019. They predict mortgage rates to reach 5.8% and home values to grow by 3.79% in 2019.
Mortgage Bankers Association: anticipates the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will level out at 5.1%. Even with a cool down in economic growth, they expect housing demand will remain strong, mortgage rates will stabilize, wage growth will increase and home price growth will moderate ... providing favorable conditions for growth in the housing market.
Bankrate.com: these folks seemed to break with the others, predicting the 30-year fixed-rate will pass 5.25% before going into a swoon late in the year to finish around 4.35%
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The figures are in, and I can now provide you with an overall picture of how the Maui real estate market performed in 2018 compared to the year before. The median price of a condo for all of 2018 was $500,000, which was 12.4% higher than the median price for 2017 - $445,000. The number of condo sales rose 13.8% last year to 1,654 units, from 1,453 sold in 2017.
Sales of single-family homes in 2018 rose 3.3% to 1,137 homes sold, from 1,101 sold in 2017. The median price of those houses was $710,000 for all of 2018, 1 2.2% increase from $695,000 in 2017.
Now l
et's take a look at Maui Kai:
STATUS
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UNIT
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BD
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BA
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LIST $
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SOLD $
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CLOSE
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Active
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307
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0
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1
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479,000
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|
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Active
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703
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0
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1
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485,000
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|
|
Active
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106
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0
|
1
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490,000
|
|
|
Active
|
202
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0
|
1
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498,500
|
|
|
Active
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203
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0
|
1
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498,500
|
|
|
Active
|
405
|
1
|
1
|
625,000
|
|
|
Active
|
605
|
1
|
1
|
625,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Escrow
|
506
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0
|
1
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495,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sold
|
206
|
0
|
1
|
485,000
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470,000
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05/08/18
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Sold
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108
|
1
|
1
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539,000
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525,000
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01/17/19
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Sold
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105
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1
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1
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550,000
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535,000
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10/31/18
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Sold
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705
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1
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1
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595,000
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590,000
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05/29/18
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Sold
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1005
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1
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1
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649,000
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625,000
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05/04/18
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Figures from Realtors Association of Maui
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Sun Country Airlines has announced its largest route expansion, with the addition of 19 seasonal nonstop routes and 7 airports, including a new flights between San Francisco and Honolulu beginning May 18th. * Hawaiian Airlines has been named the most punctual airline in North America for a 5th straight year - with an almost unchanged on-time performance of 87.5%.
Speaking of Hawaiian Airlines, for those of you catching international flights, Mainland, or even neighbor island hops, their terminal and lobby stations have changed as of this month.
Hawaiian Airlines new dedicated lobbies for check-in:
International Flights
Neighbor Island Flights
North America (Mainland)
Lobby 4 in Terminal 2 Lobby 3 in Terminal 1 Lobby 2 in Terminal 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All year long,
M
aui Beachfront Rentals
handles my vacation rentals so I can enjoy a steady stream of income without all the hassles. When I have guests coming in I never send them to a hotel. Why would I, when they can enjoy a fully equipped kitchen, laundry, free parking, and all the amenities of a resort through
MBR
. Maybe you should make it one of your
New Year's resolutions
to check them out and see if you can't make good money when not using your property. Not only will they take all the hassle out of it for you, they'll cover all the bases plus extra advertising on sites like VRBO, HomeAway, Flip Key and others ... all at no additional cost.
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Dean Rathbun
of
Avis Mortgage
shared that mortgage rates rose gently Friday. When US Treasuries are improving, mortgage-backed bonds tend to improve as well. The level of correlation varies though. For nearly all of 2018, mortgages weren't improving as quickly as the most widely-used rate benchmark: 10yr Treasury yields. That began to change recently--especially when 10yr yields began moving higher 3 weeks ago. During that time, we've seen moderate moves higher in 10yr yields met with modest moves higher in mortgage rates. Friday was another one of those days.
Dean says there's a new conforming loan limit for all Islands ... one-unit properties $726,525 and it's available now. It's a benefit because it allows homeowners to take advantage of the higher limit without higher rates and stricter underwriting guidelines. The new conforming limit of $726,525 in Hawaii would allow a buyer with a 20% down payment to get a conforming mortgage to buy a home for about $900,000.
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MAUI HAPPENINGS
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Maui Plein Air
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2/02: Pacific Whale Foundation Run/Walk
info
2/08: World Whale Film Festival
details
2/16-24: Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational
particulars
3/01-17: Pirates of Penzance
4/26-5/12: The Boys Next Door
7/12-8/4: Mama Mia
Maui Arts & Cultural Center
1/23: David Sedaris readings and recollections
1/27: Surfing Hawaii: related Exhibit Lectures
1/31: Derek Gripper classical guitarist
2/01: Henry Kapono with Robi Kahakalau
2/02: ArT=Mixx: EcoEvolution
2/03: Watch the Big Game gates open at Noon
2/05: Maja Salvador Filipina actress, dancer, singer
2/07: Prazak and Zemlinsky Quartets International chamber music
2/08: Author Richard Powers in the Green Room
2/08: Tomas Kubinek 1-man show clowning, vaudeville
2/16: UB40 concert
2/17: Winter Pops: Maui Pops Orchestra
2/17: George Lopez comedian
2/18: Hawaii Youth Symphony
2/22: Starry Night Cinema: "Incredibles 2" Free
2/23: Kainani Kahaunaele Hawaiian music
2/28: Jacob Jonas The Company dance
6:30 pm Free Magic Show
9:00 pm Open Mic Comedy Night (except 1st Tues of the month)
No matter what the economic climate, there are always reasons for folks to buy and sell real estate. With rising interest rates and a volatile stock market, your real estate professional must have the appropriate market strategy to yield the best results in the transitioning Hawaii real estate market.
As owner of Berkshire Hathaway Maui Properties I have over 30 years experience in the Maui market with sales approaching $2 billion! We a
re the
only
Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate Brokerages on Maui. Our offices are located in Lahaina-Kapalua and Wailea-Makena. I'm available to you 7 days a week.
John
Broker/Owner
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If you are currently listed with another Broker, this is not intended to disturb that relationship
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DEAN RATHBUN
Toll Free (888) 455-AVIS (2847
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