June 2018 Royal Kahana Update

Royal Kahana Update

June 2018

LOCAL MAUI NEWS

Aloha Fellow Royal Kahana Owners,

The Maui Ocean Center will soon house a 3D digital theater, the first of its kind in Hawaii. The theater experience will be pretty cool with a 139 seat theater and a 1200 sf exhibit hall. The theater will also be Maui's first planetarium. Makes me want to go check it out now, but construction will continue through the summer ... patience. * Good news on Hawaii's economic front .. our jobless rate holds at a record low 2%. * So, if you're a foodie, you might have watched Hawaii Chef Sheldon Simeon on Bravo's "Top Chef" or PBS "Family Ingredients". He's going to be opening a new restaurant in August called "Lineage" in Wailea.

As a friendly reminder, on July 1st, a new law goes into effect in Maui County. It makes it illegal to smoke or vape in vehicles with children under the age of 18 present. Fines will be hefty. First time violators will be fined $200. * Hawaii will benefit from a federal ocean management fund. We'll receive more than $30 million to improve tsunami warnings, nearly $30 million to protect coral reefs in Hawaii, $8 million to protect the Hawaiian monk seals and sea turtles, as well as $71 million for the University of Hawaii National Sea Grant Program. The program contributes to sustainable coastal development and tourism, coastal problem resolutions, and marine resource stewardship.

CURRENT MARKET ANALYSIS

Hawaii's mortgage delinquency rate improved by 0.5% in March, and was a full percentage point lower than the national average for loans that were 30 days or more past due. Hawaii's rate for serious delinquencies, defined as 90 days or more, was 2% in March, an improvement from 2.5% the year before. But it was slightly higher than the national rate of 1.9% - the lowest rate since 2007.

Here on Maui, sales of single-family homes rose nearly 15% in May. The number of sales rose 14.7% to 109 homes sold, from 95 sold in May of last year. The median price of a single-family home last month was $695,000, a 0.7% decline from $700,000 in May 2017. Meanwhile, the number of condominiums sold on Maui rose 31.5% to 171 units sold in May, from 130 units sold during the same month last year. The median price of a condo in May was unchanged at $475,000.

Now l et's take a look at Royal Kahana :

Status	Unit	Bd	Ba	List $	LT	Sold $	Close
Active	603	0	1	249,000	LH
Active	318	0	1	289,000
Active	308	1	1	375,000	LH
Active	114	1	1	399,500
Active	314	1	1	449,000
Active	514	1	1	479,000
Active	708	1	1	479,000
Active	108	1	1	485,000
Active	120	2	2	430,000
Active	501	2	2	535,000
Active	811	2	2.5	1,098,000

Escrow	217	0	1	299,000
Escrow	619	0	1	337,500
Escrow	106	1	1	448,000
Escrow	610	2	2.5	1,195,000

Sold	105	0	1	270,000		260,000	4/13/2018
Sold	203	0	1	275,000		160,000	3/23/2018
Sold	204	0	1	280,000		270,000	1/19/2018
Sold	804	0	1	299,000		285,000	4/25/2018
Sold	516	0	1	305,000		305,000	2/26/2018
Sold	915	1	1	435,000		430,000	5/29/2018
Sold	207	1	1	465,000		440,000	3/23/2018
Sold	612	1	1	520,000		475,000	6/4/2018
Sold	1001	2	2	599,000		550,000	1/11/2018

Figures from Realtors Association of Maui

TOURISM & TRAVEL

According to a report from the Economic Research Organization of the University of Hawaii (UHERO), Hawaii could see 10 million visitor arrivals this year. The unprecedented arrivals growth means that about 1 in every 8 people statewide are now visitors. On Oahu more than 1 in 10 people are tourists, and on Maui more than 1 in 4 people are visitors.

Since 2010, the number of visitors to Hawaii has grown at an average annual rate of 4.7%, with Neighbor Islands seeing the largest gains. As visitor numbers grow, so are hotel occupancy rates. The report said occupancy has approached 80% here on Maui. Some folks are renting out their homes/condos without permits as illegal vacation rentals. A new charter amendment will now increase the penalty for those accommodations to $20,000, and tack on $10,000 for each day they continue. e.

Starting this December, Alaska Airlines will be the only carrier to offer a nonstop flight between Sacramento and Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island. The new route, starting Dec. 20th, will fly 3 times a week, joining its nonstop service to Maui. * Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines are seeking to create a joint venture which they say would provide consumers with lower fares, increased capacity and more choices. It's estimated the joint venture would bring an additional 162,000 - 350,000 passengers to Hawaii.

MORTGAGES

Dean Rathbun of Avis Mortgage has quite a bit to share with you this month. First of all, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point this month, and signaled it will raise rates two more times this year, a shift driven by officials' increasingly rosy assessment of the economy. The policymakers gave a bullish assessment of the US economy amid accelerating growth and rapid job creation. The $1.5tn tax cutting package and $300bn federal spending increase is fuelling a further pick-up on the US economy --- overshadowing global hazards including the risk of a trade war. The target range for the federal funds rate from 1.75 to 2%, is the seventh increase of the current cycle and the second this year.

Dea n says the good news is that the impact on consumer budgets will be smaller than past rate hike cycles. And that's because a much smaller segment of mortgage loans in today's market are pegged to short-term rate movements. The adjustable rate mortgage share of outstanding loans is a lot smaller now - 8% vs 31% - than during the Fed's lasts round of tightening between 2004 and 2006.

They continue to project three additional hikes in 2019, but reduced the number of forecast hikes for 2020 from two to one. In light of that, many economists are predicting that the 30-year-fixed rate mortgage will average 5% by the end of 2018 or early 2019.

MAUI HAPPENINGS

4th of July Festivities

Jazz Maui: Lahaina Library's oceanside lawn 5pm

Outlets of Maui on Front Street DJ & Live Jazz 5pm

Dinner & Fireworks: Fleetwood's Kimo's Lahaina Fish Co

Fireworks Cruises: Pride of Maui , Trilogy

6/29-30: East Meets West Jazz & Dance Festival Details

07/07: Makawao Paniolo (cowboy) Parade: Baldwin Ave to Makawao 9am - 11am

7/14: Iao Valley 10k info

7/14-15: Lahaina Fine Arts Fair under the Banyan Tree

Maui OnStage Iao Theater tickets

7/13-8/5: Singin' In The Rain

Maui Theater Monday, Tuesday, Thursday Friday tickets

"Ulalena" Hawaiian Show 5pm

"Burn'n Love" Relive Elvis in Hawaii Concert 7:30pm

Maui Arts & Cultural Center
tickets

6/30: Intentions of Portraiture with Melissa Ann Pinney/ Photography Ai Iwane

7/13-15: Paw Patrol Live Nickelodeon

7/28: The Mayjah Rayjah Festival reggae

8/02: North of Nightfall Hawaiian movie premier

8/3: Iliza Shlesinger winner of Last Comic Standing

8/9: Home Free country music

8/10-12: Albatross one-man play

8/12: Maui Chamber Orchestra & Chorus Joseph Haydn

8/18: 24th Annual Maui Calls Fundraiser Gala

8/23: Greta Van Fleet rock concert

8/24: Susan Middleton in the Green Room talk

Mulligans On The Blue Tuesdays

6:30 pm Free Magic Show

9:00 pm Open Mic Comedy

Obon Festival schedule

7/07: Lahaina Jodo 6:30pm

7/13-14: Paia Mantokuji 6pm

7/20-21: Kahului Hongwanji 6pm

7/28: Makawao Hongwanji 7pm

7/29: Makawao Hongwanji 10am

8/3-4: Wailuku Hongwanji 6:45pm

8/10-11: Lahaina Hongwanji 6pm

8/17-18: Open TBA

8/25: Kula Shofukuji 6:30pm

If those UHERO figures above are right, every 1 in 4 people on Maui right now are visitors. And as you know from your own vacation experience, they don't want to go home at the end of their stay. Many of them reach out to us to own their own piece of paradise. The available inventory for sale is tight. And as stated in the Mortgage section above, 5% interest rates are a real possibility by the end of this year or early next. So if you've even considered selling your property, you can always call me for a completely confidential and free valuation of your property in this market.

On the flip side, if you're looking to add to your portfolio, there are still some great buys here on the Island and I'd be glad to help you with that. As a fellow Royal Kahana owner with over 30 years experience in the Maui real estate market, you can't put yourself in better hands. Remember, we are 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