September 2018 Royal Kahana Update

Royal Kahana Update

September 2018

LOCAL MAUI NEWS

Aloha Fellow Royal Kahana Owners,

This is going to be a record year for Hawaii's film industry. Film and TV production could generate in excess of $400 million in 2018. On the TV front, "Hawaii Five-O" has been renewed and there's a new rebooted "Magnum P.I." As for feature films, the $100 million remake of "Midway" starring Woody Harrelson and Mandy Moore started filming earlier this month. "Godzilla vs Kong" is scheduled to begin production next month. And Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is becoming a regular sight here with back-to-back filming of his upcoming "Jungle Cruise" and "Hobbs and Shaw" (the first spinoff from "The Fast and the Furious". He'll also be assuming the role of King Kamehameha in "The King."

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) is busy on the sports front. They just signed the Los Angeles Rams for a preseason game next year! This will be the first NFL preseason game in Hawaii in more than 40 years. This month also saw the HTA's work in establishing Hawaii as a permanent fixture on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tour calendar. This is the first time in 13 years the premier U.S. Beach Volleyball Tour has returned to our state.

You'll have a chance to see two major tourist attractions again. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has opened to the public. Some of the most popular areas and most-driven roads are open again including Kilauea Visitor Center, the Kilauea Iki Overlook, a stretch of Crater Rim Trail, and Devastation Trail. And while they've not released an exact date, The U.S.S. Arizona in Pearl Harbor should also be opening sometime after October 1st. * The Hawaii Food and Wine Festival is getting ready to kick off in the Island for its 8th year. Events on Maui will run October 19 - 21.

One look at the photo to the left, and it's not surprising to find that Hawaii has been named "The Happiest State" in the United States according to a new report by WalletHub. Second and third place went to Utah and Minnesota. The same report listed Hawaii as the 3rd most diverse state in the nation. California and Texas came in at #1 and #2.

CURRENT MARKET ANALYSIS

The number of foreign buyers who bought homes and condominiums in Hawaii during the first half of this year was 25% higher than a year ago, and the dollar volume for the first half of $485.4 million was a 74% increase from $278.5 million last year. Buyers from Japan remained the top foreign buyers in the state of Hawaii, while buyers from Canada mainly focused their purchases on Maui. The 3rd highest sales to foreign buyers were to buyers from Korea.

Hawaii homeowners with mortgages gained an average of nearly $30,000 in home equity from the middle of last year to the end of the second quarter, according to a report by CoreLogic. Nationally, the average homeowner gained $16,200 in home equity, and western states saw the greatest gains, led by California with an average of $48,832.

The median price of a Maui condo last month was $509,998, compared to $400,000 in the same month last year ... a 27.5% increase. The number of sales was 146 units, a 32.7% increase over the 110 units sold in August 2017. Meanwhile, sales of single-family homes on Maui rose 2.8% to 109 homes sold in August, compared to 106 sold during the same month last year. The median price of single-family homes went unchanged from last year at $700,000.

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

Status	Unit	Bd	Ba	List $	LT	Sold $	Close
Active	217	0	1	299,000
Active	702	0	1	335,000
Active	308	1	1	375,000	LH
Active	114	1	1	395,500
Active	514	1	1	479,000
Active	514	1	1	479,000
Active	108	1	1	485,000
Active	120	2	2	430,000

Escrow	603	0	1	249,000	LH
Escrow	318	0	1	285,000
Escrow	708	1	1	459,000

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	619	0	1	337,500		300,000	8/9/2018
Sold	106	1	1	399,000		395,000	9/17/2018
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	501	2	2	495,000		465,000	8/22/2018
Sold	1001	2	2	599,000		550,000	1/11/2018
Sold	811	2	2.5	1,048,000		1,035,000	9/7/2018
Sold	610	2	2.5	1,195,000		1,098,000	8/30/2018

Figures from Realtors Association of Maui

FEATURED LISTINGS

All Royal Kahana apartments come with Full Kitchen, Washer & Dryer, Cable, and Central Air Conditioning. Units are very bright with large floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors to your Private Lanai. The Royal Kahana Resort also includes a Swimming Pool, BBQ area, Shuffleboard, Fitness Room, Sauna, Activity Desk, and Free Parking.

STUDIO 702

$335,000

Upgraded Studio facing north to the Pacific Ocean with views of the beach and the Island of Molokai from your Private Lanai. Good floor plan with sitting area, kitchen, and bed. (click on pictures for more information)

2-BEDROOM 1020

$599,000

Upgraded 2-Bedroom, 2-Bath with views of the Island of Lanai, the beach, and fabulous sunsets all from your Private Lanai. In addition to the Open Great Room, there's a full kitchen & bar, as well as en-suite Master Bedroom. A-rated for rental. (click on any of the pictures for more information)

TOURISM

August is usually a strong month for the hotel industry on Maui, but news coverage about Hurricane Lane heading to Hawaii saw occupancy across the state go down compared to August a year ago. This decline was offset by gains in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) and Average Daily Rates (ADR). On Maui, RevPAR increased 7.6% to $297, while ADR jumped 9.3% to $386.

Hurricane or not, the gap is widening between tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy: Why? Many are pointing to alternative accommodations - like vacation rentals. But even there, the state is encountering trouble. In fact, the State Attorney General is going to court to force Airbnb to turn over document dating back to 2008 showing who is renting out property and what money they've made. The State Department of Taxation says there's up to $2 million in taxes due to Hawaii. Along the same lines, Maui County and the Maui Visitors Bureau have begun implementing a 10-year tourism strategic plan that, among other goals, aims to discourage visitors from staying in illegal vacation rentals.

I've been telling you that I keep my units as short term vacation rentals ... but I've also warned you that no all vacation rental platforms are equal. As you can see from the paragraph above, there are tax problems with many of them. While I could choose to work with any of them, I only choose Maui Beachfront Rentals. It's a win - win all around. I can keep my guests happy by having them avoid all those inflated fees by travel agencies, and having a local staff that's available to them 24/7. They get more bang for their buck ... fully equipped kitchens, laundry, free parking, and amenities. I get a lot of repeat guests. AND MBR takes all the hassle out of it for me. They cover all the bases plus extra advertising on sites like VRBO, HomeAway, Flip Key and others ... all at no additional cost to me. AND they handle all the collection of taxes from the rentals.

MORTGAGES

Dean Rathbun of Avis Mortgage says that a strong job market and consumer credit are driving up mortgage rates for the 4th consecutive week, and now to their highest level in 6 weeks. Mortgage rates are likely to move up again, as the Federal Reserve considers short-term rate hikes this week and at future meetings.

A bipartisan bill on Capitol Hill is aiming to make it easier for self-employed individuals to obtain a mortgage. Currently federal lending rules favor more documentable incomes that can be verified by pay stubs, W-2s, and two years of steady income. That makes it more troublesome for those who work for themselves, earn money at multiple jobs, or have large seasonal swings in their incomes.

New mortgages are being approved with lower credit scores, and FHA loans appear to be leading the shift. Fico scores range from 300 to 850. Scores as low as the 400s jumped from 21.9% in 2009 to 29.7% last year. 1st time home buyers from January to March of this year had an average credit score of 672, compared to 701 in 2011.

MAUI HAPPENINGS


	Walk A Mile In Her Shoes

9/27-30: 3rd Annual Salsa Congress Info

9/28: 7th Annual Oktoberfest Lahaina Sells out quickly

9/29: 7th Annual Walk A Mile In Her Shoes details

9/29: Oktoberfest Kihei - Maui Brewing Co. 2:30-7:30pm

10/4-7: 96th Annual Maui Fair schedule

10/6: 2 night Service trip to Haleakala Crater info

10/14: 48th Annual Maui Marathon, Relay, Half, 10k, 5k details

10/31: Halloween in Lahaina Town (full details in Oct. update)

Maui OnStage Iao Theater tickets

9/28-10/14: Rumors ( a Neil Simon comedy)

10/20-21: Maui Chamber Orchestra (Beethoven)

10/20-28: Honk Jr.

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

9/28: Starry Night Cinema "Early Man from Wallace & Gromit"

9/29: Zeptember salute to Led Zeppelin

9/30: 13th Annual Maui Ukulele Festival

10/3: New Order electronic & dance music

10/5: Rebelution reggae

10/6: Kelani Pe'a Hawaiian music

10/11: J. Wilt sings the songs of Tony Bennett

10/13: Lehua Kalima & Shawn Pimental hawaiian music

10/13: The Village People YMCA

10/18: Harold Lopez-Nussa Trio Cuban music

10/20: Mohala Mai hula

10/25: "Soil" Asian intercultural dance

10/26: Livingston Taylor in concert

10/27: Observe & Play Family Day

10/28: Bones Thugs-N-Harmony hip-hop

Mulligans On The Blue Tuesdays

6:30 pm Free Magic Show

9:00 pm Open Mic Comedy

As you read above, mortgage interest rates have risen for 4 consecutive weeks, and the Fed is expected to raise their rate again this week. I don't have to tell you that mortgage rates affect the housing market. What I can tell you is that if you're considering selling your property or adding another to your portfolio, you should call me for a confidential, no obligation discussion. 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