March 2019 Honua Kai Update

Honua Kai Update

March 2019

Maui Spring

LOCAL MAUI NEWS

Aloha Honua Kai Owners,

Riccardo Menicucci is the pastry chef at the Four Seasons Resort Maui. And you can see him for the next eight weeks as he competes on the "Spring Baking Championship", the Food Network's hit primetime culinary competition. * Hawaii is proposing nixing the fuel tax! But there's a catch. As cars become more fuel efficient, money for key highway maintenance dollars is dwindling. So instead of taxing drivers at the pump, they're proposing a "road usage charge" based on how many miles you drive. That way an electric car would be charged the same as a gas-guzzling truck.

A new beach nourishment proposal could help restore a shrinking shoreline along the coast of West Maui. The Kahana Bay Steering Committee represents 9 oceanfront condominiums and a single kuleana parcel that have seen their shoreline erode. The project calls for widening of the existing beach by as much as 150 feet, using up to 100,000 cubic yards of sand from nearby offshore sites. Sand containment structures would also be built to stabilize the beach. Work could begin as early as next summer. The environmental review process is now underway, and you can get all the details for the "Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project" by clicking here. * On a side note, Hawaii is looking for 1,500 people to conduct the decennial 2020 Census. Interested? Click here for full and part-time positions.

CURRENT MARKET ANALYSIS

The median sales price for single-family homes and condominiums in Maui County spiked last month while the number of sales and inventory continued to decline. There were 79 single-family homes sold on Maui in February, a 19.4% drop from 98 sold during the same month last year. The median price of a single-family home last month was $790,000 which was a 15.4% increase from $684,350 in February of last year.

The median price of a Maui condo was $524,500 in February, which was an 11.8% increase from $469,250 last year. The number of condos sold in february was 120, a 3.2% decline from 124 units sold during the same month last year.

Now l et's take a look at the Honua Kai :

Status	Unit	Bd	Ba	List $	Sold $	Close
KONEA
Active	NR 221	0	1	899,000
Active	224	1	1	899,000
Active	NR 238	1	1	919,888
Active	210	1	1	958,000
Active	926	2	2	1,595,000
Active	620	2	2	1,740,000
Active	543	2	2	1,799,888
Active	NR 302	3	3	3,749,000

Escrow	512	1	1	1,129,000
Escrow	NR 320	2	2	1,150,000
Escrow	204	2	2	1,325,000

Sold	306	2	2	1,075,000	1,065,000	01/14/19

HOKU LANI
Active	519	0	1	999,000
Active	SR 218	1	1	915,000
Active	SR 608	1	1	929,000
Active	SR 930	1	1	929,000
Active	H 1034	2	2	1,475,000
Active	348	2	2	1,649,000
Active	SR 548	2	2	1,699,000
Active	SR 748	2	2	1,795,000
Active	606	2	2	1,800,000
Active	SR 505	2	2	1,895,000
Active	415	2	2	2,150,000
Active	325	3	3	2,680,000
Active	SR 404	3	3	2,925,000
Active	529	3	3	3,099,000
Active	SR 151	3	3	3,490,000

Escrow	140	1	1	899,000
Escrow	SR 744	1	1	999,000
Escrow	222	2	2	1,049,000


Sold	828	1	1	774,000	774,000	01/14/19
Sold	816	1	1	930,000	930,000	03/12/19
Sold	420	2	2	1,150,000	1,040,000	01/04/19
Sold	736	2	2	1,375,000	1,375,000	02/15/19
Sold	146	2	2	1,595,000	1,450,000	03/18/19
Sold	441	2	2	2,200,000	2,000,000	01/11/19

Luana Gardens
Active	15D	3	3	2,150,000

Escrow	9C	3	3	1,940,000
Escrow	9D	3	3	1,970,000
Escrow	13B	3	3	1,990,000
Escrow	7A	3	3	2,105,000
Escrow	13A	3	3	2,150,000
Escrow	11B	3	3	2,275,000
Escrow	12A	3	3	2,315,000
Escrow	11C	3	3	2,335,000

Figures from Realtors Association of Maui

FEATURED LISTING

The Honua Kai Resort is the newest beachfront condominium on West Maui featuring a full service restaurant, three swimming pools, Spa, BBQ areas, fitness center, convenience store, coffee shop, valet parking and much more.

Studio 519

$999,000

An exceptional value in the Hokulani Enclave of the Honua Kai Resort. Hokulani 519 is in one of the most sought after studio stacks in Honua Kai. Facing direct West, H-519 experiences both year-round sunsets and outer island panoramas. Sold fully furnished and turn-key including stainless steel appliances and washer/dryer. Currently in busy vacation rental program with yearly occupancy in the high 80% and 90% range. The 2017 gross rental revenue was approximately $102,000 and 2018 gross rental revenue was approximately $107,000. (click on pictures for more information)

TRAVEL & TOURISM

There's no doubt about it ... the entry of Southwest Airlines into the Hawaii market, has started a price war amongst the airlines. The first Southwest flight landed on Oahu from Oakland March 17th. Service will begin from Oakland to Maui on April 7th. Service will get started soon after from San Jose to Oahu on May 5th, and San Jose to Maui May 26th. Introductory $49 one-way tickets on flights from California to Hawaii were sold out in minutes. Inter-island flights between Oahu and Maui will begin April 28th, with fares starting at $29.

Not only did a price war begin with other airlines servicing Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines decided to add a 3rd daily San Francisco-Hawaii flight beginning October 16th. Hawaiian Airlines also dropped their inter-island flights between Oahu and Maui beginning next month to compete with Southwest Airlines. Hawaiian was listing round-trip fares at $98 for most days in May.

Alaska Airlines has fired back in the Hawaii airfare war with a promotional fair good for travel between April 22nd and May 22nd. From San Jose they offered one-way tickets to 3 of the 4 Hawaii destinations (Honolulu not included) ranging from $179 to $199. Similar fares are available from Oakland and San Francisco. Alaska also said travelers can get an extra 20% its sale fares if they're willing to accept some restrictions.

Mokulele Airlines is ready to test a hybrid aircraft on Maui between Kahului and Hana. Startup Ampaire is teaming up with Mokulele to do test runs with their hybrid electric aircraft.

Super Golden Week is expected to boost tourism. Golden Week, a stretch of four national Japanese holidays has been extended to 10 days, from April 27th to May 6th. Major tour companies and air carriers are reporting double-digit gains for this year's celebration. Super Golden Week is a popular time for Japanese visitors to make a trip to Hawaii.

Many vacation home owners on Maui use their property to then generate income from them when they're not in use. But who can you trust to handle the maintenance and booking of your property? If you try doing it yourself, you might find it overwhelming and not worth the headache. All I can tell you is I've placed my personal vacation rentals with M aui Beachfront Rentals . 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 . 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.

MORTGAGES

Dean Rathbun of Avis Mortgage wants to share all kinds of good news on the mortgage front. The Federal Reserve is likely to refrain from raising interest rates for the rest of the year. At the end of a two-day meeting this past week, US monetary policymakers decided unanimously to keep the target range for the Federal Funds rate between 2.25% and 2.5%, where it has been since last December. Late last year Fed officials forecast two additional hikes in 2019, it now they're forecasting none. This is good news for the home owners who want to refinance, and buyers looking to buy.

In addition, the Fed announced that it would be getting back into the bond-buying business big time ... and mortgage rates fell quickly. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed, which had been sitting for days at 4.40% fell sharply to 4.34%. That's the lowest in over a year and 19 basis points lower than a year ago.

More good news ... Hawaii foreclosure cases have fallen for the 5th year in a row. The number of new foreclosure cases filed in state court against property owners statewide fell 13.7% to 1,261 last year from 1,461 the year before.

MAUI HAPPENINGS


	Steel Guitar Festival

3/30: Great Whale Count - Volunteer sign up

4/06: Maui County Agricultural Festival details

4/12-14: 11th Annual Maui Hawaiian steel Guitar Festival schedule

4/13: Maui Cycle Exploration Kahului to Paia info

4/13: Annual East Maui Taro Festival details

4/13: 26 mile Maui to Molokai Paddle info

4/19-20: "Celebration of the Arts" Kapalua schedule

4/20: Maui Heart Walk sign up

4/27: Maui Kite Festival lawn next to Lahaina Cannery 10am-2pm

Free Movie Night at Whalers Village (15 min after sunset)

3/26 & 3/28: Monsters vs Aliens

Maui OnStage Iao Theater tickets

4/26-5/12: The Boys Next Door

7/12-8/4: Mama Mia

Maui Arts & Cultural Center
tickets

3/28: Bill Kirchen Band rock concert

3/29: Henry Kapono & Brother Noland

4/04: "Atmosphere" hip hop

4/05: Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer: talk in the Green Room

4/05: starry Night Cinema, free "Mary Poppins Returns"

4/06: 31st Annual Pundy Yokouchi Memorial Golf Tournament

4/06: "The Edge of Paradise" film

4/11: "Boys in Trouble" trans and queer dance expression

4/11: Connor Snow pop concert

4/12: The Beach Boys concert

4/13: Color Festival Hawaii music, food trucks, throwing of colored powder

4/19: J BOOG & Tarrus Riley - BASH 2019 Island Reggae Music

4/20: Henry Kapono and Amy Hanaiali'l hawaiian music

4/27: Observe & Play Family Day

4/28: Maui Choral Arts Spring Concert "Those Were the Days"

4/28: Tibetan flutist Naawang Khechog, with Keola Beamer concert & film

Mulligans On The Blue Tuesdays

6:30 pm Free Magic Show

9:00 pm Open Mic Comedy Night (except 1st Tues of the month)

After reading my current market analysis and mortgage news, you can see how important it is to have a real estate professional who not only has that knowledge, but also has their hand on the pulse of the Maui 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. I invite you to call me for a confidential no obligation discussion of your property. And if you enjoy my monthly updates, feel free to share them with other owners who I might not have email addresses for.

John

Broker/Owner