Maui January Home Sales Down After 17 Month High

Posted by Wendy Osher

Home sales on Maui dropped in January to 46 following December’s 17-month high of 90 homes sold.  Officials at the Realtor’s Association of Maui say the results were possibly caused by sellers and buyers timing transactions to close in 2009 for tax reasons.

Home prices also slipped slightly in January to $469,000, while condos rose to $424,000.  Condo sales also dropped slightly to 71 units sold in January compared to 80 in December.

In a nutshell, the Realtor’s Association of Maui says the market seems to be getting its footing with median prices bouncing along the bottom.  The inventory includes many short sales and REO bank owned properties that the association says must be absorbed as sales before the island can move ahead to a more normal marketplace, at which time prices will eventually start to rise.  The association says interest rates remain at historic lows, however qualifications are stiffer.

The majority of home sales in January were in Kihei where 10 homes were sold for a median price of $419,000.  Central Maui and Pukalani both recorded 7 homes sold.

As for condos, Kihei led the market as well with 28 condos sold for a median of nearly $327,000.  There were a dozen condos sold in the Napili/Kahana/Honokowai area and 8 sold in Kaanapali.