Housing & Real Estate

Saying they’re for affordable housing — just not in this area — at least a dozen opponents to proposed Hale Waipu’ilani 100% workforce project in Kīhei pointed to flooding and traffic concerns Monday during the Maui County Council’s Affordable Housing Committee meeting. However, a handful of other residents, including the leader of Maui’s affordable housing plan, said the 28-unit affordable project is sorely needed, even if the neighbors don’t want it in their backyards.

Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis is driven by policies that limit affordable options and leave gaps for local families trying to stay housed. Real solutions require building more housing at every level, especially deeply affordable homes that create stability and prevent homelessness.

Maui County’s single-family home median sales price at $1.21 million in May hovered just below the record high while sales showed signs of slowing, according to a new report by the Realtors Association of Maui. The all-time record was set in April $1.25 million, which capped a streak of six months where Maui County’s median was more than $1 million. 

Maui County council and administration are at odds over whether vacant spaces in industrial areas, such as Queen Ka’ahumanu Center, should be able to convert into apartments as a way to combat the housing crisis.

To kick off National Homeownership Month, the US Department of Agriculture is highlighting federal programs that help people in rural, tribal and underserved areas buy, build and repair affordable homes — and to pay their rent.

Haʻikū’s iconic recreational spot Giggle Hill is being sold for millions of dollars, and for some residents it’s not a laughing matter.

With soaring housing prices in Maui County, council members are looking at ways to update the county’s sales price guidelines so affordable housing can actually be affordable.

In the latest chapter for a controversial house that towers over other homes in Nāpili, Maui County Council Member Tamara Paltin said her investigation shows the developer shouldn’t have gotten a key exemption that allowed construction to bypass public input. The unfinished, eight-bedroom home at 5385 Lower Honoapiʻilani Road, initially designed with rooftop and floor-level pools, came under fire last year when it climbed toward 45 feet tall. 

Kuʻikahi Village Project, which aims to build 202 workforce housing units on about 15 acres in Wailuku, cleared a significant hurdle recently. Developed by Alaula Builders, Kuʻikahi Village calls for a variety of residences, including multifamily, duplex, townhome, live-work, tiny home and single-family units. Residences will go toward families earning between 60% and 140% of the Area Median Income.

Within days of a Maui County Council vote to set aside $6.2 million in order to keep 257 acres in Māʻalaea from development, one of Maui’s largest, most polarizing developers scooped up the land.

James Campbell Company LLC , a $4.8 billion, nationally diversified real estate company based in Hawaii, announced today that Cameron Nekota and Jim Sullivan have been appointed to serve on its Board of Directors, effective May 6, 2022. 

Rent prices spiked over the first few months this year, with Maui seeing a 41% surge in asking prices compared with the same time last year, according to a new report from University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization.

A $192 million Kahului plan to develop 300 affordable and market-rate units, along with a civic center for state office space, cleared a hurdle in the approval process.

The proposed 125-unit multi-family complex was floated in place of the proposed Wailuku Hotel concept that was met with community opposition in 2020.

As the third month this year to set a record for Maui County single-family home median sales price, April marked a new all-time high at more than $1.2 million. Meanwhile, inventory last month reached an all-time low and the existing units are selling “fairly quickly,” according to the Realtors Association of Maui report released Wednesday.

With enough water and funding, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands plans to add 66 agricultural lots — along with a cultural center, gardens, community buildings, an amphitheater, a local small business venue and native forest restoration  — on roughly 70 acres along Kula Highway in Kēōkea.

Saying that a much-needed affordable housing project in North Kihei shouldn’t be held up over county roadway requirements, Maui Planning Commission on Tuesday morning voted to pull the condition, allowing Hale Kaiola to move full-steam ahead. Hale Kaiola is a 100% workforce housing project with 20 duplexes containing 40 homes at the corner of Kaiola Place and ʻOhukai Road. Recently 40 local families were chosen via lottery of 117 applicants. Units will be owner-occupied with no rentals and start at $395,000.

It’s a race to open for five restaurant chains slated to launch along Ho’okele Street in Kahului. Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, Sonic, Taco Bell and Teddy’s Bigger Burgers have each announced plans to open this year.

that the state has some of the most restrictive housing regulations in the nation, with Maui as the second most restrictive county in the state. Government regulations that limit the availability of the housing market to create new units is one piece of the puzzle that may explain Hawaiʻi’s home prices.

Homes and Land Magazine along with several invited sponsors, honored 2022 Maui’s Top 3% REALTORS (based on 2021 production). With over 1,900 agents, 58 of Maui’s top producing agents were gathered in the first person event since the in person restrictions due to the Covid mandates set by the County.

Fueled by dwindling inventory, Maui County last month set historic highs for both residential single-family and condominium home median sales prices, according to data released today by Realtors Association of Maui. Single-family home median sales price rose 19.5% year over year to $1,177,500. For condos, the median sales price shot up nearly 28% year over year to $820,000.