Housing & Real Estate

In a 5-0 decision, the Hawai’i Supreme Court recently upheld the integrity of the Coastal Zone Management Act in a case involving the Kahoma Village Project in West Maui.

In Hawaiʻi, more than forty thousand households earn $30,000 a year or less. For them, housing they can afford barely exists.

Reta Chin from Fidelity National Title and Escrow shares her tips on warranty deeds and the transfer of a real estate property if you are a buyer or a seller in the transaction.

Habitat for Humanity Maui’s current and upcoming projects include critical repairs and retrofits for struggling homeowners, new construction home builds for Hawaiian Home Lands lessees, and in the near future a new construction development in Hāna, Maui featuring 25 single family homes.

“The Hale Kaiola development represents a major step forward for kamaʻāina-first housing on Maui, helping to ensure that the island’s citizens have an equitable chance to become homeowners amidst the ongoing challenges of escalating prices and a lack of inventory,” according to a builder announcement.

In May 2021, with inventory low and buyer demand high, the median sales price for single family homes in Maui County increased to an historic high of $1,039,000 — a 30% increase from one year ago, according to data from the Realtors Association of Maui.

When you go to sell or refinance your property and you own your property in either a trust, LLC or corporation, know that the title company are going to ask you for the following information.

Cushman & Wakefield announced today the firm has been hired to sell two residential and commercial sites totaling approximately 458 acres within the Maui Lani master planned community in Kahului on Maui.

April 2021 was another strong month for home sales on Maui, with the median sales price for a single home increasing 30.3 percent from a year ago to $983,500 and for condominium homes the median sales price increased 15.4 percent from a year ago to $695,000, according to the latest report from the REALTORS® Association of Maui.

In a typical real estate transaction, there is an initial deposit, an additional deposit and final funds. In Hawai’i, for the initial and additional deposit, title companies will accept personal checks – if there is enough time for the check to clear the bank before the date of recordation.

Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino has vetoed Bill 10 also known as the “Affordable Housing” bill, saying it would intensify scarcity of housing for county residents.

A new workforce affordable housing project in South Maui goes to market this weekend with homes ranging from $329,000 to $638,000.

The County of Maui Department of Housing and Human Concerns is presenting a series of free online training seminars on fair housing in April. Seminar participants are limited to 1,000 attendees per session and prospective participants must register by March 29, 2021.

In February 2021, Maui County’s vacation rental occupancy climbed to 52.5 percent, which is down 35.1 percentage points from a year ago but the highest rate since the start of the pandemic last March.

Real estate agent Kim Insley-Morrell of Coldwell Banker Island Properties was named 2020 REALTOR® Salesperson of the Year by the REALTORS® Association of Maui.

House Speaker Scott Saiki today said that the House will not advance Senate Bill 1334 related to the Office of Hawaiian Affair’s request to use land at Kaka’ako Makai for residential development.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands extended the postponement of mortgage loan payments for DHHL direct loans and loans assigned to the department for an additional three-month period through June 30, 2021.

The ordinance provides an exemption of up to $200,000 for homeowners who qualify by renting long-term and a new tax classification and corresponding tax rate for long-term rentals.

Effective on Jan. 1, 2022, real property occupied as a long-term rental with a signed contract to lease for 12 consecutive months or longer to the same tenant, may qualify an owner for an exemption of up to $200,000.

While Maui tourism is struggling to climb to pre-pandemic levels of a year ago, the Valley Isle’s real estate industry is surprisingly booming with a record high $980,000 median sales price for January.

Councilmember Tamara Paltin has introduced a resolution for Friday’s council meeting, urging Mayor Michael Victorino to grant water and sewer credits to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands for homestead and agricultural lots in Lahaina.