Housing & Real Estate

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority report showed Maui County with 123,100 available unit nights in August, which is a decrease of 57.9% compared to a year ago, the largest vacation rental supply in all four counties; unit demand also decreased 94.7% with 12,100 unit nights, resulting in 9.8% occupancy with an ADR of $229.

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

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino has authorized a 90-day extension, now to Nov. 19, 2020, for the deferral of the 10 percent penalty for Real Property Taxes that was due on Aug. 20, 2020, because of the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report notes that while home sales and new construction fell sharply during the onset of the pandemic, both have rebounded aggressively, fueled by a combination of low interest rates, increased demand and a growing preference for low-density housing.

A new report compiled by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization shows that the number of tenants fully caught up on rent dropped from 95% prior to the pandemic to 85% in August.

ADVERTISEMENT: 1437 Front Street, Lahaina: Maui Oceanfront Home for Sale Get away from it all…imagine waking up to the sound of the ocean every morning.  The water is at your doorstep….swim, paddleboard, surf, kayak, and snorkel, or sit on the shaded lanai and read while listening to the gentle waves.  Enjoy Maui’s spectacular sunsets, and in […]

August 2020, was the first month since March 2020, where the numbers of properties placed in escrow and the number of properties recorded exceeded the totals from that same month a year ago.

The Realtors Association of Maui reports that healthy housing demand and limited inventory will continue to create “significant tailwinds” in the near term for the housing market.

Year to date, Habitat for Humanity Maui has completed four homes in the Kahoma Residential Subdivision and is projecting to finish this development by the end of the year.

Home sale recordings increased 2% since April 2020, now accounting for 40% of the total transactions on Maui – condo sales at 54% and land sales at 6%. Pending sales also continue to increase since April 2020. 

The 68 lot subdivision features 10 homes built and sold by Habitat.  It is projected to be completed by the end of the year.

Despite this significant economic impact, home buyers remain extremely resilient. With mortgage rates remaining near record-low levels and home purchase mortgage applications up from a year ago, high buyer activity is expected to continue into the late summer and early fall market.

Once complete, Kuaʻāina Mauka will be composed of 16 cottages and 16 houses. The project consists of seven workforce housing homes and 25 market-priced homes. The first sales have already closed; there are currently a number of pending sales, and more than 20 houses and cottages are still available.

Mayor Victorino will deliver a presentation titled “Maui County Outlook in 2021.” Dr. Chan’s presentation is titled “Taking a Closer Look at Local and National Housing Market Trends as they are Impacted by the Domestic and Global Economic Outlook.”

After Covid19 struck in the early part of March, in most every sector in the economy, we experienced a sharp fall in numbers. Pending sales fell and this resulted in the decrease of sales the last couple of months. Surprisingly, pending sales have increased since mid-April and June pendings were only 10 transactions off from 2019.

Former UH-Maui College dormitory buildings were blessed Tuesday morning for Huliau, a project to make safe housing available for people who’ve fallen into homelessness. “Huliau” means “turning point, time of change.”

The Maui Vacation Rental Association along with four homeowners on Molokaʻi filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday against the County of Maui seeking to reinstate their permits to operate as Short-Term Vacation Rentals.

Two affordable housing projects on Maui–Kahului Lani Phase I in Kahului and Kaiwahine Village in Kīhei–opened amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

Catholic Charities Hawai’i earlier this week welcomed the first tenants of its new Kahului Lani senior affordable housing complex on Maui. The first phase of the 165-unit senior affordable rental complex is located along Kane Street across from the Kahului Foodland.

There are 81 units in the completed first phase. Another 83 units will be built in a second phase on the same property directly across the street from Foodland at the Queen Kaʻahumanu Center in Kahului. County officials say residents are expected to move in soon.

The County of Maui reminds residents that rental assistance may be available to those who have lost their job or have reduced income by more than 25% as a direct result of COVID-19.