Real Estate

Round 2 in a battle over Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of approximately 7,000 transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts will move tomorrow to a different venue and have a duration estimated at only one hour.

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Maui County Council chambers Tuesday morning to hear the start of debate over Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of approximately 7,000 transient vacation rental units in apartment-zoned districts.

Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed elimination of transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts is expected to lead to more available long-term rental and for-sale housing, although the high dollar value of apartments in coastal resort areas mean there “may be issues” about their affordability.

A wave of opposition has been building from vacation rental owners and property managers to Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of an estimated 7,000 transient vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts in Maui County.

The Maui County Council has approved extending the construction completion date to September 2029 for Waikapū Development Venture’s 80-unit affordable workforce housing project south of Wailuku town.

The deadline to apply for the County of Maui real property tax relief program for long-term rentals to individuals directly impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires has been extended to 4 p.m. June 30, 2024.

In May 2024, Maui’s housing market exhibited stability in single-family home sales while showing moderate increases in median prices, according to the latest figures from the Realtors Association of Maui (RAM). The median sales price for single-family homes rose by 2% compared to May of the previous year, reaching $1,297,500 with the 2024 year-to-date median listed at $1,300,000 for Maui. Compared to last month, the median home price was $1,303,692 in March of 2024.

Maui County does not have water available in West Maui for the Pulelehua project, a long planned development seen as a scarce opportunity to provide desperately needed housing for Lahaina residents displaced by the August wildfires.

The County of Maui recently donated seven Fairways at Maui Lani, Kahului, lots totaling approximately 1.4 acres to nonprofit Nā Hale O Maui for affordable housing, according to an announcement today by the County Department of Finance. The donation of the County real property closed May 22, 2024. Fairways at Maui Lani Lots 1-7 are part of 19 total Fairways at Maui Lani lots that the County in 2022 decided to give to Nā Hale O Maui for affordable workforce housing in perpetuity.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., highlighted the achievements of the 2024 legislative session to unlock more affordable housing across the state in a ceremony at the State Capitol. Green underscored the collaborative efforts behind several significant bills aimed at addressing the state’s housing crisis. 

Since launching in January 2024, volunteer-led nonprofit Pacific Housing Association has swiftly amassed a membership exceeding 17,500 rental units statewide. It becomes the state’s first and only organization dedicated to supporting market-rate and affordable long-term rental housing providers.

The past year has brought significant shocks to the housing market in Hawaiʻi. Per the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), overall transactions in 2023 was only half of what it was in 2021, and fewer single family homes were transacted in Hawaiʻi last year than in any of the last 25 years.

A waiting list opens next month for the Kaiāulu o Kūku′ia affordable apartment project located on Keawe St. in West Maui.  The project will begin accepting applications at 9 a.m. on June 24; and a lottery will be held on Aug. 20 to determine the order in which applicants are processed for eligibility.

The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 8-1 Wednesday to recommend passage of a bill to allow a 500-square-foot increase in the size of secondary farm dwellings in agricultural districts on Maui and Lānaʻi.

Maui Planning Commission members finished hearing public comments and then added their own Tuesday to a draft environmental impact statement for Ledcor South Maui’s plans to build as many as 975 homes.

Homebuyers on Maui closed on more single-family homes and condominiums in April, according to the latest resale figures from the Realtors Association of Maui. The median sales prices for both categories also saw notable increases:  single-family homes rose by 16.9% to $1.3 million, while condominiums climbed by 8.4% to $962,500, compared to April 2023.

The County of Maui Department of Finance will hold a real property tax sale on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, to auction off properties that have been delinquent for three or more years and have received a final notice of tax sale. The sale will continue on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, if necessary. 

A new program offered by the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation sets aside funds for nonprofit community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or other nonprofit housing development organizations who build self-help, for-sale housing for those in low- and moderate-income categories.

The grand opening of Kaulana Mahina Apartments—a workforce housing development in Wailuku—took place on Thursday, April 18. This event comes at a time when the chronically undersupplied housing market on Maui has been further impacted by the devastating fires of last August.

Maui’s median home price rose to $1,303,692 in March of 2024, up 9.5% from 2023 when the median was $1,191,000. The data was included in the latest data released by the REALTORS® Association of Maui (RAM).