February was a pretty good month for Maui Real Estate. There was strong volume in pending sales.
There were 78 home sales with a median price of $513,750. By comparison, the February 2011 numbers were 59 sales at a median of $440,000. That is a 32% increase in volume and a 17% increase in median.
There were 81 condo sales at a median price of $287,000 for February. By comparison, the February 2011 numbers were 98 sales at a median price of $371,200. There was a 17% decrease in volume and a 23% decrease in median price.
12 parcels of land sold at a median price of $333,925. That compares to 7 sales at a median of $282,500 in February 2011. That is a 71% increase in sales volume.
Short sales and REOs remain a significant component of the monthly transaction volume. There were 54 closings that were either bank owned or short sales last month. 29 of 78 closings were REOs or shorts. That is 37% of the volume. 24 of 81 condos were REOs or shorts. That is just under 30% of the total sales.
We continue to see variability in our monthly real estate stats. Last month, condo sales outpaced January of 2011, while homes and land sales lagged. This month the opposite occurred. If you are expecting consistency in our recovery, you may be disappointed. It reflects the statistical variability you often see with smaller sample sizes.
Last month, there were fewer REO transactions and an increase in short sale transactions. The same scenario occurred this month. It appears that banks are becoming more and more cooperative when it comes to short sales. This means more successful short sale closings. There are still large number of properties where sellers are underwater and need to sell.
The luxury real estate market statistics were interesting. There were 5 luxury home sales over $2M compared to only 2 last February. The condo market was the exact other end of the spectrum with no sales in February over $2M. The highest condo sale was $1,323,000. Last February, there were 6 sales over $2M.
My message to buyers is that you need to be prepared when you are ready to buy. Buyers should be pre-approved in advance and be prepared to make strong offers. Well priced properties are selling for or in some cases above list price. As your price point increases, competition begins to wane with smaller buyer pools. Higher priced properties with tight inventory or fewer quality properties to choose from may also see competitive bidding. Sellers still need to look closely at recent comparable sales when trying to determine how to best price their properties. Overpriced properties just aren’t getting nearly as many showings in this market. Market conditions make good representation more important now than ever. Please contact Michele Muir White R(S), ABR. SFR today if you need assistance buying or selling Maui real estate. 808.298.8448 michelewhite@hawaii.rr.com
