July 7, 2009
Aloha all!
Attached are the Maui June 2009 Sales Statistics.
IN A NUT SHELL...... the good, the bad….. AND THE UNKNOWN ……
Inventory shrank in Residential and Condo classes during the last few months. Similar to latest reports from many mainland markets, our market seems to be at or near the bottom. The large inventory includes many short sales and REO (bank owned) properties which will need to be absorbed as sales before we can move ahead.
FOR SELLERS: Sellers who don’t really need to sell (just “fishing?”) should stay off the market, and clear the marketplace for those who REALLY have to sell.
To be successful, Sellers need to be realistic and beat competing properties with better property condition, aggressive pricing, good marketing, and flexible, creative terms (including lease-with-optionto-buy and sale-with-lease-back to seller). Days on Market figures show that properties priced right will sell in a reasonable timeframe. “Priced Right” is still the determining factor. BEST Deals are selling, everything else is getting old. Pro-Active Sellers are getting their properties appraised, inspected and surveyed in advance to encourage knowledgeable offers from realistic Buyers. Doing this can prevent unanticipated escrow fallout.
Unrealistic Sellers continue to follow the market down and miss current opportunities that later become woefully apparent. They may even end up in a Short Sale or Foreclosure situation that could have been avoided.
FOR BUYERS: Continued low interest rates and first time homebuyer incentives provide plenty of options for Buyers who qualify. Buyers should get Pre-Approved so they can shop in confidence (fewer last minute disappointments due to non-funding loans).
More "short-sales" and foreclosures are happening in the marketplace, yet they can be less of a bargain than they seem, requiring more hurdles to leap and more time (often 4-6 months) to close, if at all. Be prepared, but BE REALISTIC.
First-Time Home Buyers – This is your opportunity to purchase. Don’t let it pass you by…. Attend a First-Time Home Buyers workshop, get familiar with the process, get qualified/approved, do your homework to get your own home. Many current owners never thought they would be able to own until they attended a workshop, discovered they could, and are glad they did. This low point in the market is your rare chance, so don’t delay.
Disclaimer: Zooming in on the figures of a specific geographic area or property type may lead to different conclusions that the overall view. Maui's market place is much smaller than Oahu's, and a few high or low sales have a greater effect on the statistical numbers without necessarily indicating a big market swing one way or another.
Brief overview:
Pages 4 - June's Sales Volume – Residential Sales rose to 62 homes while Condos and Land sales showed little change at 45 and 8 sales respectively.
Page 5 - June's Median SALES prices for Residential homes rose to $499,053 and Condos rose to $520,000. Land sales median was $512,000.
Page 6 - Days on Market for Residential homes = 113 DOM, Condos = 115 DOM, Land = 287 DOM. (General DOM Note: this is the average DOM for the properties that SOLD. If predominantly OLD inventory sells, it can move this indicator upward, and vice versa. Also, RAM's Days on Market are calculated from List Date to Closing Date [not contract date]. As such, it includes approximately 60 days of escrow time.)
Pages 10 - 14 - "Year to Date Sales" numbers are limited in scope as they only compare January/June 2009 to January/June 2008. Short timeframe (monthly) views do not necessarily reflect the longer timeframe trends. Better overview is available from these pages at the end of each year such as 2008's Year End (Dec.2008) available at: http://www.ramaui.com/UserFiles/File/Stats/December2008.pdf
Year to Date: Residential unit sales declined (-41%), average sold price = $761,252 (-14%), median price = $510,000 (-14%) and total dollar volume sold = $216,956,818 (-49%). Condo unit sales declined (-46%), average sold price = $685,584 (-29%), median price = $420,000 (-27%). Total Condo dollar volume sold = $188,535,561 (-62%).
Land – NOTE: Land Lot sales are such a small sampling that statistics in this property class are not necessarily reliable indicators. Land lot sales declined (-29%), average sold price = $1,433,038 (+52%), median price = $800,000 (+14%), Total dollar volume = $70,218,875 (+8%).
Also, total sales for immediately past 12 months: Residential = 718, Condo = 568, Land = 79. July 7, 2009 - Active/Pending/Contingent status inventory:
July June May April March Feb. Jan. Dec. Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug. ‘08
Homes 1,087 1,083 1,086 1,150 1,144 1,134 1,103 1,126 1,111 1,114 1,133 1,176
Condos 1,616 1,644 1,675 1,796 1,794 1,750 1,722 1,700 1,638 1,600 1,618 1,594
Land 644 656 648 662 667 595 575 563 595 552 558 548
For questions regarding today’s market, please call me at 808-283-6090
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