I originally got my real estate license back in 2003 when I was 18 years old. Although I have been in the business my entire life. I was actually in my mother’s womb in 1984 when my mom and dad were in real estate school together.

Being a second generation REALTOR, I have witnessed the market go through several major cycles since the 1980s, but I have never seen anything like this market on Maui the past couple of years.

Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic shut down in March and April of 2020, our vacation rental condominium inventory consisted of about 350 condos for sale on Maui. That 350-400 ballpark number has been pretty consistent over the past 10 years. That being said, the inventory grew exponentially to nearly 800 condos before the moratorium on vacation rentals was finally lifted in September 2020.

Since the moratorium on vacation rentals was lifted and Maui opened back up to tourism in October 2020, the number of vacation rental condos for sale has rapidly declined to where we sit today at 70 units across Maui County (including Lanai and Molokai). This is unprecedented!

We are witnessing similar record low inventory for single family homes on Maui with only about 200 homes actively listed for sale in August 2021, with more than 150 of these homes listed over $1M.

The Median Sales Price for single family homes on Maui hit a high recently of $1.1M, and has been over $1M for the past 3 consecutive months. It’s extremely difficult to purchase a turnkey home under $1M on Maui at the moment, so it’s important to manage your expectations accordingly if you’re a buyer in that price range. It’s also very hard to find quality long term rentals on Maui.

The combination of record low interest rates and unprecedented demand coming from continental US mainland buyers is essentially pouring gasoline on the fire of our Maui marketplace. It’s extremely expensive to build in Hawaii (and a huge pain in the butt to do so remotely) so many purchasers will pay top dollar for anything that’s move-in ready.

It seems sky’s the limit for this seller’s market. There are major gains to potentially take off the table.

If you are a buyer, be prepared to offer at or above the list price on anything that’s under $1M. And please don’t ask me for 6 months of comps for the condominium complex you’re considering because quite frankly they are becoming irrelevant.

Contact a Maui Real Estate Specialist

The Sayles team is a group of real estate professionals who are committed to delivering a higher level of customer service to exceed the demands of our clients. Our extensive market knowledge, negotiating skills, and hyper local expertise on Maui have earned us the reputation of being industry leaders, and the #1 team for Coldwell Banker in the state of Hawaii.

With over $125M in closed transactions YTD in 2021, our energy and 150 years of collective experience gets results.  Hope you have a wonderful day, and please let us know if you are interested in buying or selling. Our entire team is here to support you and advocate for your family.

Aloha,

Anthony Sayles R(S)

808-280-6532

Anthony@DanoSayles.com