I just wanted to do a quick post highlighting some Paia merchant news. First and foremost, Simmer is having their annual fall sale tomorrow. Simmer is one of our neighbors at the Shops at Paia Bay. Their sales are always a big draw as they offer upto 75% off on clothing, surfing and windsurfing gear. They usually have food, refreshments and a drawing towards the end of the day. Get their early before all the good stuff gets snatched up.
It is also worth noting that Indigo Paia has just launched a new website. They are another neighbor of the Jim Sanders Office located just east of us in the Paia General Store Building. Indigo offers beautiful imports from Asia. Their hand woven, organic dye rugs are the best available in the island. They also have a great selection of jewelry, home furnishings, photos and more. Come support Paia's local merchants.
As a world class destination resort, Maui offers some fantastic dining options. The quality of our restaurants is bolstered by the island's access to fresh produce and seafood. We also benefit by the diversity of cultures on the island that bring a variety of food preparations from throughout the Pacific and other parts of the globe. Maui restaurants and resorts do not have to go far to find the culinary talent that prepares our island's food. The Maui Culinary Academyat Maui Community College prepares students in one of the three specialties of culinary arts, baking and restaurant supervision. Students at the Culinary Academy have the opportunity to showcase their skills at The Class Act Restaurant and Exhibition Kitchen.
The Class Act is a real jewel of Maui. It offers a four course gourmet lunch at the very reasonable price of $28 plus gratuity. I have had the opportunity to eat there on two separate occasions and all courses of the meal were quite good. The preparation was excellent and the fresh Maui produce used in a number of the courses was quite tasty. Diners have an opportunity to watch the young chefs prepare the meals and the menu uses local produce extensively. Restaurant patrons can select from a few different daily entree options from a rotating menu. The Class Act is located in the Pa'ina building on the Maui Community College campus in Kahului. The hours are from 11:00-12:30 on selected weekdays. While the restaurant is a hidden gem, it has a loyal following. Interested parties should make reservations.
Small market real estate statistics can pose a challenge. When you have a relatively small sample size, median and average sales prices may swing significantly based on new development sales, bulk purchases, or increased activity in one price range in the market. That leaves median and average prices as a poor indicator of actual changes in value. We have seen this effect with statistics on Maui.
Our condo market has been more resilient than most. There were relatively few condos financed with sub-prime loans and International demand was strong through much of 2007-2008 as Canadians and Europeans took advantage of the strength of their respective currencies. That being said, we saw price adjustments starting in the low end of the market in 2006 with changes coming to a greater portion of the market in 2007. Now all but the most luxurious properties have seen price adjustments. Despite these dynamics, our median prices managed to stay high and in some cases hit new highs.
How did median prices hold steady when comparable condos were selling for less this year than what they were selling for just one year earlier? The answer has to do with the segments of the market that saw more activity. While the low end and the middle of the market saw lower sales volumes, we saw a surge in volume in our ultra luxury condos. Condos over $2,000,000 sold in significant numbers. The surge was due in part to a bevy of new project sales and a pretty healthy volume of high end resales.
The September Maui Real Estate statistics produced some pretty eye catching numbers. The condo numbers in particular were interesting in that the formerly resilient median condo prices tumbled dramatically. The median was $244,000 below last month's median and $210,500 below September of 2007. What caused this drop? Did the bottom fall out on the market? As I mentioned before, we have been seeing price adjustments in our market for sometime, but the drop we saw this month can again be traced to changes in activity in different segments of the market. September saw the fewest high end new development closes than any other month this year. While the low end of the market saw increasing activity as buyers are starting to take advantage of the opportunities presented in this market.
What does this all mean? Well it is in part a cautionary tale. It points to the dangers of small market statistics at face value. It also is a heads up to keep an eye for a shift in the condo market. One month may be an anomaly. If we see a series of months where high end condo sales are down, it may be indicative of a cooling in our luxury market. This would not be too big of a surprise in light of the current global financial picture. We are due for another artificial bump in medians sometime in January of February as we will start seeing sales recording for Honua Kai. That will be another thing that needs to be filtered out when trying to sort out the state of the Maui Real Estate market. I will keep you posted.
A few months back, I found out about a website called Walk Score. The site allows you to plug in an address and it assigns a walkability score based on the addresses' proximity to amenities such as grocery stores, libraries, schools, restaurants etc. It is a great tool and a valuable asset to those that want to find a property that allows you to reduce your reliance on a car.
The one issue I noticed with walk score was that the best results were skewed towards the big cities. That makes sense. If you plop yourself down in the Center of Times Square, chances are you will find every type of shop, restaurant and/or community service within a half dozen city blocks. There is certainly something to be said about the green nature of urban living. That being said, not everyone is seeking city living. There are small towns out there that offer a host of amenities that are accesible without ever taking your car out of your driveway. My little town of Paia on the North Shore of Maui is one of those towns.
My brother Billy recently took a helicopter flight over portions of the island and was able to take a pretty good photo of Paia from above. This photo captures the majority of our community's small downtown. I took the photo and numbered a listing that I have in downtown Paia as well as some of the amenities in the community. I think this photo does a great job capturing all that is available to residents of the neighborhoods in and around downtown Paia. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
As you can see, my little beach town has a lot to offer within a condensed area. The food alone is enough to keep you satisfied for weeks. While it may only have a walk score in the 60s, I can make do just fine leaving my car parked for days on end. If there are amenities that I can't get in town, Central Maui is only ten minutes by car or county bus.
If a walkable beach town on Maui sounds like something up your alley, you can check out all of the current Paia real estate listings on my website or you can contact me for assistance.
The Road to Hana is one of Maui's most famous tourist attractions. This windy road with numerous one way bridges accesses the beautiful community of Hana on the east end of Maui. The road traverses some of the most spectacular terrain on Maui with lush rainforest, cascading water falls, gorgeous ocean vistas and panoramas of the jagged east Maui coast. For almost two years, the Road to Hana experience was incomplete. In October of 2006, an earthquake with an epicenter just off the coast of the Big Island shook the Hawaiian Islands. The quake resulted in limited damage on Maui, but the Southeast corner of the island felt the heaviest shocks. The shaking was strong enough to damage one of the bridges past Hana. Additional inspection revealed that a number of the cliffs that lined the road between Kipahulu and Kaupo had become unstable. The county worked to stabilize the cliffs removing loose rocks and covering the cliffs with protective steel mesh. In the interim, a section of road between the small communities of Kaupo and Kipahulu were closed. This was a hardship on the local communities. It also meant that you could no longer go to Hana via a loop. It was an out and back along the north east coast.
The road to Hana highlighted in grey on the map below.
While the out and back drive is still incredibly beautiful, there is something to be said about the loop that navigates around the flanks of Haleakala Volcano. The neat thing about driving the Road to Hana as a loop is the diversity of climate and flora that you encounter along the way. The road starts in beautiful and tropical Haiku. As you head east, you head deeper into the rain forest and the scenery is progressively more lush. As you arrive in Hana, you encounter a mix of rolling hillsides and pastures dotted with more lush foliage. The stretch between Hana and Kipahulu is almost as lush as the areas just north of Hana. The Oheo Gulch area of Haleakala national park also known as the "seven sacred pools" is located along this strech to the road. It is a stunninging location where beatiful freshwater pools cascade into the ocean.
A waterfall emerging from the bamboo forest in the Kipahulu of Haleakala National Park
Fresh water stream meets the Pacific Ocean in the Kipahulu Section of Haleakala National Park
Somewhere in the Kaupo/Kipahulu area of the Road to Hana
It is when you go past Kipahulu and past the stretch of formerly closed road that you really see some changes. While most of the Road to Hana is on the windward sides of the island. The back side of the Road to Hana is on the South Side of Haleakala volcano. The volcano shields this area from the bulk of the precipitation that reaches Maui via the north east trade winds. This section of Maui is arid with light vegetation. It is a stark contrast to the dense Jungle of the Nahiku area. The limited vegetation also allows you to get a better view of the raw geology of the area. Canyons run down the south flank of Haleakala. The area almost reminds me of somewhere in the Desert West of the United States. Of Course, you don't have panoramic views of the Pacific in the West Desert.
A canyon coming down the South Face of Haleakala between Kaupo and Ulupalakua. This photo was taken mid winter so the area looks greener than usual.
If you head further west on the road, you begin a steady rise in elevation as you move into Maui's Upcountry. You are entering yet another ecological zone on Maui as you approach Ulupalakua. The arid South side of Haleakala is green in the winter fading to brown in the summer dry season. Starting near Ulupalakua, the foliage is green year round. This area of Maui's Upcountry is frequently cloaked in clouds and prone to summer showers. In addition to the perpetually green grass, there are groves of towering non-native eucalyptus trees around the Ulupalakua Ranch. This is the third The vistas of Central Maui, the West Maui Mountains, Kahoolawe and Lanai in this area are breath taking. About ten minutes past Ulupalakua, the road begins to straighten and the road to Hana experience comes to an end. Though, I imagine you will carry many memories with you for some time to come.
I had a planned a camping trip out to Hana last weekend for my birthday. I was excited to hear that the back road to Hana had opened in the two weeks before the trip. I took the back way to get there going through the Upcountry and then crossing the south flank of Haleakala. It was great to be on this stretch of road again. The efforts of the engineers and road crews were evident as there was a lot of protective netting along the formerly unstable cliffs. After a couple of nights of camping by the Seven Sacred Pools, we headed back on Sunday through Nahiku and Haiku completing our loop. Like any trip to Hana, it was magical.
Web savvy agent who leverages the Internet as a valuable resource for buyers and sellers. I take pride in offering prompt and professional service.
I work with my brother Billy Jalbert as part of the Jim Sanders Realty Team. Together, we pride ourselves for our responsive and professional service. Since our start in the business we have always leveraged the Internet as a valuable tool for buyers and sellers. Central to our Internet resources is our highly visible website www.MauiRealEstate.com. I was one of the first if not the first Real Estate blogger in Maui County. THE Maui Real Estate Blog has been up and running since January 1, 2005
With a domain name like www.MauiRealEstate.com, we find ourselves working with residential buyers and sellers island wide. Maui's North Shore is our home. I live in the community of Paia after previously living in the town of Haiku. We have represented buyer's and sellers for properties all over the island including Maui's Upcountry, South Maui, Central Maui, West Maui and Hana and East Maui. We have even represented buyer's on Maui County's other islands of Molokai and Lanai.
We work with first time home buyer's and those that are looking for the most exquisite estate properties. We pride ourselves on knowing the inventory of Maui Condos for Sale, Homes and vacant land. Maui is tremendously varied and our goal is to find the right property to meet our customer's unique needs.
Living on Maui, I try to acheive a work/life balance spending time before or after work on the water. I love to spend time in the ocean surfing or stand up paddle surfing. I also enjoy travel, skiing, meteorolgy, politics, keeping up on sustainability issues, going to classes at the Studio Maui and spending time with my niece and nephew. I am a board member at the Paia Youth and Cultural Center. This is a great non-profit that provides a positive environment for the youth of Paia, the North Shore and Maui's Upcountry.
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