While the long-term impact is clearly uncertain, in the short term mortgage rates have improved dramatically. Over the past several days rates have improved from 6.5% for a 30 year to almost as low as 5.75%. If you are interested in refinancing, now is the time to look at it. This can only help make Maui real estate more affordable.
The Fairways at Maui Lani, one of the Wailuku subdivisions embroiled in a lawsuit is being put up for sale.
The Fairways at Maui Lani - one of two subdivisions at the center of lawsuits over grading laws and site preparation damages - is being put up for sale. The asking price is $13.5 million. The 50-lot subdivision on the Dunes Golf Course was put on the market Tuesday...The listing says the infrastructure for the subdivision including sewer, underground electric, cable, telephone and drainage, will be completed within the next 30 days..
While the grading issues and the lawsuits are peculiar to this development, our guess is it is more fundamental economics that are driving this sale. Tighter lending markets, slower demand for new homes and still high construction costs probably all contributed to this. Our guess? Maui will see more of this over the next year. Well-heeled, cash rich investors who can step in will be the beneficiaries. For more information, contact us.
The Federal Government will assume operating control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and will purchase a large amount of preferred stock in each entity.
U.S. federal regulators, in a dramatic move highlighting the tenuous state of global credit markets, outlined a takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday morning, including giving control of the firms to their regulator and allowing the Treasury Department to purchase billions of dollars of the firms' senior preferred stock...Mr. Paulson acknowledged that the radical proposal does pose risks for U.S. taxpayers, giving the U.S. government a "large stake in the future value of these entities."
It is impossible to overstate just how big this news is. The Federal Government believed the two giant financial entities were going to collapse. The impact on Maui real estate will be limited in the near term. Longer-term, this will likely help stabilize the housing and mortgage markets.
The Maui County Council has come to its senses...sort of...maybe:
The Maui County Council's Planning Committee reversed itself Tuesday and voted to allow bed-and-breakfasts to be located in agricultural districts...The package of bills still needs full council approval, but the Planning Committee voted 3-2 to support repealing the bed-and-breakfast ban on agricultural land...The Planning Committee previously broadened the definition of bed-and-breakfast operations to allow a property owner with two homes on a single lot to live in one house and rent out the other as a short-term vacation rental. The committee also voted to allow bed-and-breakfasts on rurally designated land.
We applaud this which is a step in the right direction. But it is only a step. This does not address other kinds of Maui real estate like along the oceanfront, nor have the politicians yet determined whether managers will be permitted or whether this only applies to those living on-site. We will keep you apprised.
The DBEDT has released the visitor statistics for July and, as expected, they were dismal. Here are the key findings and their likely impact on Maui real estate:
There is no positive spin that can be put on these numbers. They stink. While Canadian arrivals are up, spending is down. We expect August to be about the same.
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