Hawaii

One of the features of our MLS system, Hawaii Information Systems, is the ability to view market statistics. HIS as we kindly refer to it services the island of Kauai and the island of Hawaii. By simply selecting the island and the month, its pretty easy to look at a glance at the market numbers. Each month there are little footnotes to the information that provide more context for the numbers meaning. On the neighbor islands, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii, the summer season is often a very busy time as folks vacation with their families from the mainland and sales are generally higher. With the rise of airfare prices this summer has been softer than the past several years and that of course effects real estate volume. The next surge in buyer traffic generally occurs right before Christmas and continues through the winter as snowbirds and Canadiens seek a warm refuge from the cold.

The MLS generates three reports. They are:

1. Sales Numbers -i.e., how many transactions occurred

2. Sales Volume - i.e., what was the total dollar volume of the transactions

3. Median Price - i.e. - defined as the price of the house that falls in the middle of the total number of homes for sale in that area.

I have highlighted a few cells in each table to point out a couple of things. The trend continues to be downward on prices and numbers of sales. The market gets ever more attractive for buyers especially in light of the possibility of interest rates rising after the election. In the first table, numbers of sales, notice the total numbers at the very top. So, for August the number of sales compared to August of 2007 was down 36.92%. For the year, the total number of transactions is currently down 36.97%. So that number around 37% seems to be pretty consistent for now. As you can see from the numbers, Kauai is a small island and therefore any particular region of the island (the chart is divided into the five zones that our taxkey system is comprised of) can be dramatically effected by even a single sale. Notice on the right column of the first chart that residential sales stay strongest while land sales are weakest or down the most in numbers.

Notice in this second table of sales numbers that while the sales in the North Shore district, Hanalei, Princeville, Haena, etc. were down 92% for the month of August, for the year both land and condo sales volume is down the least in this zone of the island. That is primarily due to the sales of a new luxury condo, Kaiulani, which i have blogged about previously. Last August 2007, a number of those units closed and therefore this August looks bleak comparatively.

The final chart shows median price and again you can see the effects of Kaiulani. Because the luxury condos at Kaiulani sell for between 800,000 and 2.7 Million, their sales have effected the median condo price of the Hanalei zone. These all are in taxkey 4 dash 5. This does not mean that the prices of condos in Princeville has gone up over 2%. In fact they have not but looking at the numbers out of context you could draw a different conclusion.

Hope this provided a little insight on these numbers. If you have a specific question on a range or the meaning of this info, drop me an email and I'd be delighted to respond.

The summer surf season on Maui started with a bang this season. The waves on the south shores of the island were ample and consistent during May and June. It seemed like sometime in July that we went into a period of surf doldrums. This changed over the last 24 hours as a steady and sizable south swell triggered a high surf advisory for beaches along Maui's South Shore and the beaches in and South of Lahaina. September can be a good month for surf on Maui as the South Shores see swells from the end of Austral winter and the North Shore of Maui starts to come alive as we turn towards winter in the Northern hemisphere. Let's hope for a good winter surf season.

It is a great time to travel to Maui!

Okay the kids are back in school and summer is winding down. People are beginning to settle in for the fall season and then on to winter. Things are pretty quite on Maui right now. With oil prices coming down you are seeing some pretty good air fares which we have not seen in a while. The hotels are not as busy as they have been the last 5-years.

If ever you were thinking of coming to Maui this is the time. Already the winter season it is starting to book up talking to the hotels. This is the time between times and a great time to grab some great values. The hotels are offering some pretty great rates like I haven't seen in a while.

This time of year in Hawaii is one of my favorites. It is not because the winter surf starts coming in which I am happy to see. I really like the fall weather. Mild wind and sunny days. It usually is not to busy so the roads are lighter and it is easier to get into your favorite restaurants

So if a fall season sounds good to you check on-line for those great tickets and hotel deals. To check airfares go to www.hawaiianair.com For the Grand Wailea check Grandwailea.com or for Kannapali resort area the Sheraton Maui www.sheratonmaui.com For Maui real estate check Steven Nickens.

Steven Nickens R(S) GRI ABR

The Wailea Group LLC.

3750 Wailea Alanui, suite 5WE

Wailea, Maui, Hi 96753

www.nickensmaui.com

Email: nickens@maui.net

Hey folks,

I normally send out updates in the beginning of the week, but a lot has gone on the last couple of days:

Market Highlights

•· Carteret Mortgage closes offices, including Hawaii

•· GMAC Mortgage closes all 200 offices, 4 in Hawaii, laying off 5,000 employees

Interest Rates, 30 day lock - DROPPED

(compiled from CPHL, FHB, Countrywide, Wells Fargo, First Horizon, and more. These are wholesale rates we have access to, often lower than going to these banks directly)

30 yr fixed: 5.75% w/ 2 points, 6% w/ .875 points, 6.25% w/ 0 points

7/1 ARM: 5.5% w/ 1.875 points, 5.75% w/ 1 point, 6.25% w/ 0 points

5/1 ARM: 5.25% w/ 1.75 points, 5.5% w/ 1.25 points, 6% with 0 points

Have a safe weekend,