Thinking about buying or selling real estate on Maui sometime in the near future? Here’s some inside info about how national trends are playing out in our local market at the moment…
The Big Picture
Let’s start with the story we’ve all heard pretty consistently in recent months: higher interest rates have continued to impact home affordability across the country. Based on numbers from the National Association of REALTORS®, existing home sales slowed in May for the second consecutive month, dipping 3.4% nationally. And from May 2022 to May 2023, the U.S. saw a 23% decrease in the number of homes sold.
As we try to make sense of current market conditions, we should keep in mind that the country, Hawaiʻi, and Maui in particular recently experienced a couple of years of unusually rapid growth in home sales! So it was probably only a matter of time before a slowdown took place.
Zooming in on Maui
In many parts of the U.S., sales prices have begun to come down as a result of the cooling market. According to the REALTORS® Association of Maui, though, the median home sales price on the Valley Isle actually inched up 4.9% (to $1,271,500) year-over-year in May. The median sales price for a condo rose 16.4% (to $835,000) in the same 12-month period, and the median price for vacant land rose 11.4% (to $675,500).
For anyone who’s thinking about selling a home on Maui anytime soon, there are two other points that may be important to keep in mind … First, 42% of homes and 50% of condos sold at or over list price here in May. What does that tell us? Maui real estate is still very much in demand!
Second, 39% of all home sales and 46% of all condo sales on Maui in May were cash deals. That’s part of a long-term trend here – we typically have a sizable chunk of buyers showing up with cash in hand. And for those buyers, it doesn’t matter at all if interest rates rise!
Your Maui Real Estate Connection
As always, I’ll stay focused on the evolving market situation and keep you informed. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out any time you have questions about Maui real estate – I’d love to help!
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