West Maui November Sales Stats: Puamana Awakens

What a month for Puamana! After starting the first 6 months of the year on record sales pace, this oceanfront Lahaina townhome community went very quiet with only 1 combined sale or escrow since early summer. That is, until last month where Puamana made up over 10% of all November escrows, a.k.a. “accepted contracts” for West Maui condominium/townhome properties. Only one other, Opukea at Lahaina, had more.

End of Summer Sunset Over Lanai

West Maui Sales Stats

All in all, West Maui saw 37 combined condo, home, and land properties go under contract in November, while 35 total sold. There is an average inventory of about 550 properties for sale in West Maui at any given time in November (15 months of inventory).

West Maui November 2014 sales activity is as follows:

• Condos/Townhomes: 29 escrows/23 sold
• Residential: 7 escrows/10 sold
• Land: 1 escrows/2 sold

 
For a complete CMA Summary of West Maui Pendings and Sales for November 2014, click here (source: Realtors Association of Maui).

Hot Sands, or “Beaches” as it’s Known, Provides Surf & Sand Enjoyment…Warm Water, Year-Round Sunsets

Puamana Sales

Now getting back to the topic of this blog, Puamana’s November…Let’s take a look closer at what transpired. First off, Puamana had a total of 3 escrows and 1 sold property in November.

The Escrows (aka properties that went under contract)

2 of the 3 properties that went under contract did so in literally no time at all:

167-2 Pualei Dr, a 2 bed/2 bath came on the market at $539K, spent 5 days active before going under contract.

17-2 Pualoke Pl, a 3 bed/2.5 bath 1,768 sq. ft. unit listed at $899K, had breakfast and lunch on the market before going into escrow in less than 24 hours.

West is Best! “W” for West Maui. Can You See it in the Mountain Formations?

The 3rd property, 30-2 Pualoke Pl., wasn’t so urgent. This 2 bed/3 bath, 1,101 sq. ft. unit spent 338 days active before finally saying “I do”…Reason possibly? This unit was the highest priced per sq. ft. to go pending or sold in November, but it could be also argued that this north end building 30 location with green space backyard, proximity to the water, and overall quietness is one of the best in all of the neighborhood (better than the other 2 subjectively speaking). However, what a phenomenon proper pricing can be 🙂

The Solds

There was only 1, but what a sale it was…at least in terms of speed – and possibly even a short-term gain?

167-1 Pualei Dr., a newly remodeled 2 bed/3 bath, 1,089 sq. ft., just sold for $655K. And if we look at the recent history of the property, we see possibly even a flip situation. This is all speculation, but I believe it clearly demonstrates that if you want it…the “buy low, fix then” sell paradigm we see plastered all over cable TV every night does exist, and in some cases, does work out favorably.

Oceanfront Gazebo and Pool

So the history goes, 167-1 was bought back in May of this year for $505K after spending 415 days on the market with the list price ranging from $540-$595K. Then, after only 5 short months, on 10/31/2014 this property was put back on the market for $795K, however quickly reducing to $720K. Within 14 days, 167-1 went into escrow and sold in another 15 days.

If you saw the before and after pictures of 167-1, you saw the major difference with major improvement. The upgrades that were completed were absolutely beautiful. Additionally, did I mention what a phenomenon proper pricing can be? 🙂

Peaceful Private Puamana

My point is that miracles do happen…as in the last play of Thursday’s season ending UCF football game…and real estate opportunities do exist in West Maui, especially Puamana. And, if you didn’t see UCF’s last second play, it’s worth a watch.

– Aloha, JO