Celebration of Christmas

Everyone celebrates holidays differently throughout the globe, nation and within our Islands. This Christmas morning I woke at dawn and headed to the South Shore of Maui to go out for a romp on my canoe with friends. Lucky for us, we received a wonderful bonus of witnessing a mother humpback whale caring gently for her new born calf.

We were on the water by 7:30 a.m. and back on shore loading the boats on our vehicles by 10:00 am. Enough time to return, baste the turkey in the oven, nibble on a quick breakfast, prep more food, catch a quick nap and celebrate the remaining day with friends and family.

Makawao Avenue over the Holidays

I love it! Every year the residents of this home on Makawao Avenue dress up their entire front lawn with props and lights. A bit over done, but just the same I always smile when I drive by.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Cookie baking, last minute shopping, wrapping presents or prepping a special meal. Tomorrow I'll be busy cooking a large pot of home made French Onion Soup. However you share your traditions and your holiday, I hope it is filled with joy and festivities with friends and family.

Seasons Aloha!

Upcountry Maui - Crazy Weather!

This morning I was awoken by rapid lightning and loud bursts of thunder which then progressed into a tumultuous downpour of rain. The dangerous flash flood warning kind of rain. In a matter of 20 minutes the rain turned into a dense hail storm and lasted for about another half hour! My grass was covered with M&M sized ice drops. This has been a very interesting year of weather oddities or awe-dities! By 9:30 a.m. the skies had cleared to blue and the sun was intensely shining and showing no indication of the morning drama.

Maui Ocean Front Sales - November '09

In November , there were 19 Maui ocean front properties that sold/closed in the month of November. Of the 19 sales, there was 1 home sale while the remaining 18 were ocean front condominiums. The breakdown of sales by area is as follows:

• West Maui oceanfront sales: 12 - 7 occurred in the Honokowai/Kahana/Napili area; 1 in Kapalua; 4 in Ka'anapali of which 3 sales were within Honua Kai.

• South Maui ocean front sales: 6 - 3 occurred in Wailea of which 2 were within Wailea Beach Villas; 2 in South Kihei; 1 sale in Ma'alae'a.

The single residential sale was a North Shore ocean front home in the heart of Paia Town! As luck would have it, the property was active on the market less than a month.

South Maui Real Estate - November '09 Sales

Here are the home sales for Kihei, Wailea and Makena real estate for the month of November:

Kihei - 11
The high sale was a home in Moana Estates located in South Kihei and closed at $1,100,000. The low sale was a bank owned property in Central Kihei at $356,000. The average days on the market this month was 241 days. Six of the eleven sales were bank-owned properties.

Further South, the sales for Maui Meadows, Makena and Wailea real estate were minimal for November.
Maui Meadows - 2
Wailea -1
Makena - 0

North Shore Maui Surf - Exceptional and Beautiful

Tuesday morning I drove down to Spreckelsville to take my dogs for a walk along Stable Road. As I descended in elevation, I noticed a haze across the shoreline extending up into the cane fields above Pai'a Town and beyond the Kahului Airport. What appeared to look like smoke, was instead a thick mist of salt spray in the air. In all my years of living along the North Shore of Maui, I have never witnessed anything like this. It penetrated my nostrils and smelled of clean, crisp ocean. The combination of light winds and high surf created this dense fog along the north shore coastline and extended from Haiku into Kahului.

The news of the high surf brought an incredible amount of traffic through Hana Highway into Paia Town. Residents and visitors alike were car-bound and headed for either Ho'okipa Beach Park or the infamous "Jaws" surf spot in Peahi. For more details see today's Maui News.

If you would like information on Spreckelsville-Paia real estate or North Shore Maui homes for sale, I'd be happy to send you information or chat with you further.

North Shore Maui Real Estate - November '09 Sales

The North Shore Maui real estate market fared well for November, especially the Spreckelville-Paia real estate market. The area outside of Paia known as Spreckelsville remains highly desirable as it is just a five minute car trip to Kahului Town, Costco and the airport. It is also within easy walking distance to Baldwin Beach Park and the Maui Country Club. All the wonderful conveniences are coastal living are here just outside Paia Town. At trip up Baldwin Avenue will take you to some of Maui's finest private schools in a matter of 10 -20 minutes. Ride your bike or walk to town for a bite to eat. It's no wonder this area remains sought after and this month three properties closed in this microscopic neighborhood.
Spreckelsville-Paia: 3

Haiku real estate for the month of November fared well with five sales. Home sales ranged from $340,000 to $910,000.
Haiku: 5

North Shore -Land Sales: 2 Vacant land sales throughout Maui have been sluggish. Haiku is no different.

Another positive twist is that none of the North Shore Maui residential or land sales this month were bank-owned or short sale properties. For more details on Maui's current real estate market, visit our website: MauiEstatesOnline.com

Maui Food Bank - Holiday Drive

The Realtor's Association of Maui kicked off its annual Food Bank drive for the year.

This year I am chairing our Drive to raise $10,000 in cash donations. To date, we have raised $3,300 in cash and an undetermined amount of canned goods and food supplies. The Maui Food Bank supplies food to over 10,000 residents in Maui County. For more information about the Maui Food Bank, visit their website: http://www.mauifoodbank.org/

Upcountry Real Estate - November '09 Sales

Not the best month of the year for the Upcountry Maui real estate market. On the other hand, there was a beautiful 4,000 sq.ft. home purchased in Kula on 12 acres of land that closed at $2.4 million.
Residential sales Upcountry Maui:
Kula - 2
Pukalani - 1
Makawao - 3
Land Upcountry Maui - Sales: 1

Sales in the Upcountry Maui real estate vary from month to month. For best results on statistics for Pukalani, Makawao and Kula real estate, it may be best to look at the year end numbers, or the year to date Maui real estate statistics.

Maui Real Estate - November Statistics

November sales dipped somewhat: 67 homes (71), 69 condos (61) and 17 land (8) sales (October sales). Average sale prices for November fell slightly in homes and condos. Residential slipped to $465,000 from $487,000 last month. Condos dropped slightly to $400,000 from $400,842. Land prices increased to $450,000 from $306,250 last month.

Year to Date: Residential unit sales declined (-31%), average sold price = $718,603 (-14%), median price = $500,000 (-14%) and total dollar volume sold = $423,975,910 (-41%). Condo unit sales declined (-1%), average sold price = $711,789 (-23%), median price = $464,500 (-16%). Total Condo dollar volume sold = $529,570,658 (-24%).

Again, more evidence that the market is being driven by REO's and short sale inventory. Days on Market figures show that properties priced right will sell in a reasonable time frame. “Priced Right” is still the determining factor. The BEST Deals are selling, everything else is getting old.

Visit my website for a review of the full November report for Maui real estate sales activity.

North Shore of Maui - Caution! Giant Surf

Maui residents and visitors have been cautioned by the County of Maui to take care and respect the giant surf that is expected to hit the islands this weekend and peak on Monday. Monday's swells are expected to reach 20 - 30 feet along the North Shore of Maui with the outer reef swells reaching 40 to 50 feet. The areas of Maui most likely to be effected are the shores along Spreckelsville, Paia, Kuau, Kapalua and Paukukalo. See more details posted in the Maui News. For a grasp of the surf report, see Maui Weather Today - Surf Page.

Rules of thumb:

• Never turn your back to the waves.
• Never underestimate the power of the ocean and water for that matter.
• If you are not sure about the surf on the shoreline of the ocean or beach, don't go in. Don't assume. Stay out. Observe. Observe for a while longer. Speak to other surfers or beach goers first.
• The ocean can be wonderful, tranquil and and an enjoyable activity for both sport and leisure. HOWEVER, it can be very deceiving and dangerous. Waves come in swells. In fifteen or twenty minutes, the waves can turn from fun to dangerous.
• Be safe. Have fun!

Malama ka moana!

Kula Real Estate - Price Reduction Brings on Buyers

We lowered the price to $750,000 Kula home and it worked. As of today, we have two over full priced offers and have opened escrow with the first offer and the second offer in a back-up position.

This is a sign of the Maui real estate market. Price the property well and it will sell. Today with the amount of inventory on the market, Buyers feel that time is on their side. The smart Seller will consider creating a sense of urgency to bring Buyers to the negotiating table.

View details of MLS# 338720