Looking for that special gift for that hard-to-please person on your Christmas list and can't find an artificial hamster? How about 50 or so acres abutting the West Maui forest reserve?
And, just to make it sporting, how about vying against other millionaires in a live auction this Friday?
Using an auction to move undeveloped land is not unheard of, but it is unusual in Hawaii. Makila Ridge project manager Heidi Bigelow said the goal is to get five lots sold and closed before the end of the year.
Makila Ridge developer West Maui Land Co. has sold five of the agricultural lots already this year, with another in escrow, and four others nearby; or about one per month. Not bad for a sluggish real estate market.
But the prices are far below what West Maui Land had been hoping for just a year ago.
The sales this year have ranged between $695,000 and $900,000. In an appraisal done last year, West Maui Land thought the lots were worth $1.6 million and up.
The number of sales of land in the county varies too much in character, and is too small, to be of much value in making year-over-year comparisons by location, but the declining enthusiasm for Maui land can be seen in the Realtors Association of Maui's annual totals. Raw land sales totaled $266 million in 2006, dropped to $190 million in 2007, were halved again to $94 million in 2008; and through 10 months this year have reached $106 million. In general, the absorption of land is less than half what it was before financial markets began to get nervous.
Only those with cash or instant credit need apply for Friday's auction. The minimum opening bids will be $500,000, and sales must close by Dec. 21.
Bigelow said the auction has been advertised only in Hawaii, and mostly in The Maui News. An advertisement in the real estate section "below the fold" last week generated only a few inquiries, but Sunday's "above the fold" ad generated a number of calls Monday, she said.
There were two reasons West Maui Land did not seek offshore interest. First, the decision to dispose of the land by auction was made only a few weeks ago, and there wasn't time to get listed on the various high-end real estate publications that circulate worldwide.
Second, buyers must be accompanied by a broker. That is to ensure that the paperwork can be completed by Dec. 21, Bigelow said.
And, besides, "we felt like the local brokers would get the word out to their clients," she said.
The lots for sale range from 25 to 50 acres and are above 700 feet in elevation. The forest reserve line is about 1,400 feet, so the lots are fairly steep, although not too steep, Bigelow said, since some of them are as much as 2,000 feet deep.
Roads and utilities are in place. Makila Ridge is generally above but in the midst of three other subdivisions at Launiupoko, with some 300 other developed lots.
Preregistration is required. The forms are available at westmauiland.net.
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
