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Condominium supply tight with a median price at $525,000

Homes were $735K in the first quarter

The Maui News

The median price of a condominium unit in Maui County rose 10.2 percent to $525,000, and for a home up 7.7 percent to $735,000 in the first quarter of the year compared to 2018, according to data from the Realtors Association of Maui released last week.

In the condo market, the number of closed sales jumped 8.9 percent in the January-to-March period to 405, powered by 154 closed sales in March, the highest in 10 months. March sales were 21.3 percent higher than March 2018.

First-quarter and March data show a tightening of condo inventory. The March inventory of homes for sale fell 19.1 percent year over year to 539 units. In the first quarter, new listings were off 16.4 percent, or 95 units, to 485; pending sales were down 19.8 percent, or 100 units, to 404; and days on the market until sale decreased 12.3 percent, or 19 days, to 136 days.

Rising first-quarter median prices (the midpoint in a series of numbers), which grew from $476,250 in 2018 to $525,000 this year, drove down the housing affordability index. The index of 64, down 7 points from 2018, means that the median household income represents only 64 percent of what is necessary to qualify for a median-priced home under prevailing interest rates.

There were a few differing components in the single-family market in the first-quarter data. The numbers of closed sales decreased 16.8 percent to 238 units; new listings were up 10.9 percent to 437 units; and the days on market until sale rose 7 percent, or 10 days, to 152 days.

The monthly March home data showed a tight supply market with a decrease of 9.6 percent in the inventory of homes for sale to 497 units compared to 2018. This likely was a factor in driving up the median price $52,500 in the first quarter to $735,000 and driving down the affordability index 4 points to 46.

By region, the highest number of homes sold in the January-to-March period was in Wailuku, 48 units, with a median price of $617,500, followed by Kihei, 39, $850,000; and Kahului, 23, $645,000.

Kihei topped condo sales with 156 units, more than twice the number of the next highest region, Napili/Kapalua/Honokowai, which logged 71 sales. Wailea/Makena had the third highest number of sales with 41 units with a median price of $1.3 million. The median price in Kihei was $455,000 and in Napili/Kapalua/Honokowai, $442,000.

Looking at March alone, the median price for a home was $712,718, up 4.8 percent from the previous March. Median prices have hovered in the $700,000 range in the last year with the exception of $690,000 last May. Closed sales were down 5 percent to 96 units for the month.

In the condo market in March, the median price was $508,500, up 13 percent. The 118 days on the market was the lowest in more than a year and 21 days less than 2018.

The full report can be found at www.ramaui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/RAM-Stats-Mar-2019.pdf.

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