Sept. 8, 2017
August 2017
Unofficial Sales Statistics
The official month end real estate sales statistics for August will be published by the Realtors Association of Maui around mid-month. The numbers in this report were pulled from the Maui MLS on September 1, 2017. These numbers will vary slightly from the official figures due to factors such as late reporting.
Home sales surged back into triple digits in August as both the average and median selling prices declined. We expect that home sales will continue to hold steady at 100+ units per month through the early to mid-fall months.
Condos sales also got back into the triple digits and selling prices were down in that category as well.
Land sales came back to the “normal” range, that being fewer than 20 sales per month as the spike caused by multiple closings in Pukalani’s Kualono development subsided.
Pending sales represent properties that are under contract, but have not closed yet. They are an indicator of future sales. There was a significant increase in single family home sales for the month. For all of our talk about low inventory, people are finding homes. Condo sales remain very consistent. However, keep an eye on inventory.
Inventory tells us how many units are available for sale in each category. While the number of sales and the number of single family homes pending rose in August, the number of homes for sale, the inventory, declined to its lowest level in the last 6 months. Sales cannot continue to rise or even stay steady, if supply continues to shrink.
The condo supply also hit its lowest level in the last 6 months. It is down over 16% from March. We might expect to see prices increasing in the condo category.
The average selling price for a home on Maui dropped just below $1,000,000, and the median selling price sank back to an even $700,000. Those are the lowest selling prices since March, but does that mean that prices are going down? Not necessarily. It might simply reflect the lack of sales at the upper end of the market.
The average condo price skyrocketed to over $800,000 in July, but fell hard in August. Both the August median and average selling prices were the lowest in the last 6 months. It will definitely be interesting to see how the falling inventory affects prices in the coming months.
Days On Market is the number of days from the time a listing goes live in the MLS until it closes and is recorded. It is interesting, but is not a good indicator of how long it really takes to sell a particular type of property. That’s because it is an average of all homes from small starter homes that sell quickly to multimillion dollar luxury homes that may take years to sell. The same is true for condos where the type of unit, location, price and buyer motivation may result in a quick sale or the condo may sit on the market waiting for the market to catch up.
Subscribe to the Maui Real Estate Advisor by sending an email to info@AlohaGroupMaui.com.
Aloha Group Maui is a part of KW Island Living, the Keller Williams Maui franchise. We can help you buy or sell a home or condo - for you to live in full time, part time or as an investment. Learn more about Maui Real Estate in our Maui Real Estate 101 resources section.
