Hawaii Real Estate Blog

honua kai collage photos

 

** Note: This post is not as statistics-based as our usual market reports, but rather relies on anecdotal experience. **

The most frequently heard question by our team is "So how is the market at Honua Kai doing right now?" We post our monthly updates in order to provide real-time narration of micro-market conditions and provide insight of ascertainable trends as they develop. However, such short-term analysis does not provide a bird's eye perspective of sustainable trends - and with a minute micro-market, it is easy for one sale to sway statistics one way or the other.

For several months now we have expecing that prices will increase as the developer inventory dwindles to mostly premium units in the Konea tower. Our reasoning being that

honua kai april update

As high season winds down and in its aftermath, the remainder of sales are closing (and may slip into May as well) so more clear micro-market trends can be ascertained. And in our continuing analysis of the Honua Kai condo micro-market, we post monthly updates to better alert potential buyers and sellers of perceivable trends. As such, let us look below at activity in the month of April.

New Listings

The month of April saw only one new listing in Honua Kai. Konea 205 is premium, inner-courtyard 2 bedroom unit in the Konea tower. Priced at $1.599M, it is priced in the range at which similar units have been selling (in the $1.5M's).

Pending

Four units went under contract in April:

Hokulani 142 - spacious 1 bed + den, with a sales price of

andaz maui at wailea

For the those fortunate enough to have visited the Andaz Maui at Wailea since its re-introduction in October 2013, it is clearly apparent the resort is a new breed of luxury beach resort. It sets itself apart from other Wailea institutions such as Grand Wailea and the Four Seasons (which are rightfully thought of as some of the top luxury resorts in the world) by presenting a different lifestyle proposition: A modern, high-end setting where a worldclass staff seamlessly fulfills their guests' needs with Aloha, while fronting one of the most stunning beaches in the world. 

As such, it comes as no surprise that Conde Nast Traveler named it among the world's Best Beach Hotels on its 'Hot List 2014'. The other hotels on the list offer very different

With a deep emphasis on the luxury sector of Makena real estate, we remain diligent of all activity within the district as it may affect micro-market conditions. And the sale of two properties in the same boutique subdivision within a week of each other certainly raised some eyebrows.

Papa'anui at Makena is a small enclave of seven luxury properties with breathtaking, unobstructed ocean view corridors overlooking Makena Landing - an institution in it of itself. Prior to this week, the last sale was of 26 Uweloa in December 2012 for $8.28M and with rising market conditions across virtually every micro-market in South Maui, expectations were buoyant. 

makena home for sale

So with 38 Uweloa initially being listed for $7.4M, some argued that it would be absorbed but it

To best serve our clients interested in the Honua Kai Resort and Spa, we continue to post regularly updated information regarding micro-market conditions, trends, and what can be reasonably projected. As such, it worth noting two significant sales that will have an impact on the high end sector of Honua Kai condos.

honua kai konea 601

Konea's 601 is quite simply one of the most extraordinary condominiums on Maui. With unobstructed view corridors, privacy from being frontrow on the inner-most part, and unbelievable lanai featuring over 1,300 square feet of outdoor entertaintment space, it came as no surprise that it sold in such a short time - 4 months is comparatively short for sales in this price point. One of Honua Kai's finest masterpieces. Its sale recorded on

honua kai 1st quarter report 2014

By all accounts, the Maui real estate sector has seen another upward push in the first quarter of 2014, with the high end sector seeing the most significant improvements. But as conditions can vary widely from one micro-market to the next (even in adjacent properties), it is pertinent to look at how the Honua Kai condos micro market is doing so far in 2014, when compared to same time period in the previous year.

  • Sales Price - Looking at every metric available, sales prices at Honua Kai increased year over year. The first quarter of of 2013, the average sales price was $971,366, median sales price was $762,700, and the price per square foot was $949, whereas the first 3 months of 2014 saw those values increase to $1,137,281, S1,044,900 and $1,029

As one of the leading destinations in Maui, the Honua Kai resort attracts buyers from many different backgrounds who reside in many different areas. This week we had the pleasure of showing a foreign national from China a few of the most impressive units within the complex and the question arose as to the origin of other owners at this exclusive resort. In order to answer the question accurately, we researched all available tax records and came up with the following, which is reflective of all sales as recorded up to March 1st, 2014:

The first thing that jumps out is the high concentration of buyers from the great State of California, with a significant share of nearly half of all the owners. In addition, of the 93 foreign national owners, 88 are

Being in the midst of high season, the Maui real estate market is abuzz in activity. And as a luxury property with an increasing reputation as one of the leading vacation rental properties on Maui, the Honua Kai micro-market is certainly benefiting from the continued demand and decreasing developer inventory. The announcement that the developer would be increasing prices sent many potential buyers off the fence, with 9 of the 14 units set to have a price increase receiving a letter-of-intent prior to the February 28th deadline. Conditions at Honua Kai are at an interesting point in the micro-market evolution and it will be interesting to see how resales will move forward after all developer units are absorbed.

With that said, let us take a look at

REO's (foreclosures/bank-owned) in the Wailea / Makena real estate market have been a comparatively minimal aspect of the overall market as there have been very few (count them, a total of 9) REO's that have ever hit the market. And none of them have been in the upper-tier subdivisons. That is, until now. 

255 Noho Like Way has just been listed for $5.5M by Wailea Realty, thereby making it the highest-priced REO in the history of Maui. Offering 4,225 of interior living space, it is an exceptional home in arguably one of the most exclusive subdivisions on Maui. And with almost 1,000 square feet of covered lanai, the indoor / outdoor fusion is made seamless by the disappearing glass walls. Terraced high over the Wailea Blue Course, Wailea Highland is

With the micro-market at Honua Kai setting a scorching-hot pace through the past 18 months, both in terms of sustainable value increases and absorption rate, it came as no surprise that the developer announced prices will increase.

Since the announcement on February 10th that 14 units will be increased in priced effective February 28th, 9 of those subject units have already gone under contract. For those who have speculated that prices would dip reflective of a weaken Canadian dollar or that the absorption rate was unstainable, that has proven NOT to be the case. From anecdotal experience, we have been seeing well-priced units going into escrow quickly and the list-to-sold ratio continues to be among the strongest of any micro-market in West Maui.