Maui’s March home prices tie record of $980,000

Inventory continues to plummet for single-family houses, condos

Maui County single-family home median sales prices in March tied the all-time high of $980,000 set in January, according to the latest report from the Realtors Association of Maui.

March is the third consecutive month of record-setting or near-record median home prices. February hit $895,000, the second-highest median on record.

Last month’s single-family median sales price increased 17.4 percent year over year.

Before 2021, the previous record of $867,500 was set in October. December and November came just shy at $859,000 and $852,500, respectively.

RAM data for median sales price, the point at which half of the sales sold for more and half sold for less in a given month, dates back to 1993.

Meanwhile, single-family home inventory continued to plummet, with March dropping 54 percent year over year to 221 units — the lowest on record, according to data that goes back to 2010. February was amended to 235 units and January was at 277 units.

Inventory, the number of properties available for sale in active status at the end of a given month, has been dwindling month over month since the start of last year. In fact, inventory had already been dropping in 2019 — where record low months were in the 400-unit range.

Buyers are continuing to snap up whatever homes are available, with days on the market decreasing 10 percent from the same time last year to 117 days and closed sales increasing 34 percent to 122 units.

Sellers are raking in 98.9 percent of list price, a 2.2 increase over last year.

Meanwhile, the median price for condominiums in March increased about 15 percent year over year to $640,000.

Inventory for condos also dropped 37.7 percent to 359 units.

Closed sales shot up 42.2 percent to 229 units, with days on the market for sale decreasing 2.7 percent to 146.

Sellers are getting 97.3 percent of list price, which is relatively the same as in March 2020.

The biggest-ticket singlefamily homes sold in well over the $1 million range on Maui. One unit sold for $4.85 million in Kapalua, six units with a median of $3.8 million sold in Lahaina and six units with a median of $3.7 million sold in Wailea/Makena.

On the lower end, four units sold on Molokai with a median of $472,500, 15 with a median of $750,000 sold in Wailuku and 18 in Kahului sold with a median of $755,000.

For condominiums, the highest prices were in Wailea/Makena, where 44 units with a median of $1.4 million were sold; Kaanapali, where 24 units with a median of $1.2 million were sold; and Kapalua, where nine units with a median of $1.1 million were sold.

The lower-priced areas were Molokai, where four units sold with a median of $155,000; Kahului, where one sold for $180,000; and Wailuku, where 11 sold with a median of $427,000.

The Realtors Association of Maui said in its report that March produced a very busy real estate market as buyer demand continued “largely unabated” in the face of rising home prices and mortgage rates.

“Existing home seller and new construction activity continue to remain below levels necessary to bring the market back into balance, pointing to a busy and competitive buyer market in the coming months,” the report said.

It also said the cost of lumber and other materials, along with a backlogged supply chain, continue to limit new home construction and have led to significant spikes in construction costs.

“New methods of construction, including 3-D printed homes, could speed construction and reduce costs in the future, but realistically are several years away from making a measurable impact in the market,” the report said.