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April, 2006 - Newsletter for the Maui Market
Sorry the newsletter is a little late but I was up at Lake
Tahoe for a family reunion and some great skiing. I had not
skied for twenty five years but discovered if the body is
willing the skills return quickly.
Don't forget; if you currently own a property and would like
to be notified when there is a new listing in your particular
complex, we can set you up to automatically receive
the new listings via email. The service is also available
for those interested in purchasing a condominium, home, land
or other property. If you provide me with your first and last
name, your email address, and the condo complex you wish to
be notified of, we can program the system to notify you as
new listings become available.
At the beginning of July, 2005 there were 165 condominiums
for sale in the West Maui area and the total value was $159,356,997.00;
August, 2005 there were 166 condominiums for sale with total
value of $154,446,497.00; September, 2005 there were 176 condominiums
for sale total with value of $163,215,390.00; October, 2005
there were 177 condominiums for sale with total value of $168,464,220.00;
November, 2005 there were 199 condominiums for sale with the
total value of $188,377,265.00; December, 2005 there were
231 condominiums for sale with the total value of $222,669,115.00;
January, 2006 there were 226 condominiums for sale with the
total value of $226,520,200.00; February, 2006 there were
280 condominiums for sale with the total value of $281,793,835.00;March,
2006 there were 297 condominiums for sale in the West Maui
area with the total value is $286,082,559.00; and
at the beginning of April, 2006 there are 350 condominiums
for sale in the West Maui area and the total value is $317,599,199.00.
The condominium for sale inventory since July, 2005 has been
as low as 165 and is up to 350 for April 1, 2006.
For sale inventory continues to increase.
The total condominium sales for West Maui during the month
of August, 2005 was 40 and the total value was $21,749,104.00;
for the month of September, 2005 total condominium sales was
51 and the total value was $36,318,521.00; for the month of
October, 2005 total condominium sales was 32 and the total
value was $18,973,291.00; for the month of November, 2005
total condominium sales was 38 and the total value was $28,453,380.60;
for the month of December, 2005 total condominium sales was
43 and the total value was $25,171,967; for the month of January,
2006 total condominium sales was 36 and the total value was
$23,362,643.00; for the month of February, 2006 total condominium
sales were 44 and the total value was $30,594,578.00; and
for the month of March, 2006 total condominium sales
were 36 and the total value was $30,194,584.00 The
total condominium sales for August, 2005 was 40; September,
2005 was 51; October, 2005 was 32; November, 2005 was 38;
December, 2005 was 43; January, 2006 was 36; February, 2006
was 44; and March, 2006 was 36.
For previous condo sale details go to our web site, www.JamesBFoster.com
and click on Condo Sales. For the time period of 1/1/2006
to 2/28/2006 the average price for a home on Maui
was $1,010,312.00 which is up 9% from a year ago
when the price was $930,762.00. For the same time period the
average price for a fee simple condo on Maui was $602,417.00
which is up 12% from a year ago for the same time period according
to the RAM statistics.
We have gone in to the MLS data base and pulled information
for 2000 through 2005. In 2000 - 654 condominiums
sold in the W. Maui area for a total value of $209,064,010;
in 2001 - 605 condominiums sold for a total
value of $271,681,337; in 2002 - 730 condominiums
sold for a total value of $240,178,915; in 2003
- 737 condominiums sold for a total value of $319,748,466;
In 2004 - 698 condominiums sold for a total
value of $374,342,467; and in 2005 - 672
condominiums for a total value of $402,340,315.00. To date
for 2006 (January thru March) 129
condominiums have sold for a total value of $92,896,805.00.
Mortgage Rates as of 4/3/06 From Central
Pacific Home Loans – House/Condo: 6.00% 30yr fixed 2.0
pts (6.23 APR) 6.25% 30yr fixed 1.0 pt (6.38 APR) No Docs:
6.25% 30yr fixed 1.0 pt (6.38 APR) House/Condo: 5.875% 15yr
fixed 1.0 pt (6.0 APR) Condotel: 6.25% 30yr fixed 1.0 pt (6.38
APR) Interest Only: 6.50% 30yr fixed 1.0 pt (6.38 APR) $1M
Stated Income: 6.625%, 30yr 1.0 pt (6.75 APR) No Income, 80/20
& Stated Land loans (Pts incl. origination)
If you would like to view the most current sales statistics
for Maui or West Maui Condominiums, you can go to my web site
www.JamesBFoster.com
and click on Condo Sales in the upper left corner of the home
page. If there are any specific condominium complexes that
you wish to be notified by email when a condominium becomes
available for sale, send me an email as I check the MLS data
about four times daily and if a new listing comes on the market
I immediately notify any clients who have requested that information.
Many owners also like to track what the units are selling
for in the building where they own which they can do from
my site.
The wet weather in Hawaii has been all
over the news of late. There is some good news though, as
the prognosticators point out that later this coming weekend
and into next week, our weather will return to its usual outstanding
qualities!
Lahainaluna High School first opened 175 years ago
when it was the capital of the kingdom of Hawaii and a bustling
seaport for the Pacific whaling fleet. Andrew Jackson was
the seventh president of the United States and there were
only 24 states in the union and Lahainaluna was the only high
school west of the Rocky Mountains.
So Lahainaluna High School is having its 175th anniversary
celebration with public tours of the Lahainaluna campus and
a special archive display was created to mark the special
occasion. Some of the highlights of festivities will be a
parade at 5 p.m. Friday, April 7th in Lahaina town, a luau
on the school’s athletic field at 5 p.m. Saturday, April
8th and followed by the annual David Malo Day pageant at 6:30
p.m.
The Lahaina Bypass road project is intended
to improve access to Lahainaluna Road and reduce traffic congestion.
The first phase of the Lahaina Bypass involves the state extending
Ikena Avenue toward the Lahaina Business Park and building
a bridge over Kahoma Stream. The county would extend Keawe
Street mauka to join the new roadway. In the 1990s, the DOT
amended plans to extend the bypass from Honokowai, and later
Launiupoko. In early March, 2006 at meeting of the “Bypass
Now Group”, a state official noted that the Lahaina
Bypass will be built with state and federal funds, and constructed
to state and federal standards, so the project will be subject
to the federal EIS review process and its lengthy timeframes
for agency and community input.
The project is expected to cost over $250 Million. When the
Lahainaluna-Keawe Street segment is under way, the DOT will
pursue a second phase to connect Lahainaluna Road to Launiupoko.
A new group in the West Maui area has been formed, “Bypass
Now” and a web site is in process for www.ByPassNow.com
but is not currently activated. Community involvement is critical
to keep the project moving towards a start and eventual completion.
Real Estate Tips
As we have said on previous occasions, the Maui and Hawaii
markets typically follow the trends on the West Coast and
California in particular. In California the next two years
we will probably see problems in the housing market and job
loss in related sectors, with a plateau in home prices, a
slowing in sales and new construction contributing to weak
growth. This will contribute to job loss as high as 200,000
in California with downward pressure on the real estate market
and prices. It is estimated that in California there are approximately
500,000 real estate agents or brokers.
Another factor that will likely contribute to a slowing real
estate market is the nation's bank regulators will possibly
issue draft rules that will take effect this spring requiring
banks to tighten loan requirements where the consumer isn't
required to pay principal up front. That's going to tighten
credit in the high cost markets, reduce demand for housing
and put downward pressure on home prices.
The escrow /closing process and costs –
If you are a buyer or seller, you need to obtain an estimate
of what your costs are going to be prior to closing and preferably
when an offer is submitted.
The State of Hawaii has a Conveyance Tax (transfer tax) (Form
P-64A & P64B) for condominiums or single family residences
for which the purchaser is ineligible for a county homeowner’s
exemption on property tax of fifteen cents per $100 of valuation
for properties less than $600,000; twenty-five cents per $100
of valuation for properties from $600,000 but less than $1,000,000;
and thirty-five cents per $100 of valuation for properties
with a valuation of $1,000,000 or more.
You can have your agent obtain the costs of escrow and title
insurance and other miscellaneous items.
The other costs that need to be determined are the commissions,
HARPTA (Hawaii Real Property Tax Act - Hawaii Capital Gain)
and if the seller is not a U.S. Citizen, Foreign Investment
in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). As either a Buyer you should
know what your approximate costs to purchase are going to
be and as a Seller you approximate need proceeds and how you
might minimize the tax impact of selling.
For those of you who enjoy or use the internet on a regular
basis or use your computer frequently, here are some interesting
web sites you may want to visit.
http://www.earthcam.com/
How about a cheap vacation via live web cams with the most
comprehensive search engine web cams? Visit the Millennium
Wheel – Egyptian Pyramids or just use your imagination.
You can search by keyword or simply browse through the categories
and subcategories. You can see what is happening around the
world right now -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
http://www.pandora.com/
If you love music, use this site to enjoy the type of music
you identify – exactly as you ordered it. No downloads
– no cost – just a little advertising. Type in
the name of one of your favorite songs or artists a “station”
appears that plays songs that are musically similar to the
song title or artist you provided. This site is one of the
best, try it!
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/
Here’s a site with comprehensive government-wide information
on pandemic and avian influenza you can use inn the event
of a pandemic. An “Individual Planning” tab leads
to directly pertinent information including checklists, fill-in
sheets for family health information and emergency contact
information.
http://picasa.google.com/
If your photo collection needs organizing, Google has come
up with a neat program that will get your collection organized
with the click of a mouse. The program is free and helps you
instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your computer.
The program doesn’t move or change your photos -- just
finds them all (even ones you forgot all about) and gets them
organized (usually a heck of a lot better than you had them).
http://www.komando.com/
This is a great site for staying current on new technology,
new software and internet issues.
Kindest Regards,
Jim Foster
Chase 'N Rainbows Real Estate, Inc.
P.O. Box 10398
Lahaina , HI 96761
Toll Free 888-661-7994
Direct Line 808-661-7994
Cell 808-870-5858
Fax 808-667-2957
Real Estate for Sale www.jamesbfoster.com
Vacation Rental www.chasenrainbows.com
Email jim@jamesbfoster.com
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