Mahana Update
June 2015 

LOCAL MAUI NEWS
Haleakala Nat'l Park
Aloha Fellow Mahana Owners!
     
If you're planning a trip up to Haleakala National Park ... you're going to notice a hike in their pricing.  Is it gonna break ya?  Nah ... New prices: $15 for a 3 day vehicle pass, $10 for motorcycle, $8 per pedestrian, cyclist or tour van entrance fees.     17 Hawaii restaurants have been listed among Open Table's top 100 al fresco (outdoor dining) restaurants in the country ... 6 of them right here on Maui! Lahaina: Duke's Beach House, Frida's Mexican Beach House, Pacifico Restaurant Kaanapali: Hula Grill   Wailea: Ferarro's Bar e Ristorante & Gannon's. New cell phone service headed to Hawaii! Goggle's "Project Fi" new cell phone service will blend Wi-Fi and cell networks together partnering with Sprint and T-Mobile.   And, Hawaii has become the first state in the nation to prohibit the sale of tobacco products AND e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21.
          
Just like the original 1993 flick "Jurassic Park", many of the non-studio filming locations for Jurassic World were Hawaii-based.  Stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard ran with the dinosaurs in our Islands from April to June 2014.    Did you catch Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" show on CNN June 14th?  If not, look for reruns because a lot of it was filmed on Maui.  He canoe surfs with a local Maui family, eats plate lunch at Tasty Crust in Wailuku, and enjoys imu pig at a party at Shep Gordon's Maui home.   Maui County includes the islands of Lanai and Molokai.  Larry Ellison released an updated Lanai community plan that will now include a 546-acre mixed-use residential development, a 50-acre tennis academy with dorms, a 524-acre university and research institute, a 22-acre film studio and he'll add 50 acres to the existing airport with a 500-foot runway extension.   Over on Molokai, Molokai Ranch is planning to redevelop and reopen 2 hotels ... Kaluakoi hotel and Maunaloa Lodge.
                       
CURRENT MARKET ANALYSIS
At the midpoint of 2015, the national residential real estate market is on track for its best year since the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 ... this time it's not a housing bubble.   At the end of the 1st quarter, nationally 90% of home owners with a mortgage now have Equity in their property.   Here in Hawaii that number is now 96.9%.  It used to be that Canadians were the dominant foreign home purchasers in the United States, but according to a new report released by the National Association of Realtors, the Chinese buyers have surpassed them.  And the Chinese buyers aren't just buying more properties, they're also spending more than other international buyers too.  Check out these numbers: The average U.S. home price is $255,600 ... While the average international buyer spent $499,600 on a property ... Chinese buyers averaged $831,800 on a property & Canadians $380,300.  Okay, so we know China and Canada are #1 & 2 with China purchasing $28.6 billion worth of U.S. property last year followed by Canada with $11.2 billion.  #3 is INDIA at $7.9 billion; #4 MEXICO with $4.9 billion; and the UNITED KINGDOM at $3.8 billion.
              
Here on Maui we can see the steady improvement in the market when we compare May's figures to the month before - April.  The median price of a single-family home last month rose to $607,098. Sales were steady at 88.  Condominiums sales rose slightly to 109 units. Median condo prices rose to $469,000. 
                 
We can widen out the picture a bit by looking at the 1st five months of the year.  Since January, the median sales price for condominiums increased by 5% to $440,000 compared to $420,000 in the same time period  last year.  Year-to-date condo sales declined 9% to 513 units sold, from 563 last year.   Single-family home sales through May rose 8% to 394 homes from 365 last year. The year-to-date median price increased by 3% to $595,000 so far this year, compared to $575,000 between January and May 2014.

Let's take a look at The Mahana: figures from the Realtors Assoc. of Maui

STATUS

UNIT

BD

BA

LIST $

SOLD $

CLOSE

Active

M604

1

1

875,000

Active

606

1

1

895,000

Active

418

1

1

925,000

Active

715

1

2

889,950

Active

505

1

2

969,500

Active

219

2

2

1,244,000

Sold

1215

1

2

850,000

849,000

02/20/15

Sold

L811

2

2

1,200,000

1,025,000

05/04/15

Sold

611

2

2

1,295,000

1,250,000

02/27/15

Sold

909

2

2

1,375,000

1,225,000

03/24/15


TOURISM
It is officially Summer now. Much of the mainland had a harsh Winter and less than kind Spring, and are heading to warm weather for their vacations.  Not surprising that a new report from AAA says Hawaii is among the Top 5 summer vacation destinations in the U.S. (Florida filled 3 spots and Myrtle Beach, S. Carolina came in at 5th).  Hawaii Govenor David Ige spent all last week in Japan discussing Hawaii as a tourism destination with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's plan to open pre-clearance operations in Tokyo could open new flights to Hawaii from Japan.  There are currently 18 daily flights from Japan to Hawaii that bring in some 1.5 million visitors to the Islands each year, who spend $2.4 billion.  Japan accounts for 47.5% of all international travelers to Hawaii. 
              
Hotels across Hawaii saw higher occupancy and higher average daily room rates last week. Statewide occupancy grew by 7.5% to 83.9%, while average room rates rose to $239.30. Maui led the state with average room rates at $294.75 a night.  Occupany jumped 12.5% to 80%.
TRAVEL
After all the hub-bub of airlines racing to get those new sharklet winged planes, turns out American Airlines will the leader of the pack with their new A321 fleet out of Los Angeles starting to arrive in Hawaii this August.  Virgin America will begin using their A320 fleet (a shorter version of the A321), to Hawaii in November.
        
Hawaii airports will be busy this summer as the number of scheduled nonstop air seats to the Islands is expected to rise 7.1% year-over-year to 3.19 million for June through August, according to data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.  Domestic airlift is projected to rise 8.4% while international air seats will increase 3.9%.  Neighbor Island airports like Kahului Airport here on Maui will actually see a 15.7% growth in air seats.  Internationally, new or additional flights have been introduced by Air Canada Rouge, All Nippon Airways, Jetstar Airways, Philippine Airlines and Qantas.  Domestic carriers introducing new routes or increasing frequency include American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines.
                  
In the Tourism section above, I spoke about the new Pre-clearance Status for Japan and how it will increase tourism to Hawaii.  It's important to note that this new status will also allow for DIRECT Travel from Narita to the Neighbor Islands without having to transit at Honolulu International Airport.
   MORTGAGES
I don't think I have to remind anyone that it's been over 7 years since the beginning of the mortgage crisis.  The reason I mention it, is that many home owners negatively impacted by it, are coming back to the table.  About 1.5 million "boomerang buyers" will be re-entering the housing market within the next three years.  Based on a new study by TransUnion, that number could swell to 2.2 million within five years.
            
But really, the big news in the mortgage arena this week is the Federal Reserve's vote on the rate change.  At this point I bring out the big guns and turn it over to an expert  Dean shared that it was a unanimous vote by the Fed to leave the benchmark rate unchanged at zero.  While a lot of folks were braced for a rate hike this month ... the Federal Reserve hinted that a raise is expected to occur sometime later this year.  When?  The Fed said the timing will largely depend on the economic recovery.  They're looking for inflation to move back to its 2% objective over the medium term.   The American Bankers Association's economic advisory committee thinks the Fed won't start raising interest rates until at least September.  However, 4 of the panel's 15 members think the Fed will wait until December.
GREEN
The Navy has begun a year-long test in our waters ... The "Azura"wave energy device.   Various types of renewable energy projects in Hawaii may be built on agricultural lands ... but hydroelectric facilities is not currently one of them.  That may change because a bill is sitting on Governor David Ige's desk waiting for his signature. Let me tell ya, the Governor's been giving his digits a work out in the ecology arena.  Already this month he's signed a bill, 1st in the nation I may add, that sets the goal of the state reaching 100% renewable energy by 2045. Another first in the nation bill he signed would have the University of Hawaii become net zero with respect to energy use by Jan. 1, 2035.   And while the state of Vermont beat us to it, Hawaii is the 2nd state to establish an "Environmental Court" in the United States!   On July 1st, Hawaii will join the club of over 350 environment courts in 41 different countries around the globe.

The Navy isn't the only one looking at testing our waters for renewable power sources.  Federal, state and city agencies are looking at the possibility of the Islands hosting the first floating offshore wind farm in the United States.  We're eyeing Denmark's Alpha Wind Energy plan that includes more than 100 turbines.
Hawaii unveiled details of our major transportation energy plan: It's to reduce petroleum use by up to 100 million gallons a year by 2030.  There are over 22 different strategies including following EcoCab Hawaii's example and replacing all gas-powered taxis with hybrids, carpooling benefits, dedicated parking for carsharing, rebate programs for electric vehicles & charging, and a statewide bike sharing program.  They're also talking about replacing the way vehicle registration taxes & fees are calculated.  Drivers would be required to have annual odometer readings and be charged 1.1 cents per mile traveled.   And you know how I was talking about those airplane sharklet wings in the "Travel" section above?  Well the state is even considering providing financial support for winglet retrofits.
Obon Festival
                             
MAUI HAPPENINGS

July-Aug: Maui OBON Festival schedule
July 10-Aug 2: The Adams Family Maui Onstage tickets
July 17-18: 9th Annual Build-A-Thon 

Maui Arts & Cultural Center tickets
6/26: Zenshin Daiko - 16th Annual Taiko Festival
6/27: Hula Show
6/28: Ki Ho'alu Festival  slack key guitar
7/1:   Jazz Maui 2015
7/2:   Michelle Branch  concert
7/9:   Maui Comedy Festival  Jim Jeffries
7/11:  Na Hoku Hou! Award-Winners  concert
7/16: Christopher Kaui Morgan's Pohaku  dance theater
7/17:  Starry Night Cinema   outdoor movie "Frozen"
7/24-25: The Mayjah Rayjah 2015   Reggae Music Festival
7/24-25: Sesame Street Live:  Let's Dance
7/31:  Society of Seven in concert

I have been a full time Real Estate Specialist since 1987 and have closed over $1.5 billion in Maui real estate sales.  I'm also a fellow Mahana owner.  If you're trying to feel out the market I'd be happy to give you a free estimate of the value of your current property.  If you're looking to add to your real estate portfolio, nobody knows this market better than I do.  As Broker/Owner of Berkshire Hathaway Maui Properties, Hawaii's only Berkshire Hathaway brokerage, I am available to you 7 days a week.

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