Mahana Update
August 2015 

LOCAL MAUI NEWS
Aloha Fellow Mahana Owners!
     
Next week is the big 2015 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. While the 9 day festival takes place on three Islands, Maui will be hosting events for 3 days: Sept 4 Roy's 18th Annual Golf Tournament on the Kaanapali Royal Course, Sept 5 Farmers Market at Whalers Village followed by the Moscow Mule Mixology at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, and then Maui On My Mind featuring 9 Chefs at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. The Sept 6 Signature Event will celebrate the "Legend of Shep Gordon" at the Hyatt Regency. Click here for Schedule/Tickets.  
   
Golf clubs - tennis racquets?  Why not fit both into your weekend.  The
34th Annual Kapalua Open Tennis Championships that same weekend Sept 5 - 7. You can get all the details here.   I'm going to go ahead and mention a couple of other things coming up, because they tend to get sold out.  If you've got kids you might want to check out the Keiki Tilapia Fishing Tournament Sept 27th at the Kaanapali Golf Course pond. Details  

Word has it that a couple of national stores are coming to Maui.  Both Bath & Body Works, and Victoria's Secret will be coming to Maui's Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului this fall.  Speaking of word ... word is out on the record-shattering $41.8 million Maui home sale. The sale totally eclipsed the record $27 million sale in July 2011, and the third-highest residential home sale on Maui of $23 million in December 2012.  The sale of the unique property is considered  a sort of one-off anomaly, and shouldn't affect future sales.
       CURRENT MARKET ANALYSIS
On the national front, fewer buyers are paying all cash for real estate.  The percentage of cash sales now matches the lowest share since 2009.  The nationwide inventory crunch has pushed up home prices year-over-year in 93% of the country's 176 major metro areas during the second quarter.  According to the National Association of Realtors, "steady rent increases and the slow rise in mortgage rates fueled demand throughout most of the country, while overall supply failed to keep up and pushed prices higher. 

Last month I discussed the impact of foreign investment in Hawaii.  On the national scene, foreign investment is poised to set a record in commercial real estate.  The CoStar Group has estimated foreign commercial transactions for the first half of the year at nearly $39 billion.  The Chinese investors are more active than any other foreign buyers.

Here on Maui, home and condominium sales rose by double digits last month, while prices for both single-family homes and condos rose by single digits.  There were 128 single-family homes sold last month, a 28% increase over July 2014.  The median price rose 3% compared to the same month last year.  Condominium sales totaled 94 last month, a 13% increase over July 2014.  The median price of a condo increased 5% over the same month last year.

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

STATUS
UNIT
BD
BA
LIST $
SOLD $
CLOSE
*Active
214
1
1
769,000
Active
714
1
1
820,000
Active
207
1
1
839,000
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
1,229,000
* Active
701
2
2
1,699,000
Sold
118
1
1
975,000
920,000
06/30/15
Sold
1215
1
2
850,000
849,000
02/20/15
* Sold
1008
1
1
995,000
965,000
07/30/15
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
* new listing
* $ reduced
* new sale
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
TOURISM and TRAVEL
Hawaiian Airlines had a great July.  They flew more than 1 million passengers last month - a 5.2% increase over July 2014.   As you know it's back to school time, and a lot of families are already planning their holiday vacations.  Believe me, it's not too early to start booking things now.  Here are some of the increased flights that'll be available then:  Virgin America will begin flights from San Francisco to Honolulu in November and to Maui in December. Hawaiian Airlines will add more flights between Los Angeles and Maui for the holidays.  In addition to the daily service they have now, Hawaiian will add a 4 times a week flight between Dec. 17 - Jan. 3.  I will continue to update this portion as news becomes available.

Occupancy at Hawaii Hotels increased on all islands last week. Statewide occupancy increased to 85.5% and the average room rates rose to $268.76.  Maui's occupancy rose by 7.4% to 81.6%, while the average daily rate rose 4.2% to $330.71, the highest in the Islands.
     MORTGAGES
Dean ... nah
I'd love to tell you that the picture at left is a self-portrait of my go-to guy in the mortgage industry  Dean Rathbun of Avis Mortgage. But it's not true (bah humbug), and Dean wants to get to some important information he has to share with you.  Lenders are trying to capture more of the high-end housing market, and a lot of them are falling in line to loosen their underwriting standards for issuing jumbo mortgages. Jumbos are loans that exceed $417,000 in most parts of the country or $625,000 in pricier areas.  They are lowering their minimum FICO credit scores on primary single-family purchases, second homes, and some refinances.  They are also lowering their down payment requirements.

If you're a regular reader of these updates, you know Dean has spoken about a new mortgage lending rule going into effect October 3rd - the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (also known as the "Know Before You Owe" rule).  Because of that new rule, banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America have announced they're discontinuing Home Equity Loans - a one-time lump sum loan.  Those loans will be required to comply with the new Rules going into effect Oct. 3rd.   However, HELOCs (home equity line of credit) will not be subject to the new rules, and will continue to be offered.
GREEN
Blue Ion 
Last month I spoke extensively about how the future of Hawaii's renewable energy scene will depend heavily on new technologies including energy storage.  SolarCity has been working with Tesla's new battery storage system.   Now Tesla's got some competition from Hawaii serial entrepreneur Henk Rogers.  He teamed up with Sony Electronics on the "Blue Ion" energy storage system pictured at right.  Tesla has some pre-set packages ... more one size fits all.  But sales are going nutso with the "Blue Ion" as they are customizing every system with a goal of taking homes off the grid.

A joint effort between the University of Hawaii and Australian Institute of Marine Science has received support from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for their coral restoration project.  The goal is to develop highly resilient coral strains that can withstand harsh climates to replace diminishing coral populations around the globe.

The Hawaii state Energy Office has said that a state tax credit for electric vehicles in very unlikely.  (The Federal tax credit still exists).  However, Hawaiian Electric Co. is proposing discounted electric vehicle charging rates. The utility is hoping to make greater use of the excess of electricity generated by rooftop solar systems during the middle of the day.  Another "anxiety" preventing some folks from buying an electric vehicle ... is the driving range.  So the utility is also installing another 25 Fast Chargers to help alleviate that.

The state of Hawaii just signed a major agreement with Korea's leading energy technology institute to collaboratively work on test projects in the state.  The tests will be done on packaged batteries, inverters and panels for homes, and the use of fuel cells.

NextEra Energy has submitted plans for a $4.3 billion development of a 60-megawatt wind farm on the southern slopes of Haleakala.  A decision to lease the land, is expected by the Hawaiian Homes Commission in November.   Maui Electric Co. has signed power purchase agreements with Maui-based developers for two major solar farms - the first projects of its kind on Maui.  Plans are for a 2.87-megawatt project near the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kihei. A second  2.87-megawatt project is planned in Lahaina near Lahainaluna School.  The nearly 6-megawatts of solar power they bring to Maui Electric's grid will be priced at 11.06 cents per kilowatt-hour.  Maui's 2014 average monthly rate for residential customers was 37.83 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Maui Paddle for a Cure
                             
MAUI HAPPENINGS

thru Oct 31: Leilani Farm Sanctuary Tour reservations
8/26: Roger McGuinn of the Byrds Concert tickets
8/29: Kula Shofukuji Mission Obon Festival  7:30pm
9/4-6 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival MAUI
9/5-7: 34th Annual Kapalua Open Tennis Championships details
9/25-26: Chinese Moon Festival Lahaina celebration
9/27: Kaanapali Keiki Tilapia Fishing Tournament info
10/3: Maui Paddle for a Cure  Kaanapali Beach details

Maui Arts & Cultural Center tickets
8/28-30: Evita
9/4: Chris D'Elia   comedy
9/5: Heritage Film Festival:  "Project Kuleana"
9/9: Movies for Grown-ups:  "I'll See You In My Dreams"  free
9/10: The Life & Music of John Kamealoa Almeida   hula
9/10-12:  10th Annual Hula Competition
9/19: "Arise"  Film & Music benefit for mental health
9/23:"Upaj/Improvise"  film on India Jazz Suites
9/24: Maui Comedy Festival  Sinbad

As always, I thank you for reading my monthly update.  Hopefully, you've found it informative and entertaining.  I'd also like to invite you to visit my new website - see what you think.
       
In the meantime, remember I've 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. As Broker/Owner of Berkshire Hathaway Maui Properties, Hawaii's only Berkshire Hathaway brokerage, I am available to you 7 days a week.  Aloha!

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