The Chinese government is taking steps to bolster the country's economy in ways that will encourage investment in offshore property.  These steps include releasing controls on China's currency, the renminbi, over the next few years, which will make it easier for investors to move significant amounts of money overseas.  The Chinese that investing in international properties are already very property rich in China.  They are looking to invest in destination properties.  The places they go on holiday are the places where they're inclined to buy property.  Hawaii could also gain from an increase in allocation to real estate by Japanese pension funds.  Change is expected within Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (the world's largest pension), allocating up to 5% of its $1.2 trillion worth of assets into alternative investments, including real estate.

Nearly half of all residential purchases in Hawaii were all-cash transactions during the third quarter.  The trend was similar in Maui, where all-cash transactions made up 47.9% of all home and condo sales during the third quarter ... up from 34.2% during the same time last year.

Sales of single-family homes in Maui soared 25% last month to 105 sold in October, compared to 84 sold in October 2014. The median price of those home also rose by 3.3% over October of last year.  Condominium sales on Maui picked up by 10.5% with 105 units sold last month, compared to 95 sold during the same month last year.  The median price fell however by 6.2%.

If we widen the scope and look at year to date sales (January through October), single-family homes on Maui picked up by 15% with a 3% increase in median sales price compared to the same period last year.  The year-to-date condominium sales on Maui also picked up slightly by 1%, with the median sales price dropping by 3% during the same time period in 2014.