The Lahaina real estate market, a major component of the larger Maui housing market, is showing signs of a possible recovery despite a slower than expected rate of recovery nationwide. A July 13, 2010 report from Hawaii News Now noted that “Buyers closed on 77 home sales and 105 condo sales in June, amid some indications of a modest pricing rebound. The median home price, $499,000, was $57,000 more than May and $4,000 higher even than year-ago prices. There were 25 home sales on the central plain, 10 in Kihei, seven in Pukalani, seven in Lahaina, and the rest scattered around Maui. (Neither Molokai nor Lanai saw any home sales go to closing in June.) The condo median was $430,000, up $20,000 from May but still $39,000 below year-ago levels. There was a wide variety of condo prices, with 25 condos selling on the Kaanapali Coast, most for more than $800,000, while 34 sold in Kihei, most for less than $300,000. "The market is starting to turn," said Terry Tolman, chief staff executive for the Realtors Association of Maui, in a report to members. "Interest rates are remaining near historic lows." Tolman sees the market as strong considering that short sales and bank sales are still moving through the pipeline - these can bring prices down - but warns that unrealistic sellers who price their properties too high are being ignored by prospective buyers. This wraps up the June round of home sales reports. Earlier reports from the Honolulu Board of Realtors and Hawaii Information Service (Kauai and the Big Island) also showed a resurgent housing market with more resilient home price values than on the mainland.”
The relative strength of Maui homes for sale is indicative of a larger trend in the Hawaii housing market. Along with the rest of the Valley Island and the Aloha State, the Lahaina real estate market remained stronger than the rest of the country, despite relatively high rates of foreclosure. It is unclear, however, exactly how much of the strength of the recovery is a result of the recently expired federal homebuyers tax credit.