The Maui News said it pretty well in this article - “Maui’s Foreclosure Picture – Not Pretty”.
I haven’t done a report in a few months because there hasn’t been much to report. I always run my trends reports and review them but when there’s nothing to say, I may not blog about it. What I am going to blog about this month is to highlight that we’ve seen a big peak in foreclosure auctions and the number of bank owned properties is going up. Specifically, in the foreclosure trends chart below I’m talking about the blue bars which is the number of active and pending bank owned properties and the yellow bars which is the number of foreclosure auctions scheduled as listed in the Maui News.
For months, I’ve been saying that the pending inventory prices on condos is very low which indicates that prices are dropping. The pending median for condos is at 69% which indicates a possible additional 30% drop in prices in the next few months as these transactions close. From what I’ve seen, the actual numbers are not usually as bad but the downward trend does continue. There are a few more vacation rentals coming up as bank-owned.
Is this bad news for everyone? No, generally our market is more normal than it has been in years. Our tourist numbers are up which are the first sign of recovering economy. I’m getting a few inquiries each week from people testing the waters – what can I get for $200,000? People do want to own property in Maui. Sales have been relatively stable since coming off the April peak caused by the 1st time home-buyers credit. There are some great deals out there. Investors looking for cashflow? We have properties. People looking for a 2nd home or vacation condo that won’t break them? We have them. First time buyers – even without the credits, it is a magical time to buy. If you have a steady job and want to upgrade; the opportunities are great. Unlike a year ago when little was selling, we now have limited inventory in many areas. So the question for potential buyers is: If not now, when?
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