Aloha & Good Morning!
The current Maui temperature today will be a high of 84 degrees with sunshine and a few clouds.
The housing inventory is so low that most of us in the real estate
business have never seen anything like it. At the top of the market in
2007 and 2008 we had 1,100 homes and 1,700 condos available at any given
time on Maui. Today those numbers are 661 and 917 respectively, with
about 200 of those in each category already in escrow. Yup, you saw that
right. There are currently only 460 homes and about 700 condos
available at this time in the entire County of Maui! Sellers are either
still “under water” (they owe the bank more than the value of the home)
or they are just waiting for prices to increase.Well, on Maui, as in the rest of the country, sellers are getting their way. Just last month the average price of homes sold increased by 27% when comparing August 2011 to August 2012. However, this has been happening predominantly in the lower end of the market. The change this month is that higher priced homes (over $600,000) are also starting to move more quickly and at higher prices. This is a difficult to demonstrate with statistics, but it’s what we’ve been experiencing for the past few weeks.
My colleagues and I all agree that this means there will be even more competition in the market this December when we see our heavy season of real estate buyers enter the market. I anticipate that the last quarter of the year will be dominated with multiple offers as the inventory will not support the amount of buyers that will be here to purchase Maui Real Estate.
There are other considerations for buyers to take note of this November. Not only is inventory low but you also need to be aware that effective November 1st there will be a rise a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee fees. I expect that these fees will be passed on to buyers by the lenders. Additionally, there will be new short-sale guidelines that also begin on November 1st. The new process should bring an increase in the number of short sales that enter the market.
This is the best time for sellers to get into the market because the buyers are there and ready to make an offer. When there is competition in the market that means that sellers have a better chance of selling their property at the price they are asking. Call me today if you want to talk about listing your property - - (808) 298-7850
I know there are many of you that are planning a trip to Maui this holiday season. If you want to get a jump on your property purchase you can use the Real Estate Sales Maui website to shop online and find your dream Maui property.
Click HERE to start shopping!
If you are looking for a good deal on airfare you should check out this article for $99 deals from several different cities across the US.
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Lender Corner by Craig Haueisen
Last Week In The News
New home sales rose 5.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000 units from a downwardly revised rate of 368,000 units in August. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 27.1% compared with September 2011. At the current sales pace, there's a 4.5-month supply of new homes on the market.
The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for October's final reading rose to 82.6, the highest level in five years.
Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose $19.6 billion or 9.9% to $218.2 billion in September. This increase follows a revised 13.1% decrease in August. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, September orders posted a monthly increase of 2%.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending October 19 fell 12%. Refinancing applications decreased 13%. Purchase volume fell 8%.
Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 0.3% in September after a 2.6% decrease in August. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales were up 14.5% compared with September 2011.
The Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 2% in the third quarter of 2012. This follows a 1.3% pace of growth in the second quarter of 2012.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending October 20 fell by 23,000 to 369,000. Continuing claims for the week ending October 13 fell by 2,000 to 3.25 million.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on the housing price index on October 30 and construction spending on November 1.
Craig Haueisen is a Loan Officer with Prospect Mortgage. Please feel free to email him or call him for any of your Mortgage needs.
Office: 808-298-7549 or Email: craig.haueisen@prospectmtg.com
Click here to visit Craig's website and apply online: http://myprospectmortgage.com/CHaueisen
