Dear Readers:  

Aloha and welcome to September on Maui.  School bells have come to life throughout Maui as another educational year in Paradise begins. If you are planning to be here this month be prepared to eat, get fit and healthy. Sept. 9^th – 10^th “A Taste of Lahaina” Maui’s largest culinary festival celebrates 14 years of tasting dishes from new & popular Maui County restaurants; Sept 18^th “Maui Marathon” a point to point course from Kahului to Kaanapali runs along the Pacific Ocean; Sept 23^rd – 25^th “Lifefest Kapalua” the 2^nd annual event is Hawaii’s premier health and wellness event, educating the mind and rejuvenating the spirit. 

We had various questions, from both our website and mail, regarding the Maui real estate market and forecast.  Following please find my opinion. Information for graphs was provided by the Realtors Association of Maui and Bank of Hawaii.

Looking at the average residential home prices since 1995 there have been two major breakout points in terms of market momentum, January of 2002 and January of 2005.  A great number of the economic indicators suggest that we may be at the tail end of this latest market expansion, with approximately four to six months remaining before a plateau or possible downtrend could occur. With buyers more reluctant to purchase property at the “highly appreciated” prices and appraised values (in certain areas) falling short of sales prices the market is beginning to pause. Delinquent mortgage payments and potential foreclosure concerns have elevated many lending institutions to monitor very closely a growing number of loans. This is a result, in part, to three-year adjustable rate mortgages beginning to come due for adjustment.  Consumers purchased more home than they could perhaps afford with little down (80-100% loans) and the increase of approximately $100 or more per month has the potential to strain the monthly finances and put the consumer over the financial edge. This could be further exasperated with the Federal Reserve’s need to boost interest rates to attract/maintain foreign investment, because of a weak US dollar (compared to the Euro and Yen).

                Maui’s home price appreciation follows closely the California market, as shown in the graph (data provided by Bank of Hawaii) and indicates that we are due for a correction if past trends remain true.  

As always…Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read our magazine and or stopping by our web site (www.maui-style.com or www.livingmaui.com).  Your continued participation and support of our publication, in all forms, is essential to our success.  If you have specific real estate questions on any of the properties or services mentioned throughout our magazine, please call our advertisers directly.  We have the MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE ADVERTISERS AROUND!!  Let them know you saw their ad in “Real Estate Maui Style,” a genuine “Made on Maui” product.  The only UNIQUELY MAUI REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE with LivingMaui Magic!  See you in October.