Third Quarter 2014 Honua Kai Real Estate Market Update

The sales activity in the third quarter of 2014 at the Honua Kai Resort in Ka’anapali defies the overall trend of things slowing down a bit in the Maui marketplace. I think the main thing to attribute to this is the fact that there is just such a huge pent up demand for Honua Kai condos, and now many sellers who took advantage of the developer’s aggressive sales strategy between 2011-2013 now have substantial equity and are taking advantage of this by cashing out on their investment property.

Developer sales are slowing as the inventory diminishes, but there is still about $100 million in developer held inventory, in two and three bedroom units. The developer sales are less frequent but at a higher price point as a function of available inventory and overall price appreciation.

Honua Kai Resale Sales (1.1.14 – 8.6.14)

• 96% Sold vs Listing Price
• $1,142 Average Price/SqFt (interior living area)
• 231 Average Days on Market (including escrow time)
• 68% Cash vs 32% Conventional Financing

 
During the first quarter of 2014 we saw two owners flip-flop ownership on two of the nicest 3 bedroom units in the resort, Konea 601 and Konea 551. Konea 601 was one of the highest sales ever at Honua Kai, and over $800k higher than the sale of Konea 701, which closed in the spring of last year for $4.45M. The interior square footage of the two units were the same, but Konea 601 has about an extra 500 sq.ft. of outdoor lanai area, and in my personal opinion, was decorated and had a much more upscale feel to it than Konea 701.

Konea 505 was an ocean view two bedroom unit closing for $1.5M that I was sharing with a lot of my buyer clients, as I really liked it. The previous owners of this property paid in the mid $1.7M range in the spring of 2010 (pre-developer aggressive sales). The $1.5M sales point is in line with what present day buyers are paying for comparable units being sold by the developer.

For one bedroom sales, I have been surprised by the considerable price appreciation that we have seen in the last couple of years. I have detailed these increases in this blog post: Prices Increasing for One Bedroom Units in High Demand at Honua Kai.

There has been only one studio sale at Honua Kai in 2014. This was an unlisted property that my wife, my business partner, and I purchased earlier this year. It was a dream come true for my wife and me, and I have shared the story here.

Honua Kai Developer Sales (1.1.14 – 8.6.14)

• $1,046 Average Price/SqFt (interior living area)
• 55% Cash vs. 45% Conventional Loan Sales

 
We are going to see some of the final one bedroom developer sales at Honua Kai. For the most part, these properties have been sold out for some time and just had longer closing time frames.

Honua Kai Pending Resales as of 8.6.14

• $1,105 average asking price per square foot
• 145 Average Days on Market for Pending Sales

Honua Kai One Bedroom Price Appreciation 2013 vs. 2014

I did not measure the price appreciation of the true ocean view sales because there is not enough sold data to really make a solid statistical conclusion on these. For a more detailed analysis of the one bedroom, be sure to check out this earlier post.

Honua Kai Resale vs. Developer Inventory

Best Values for Active Honua Kai Units on the Market

I have created a best buy gallery here of all Honua Kai condos, and spelled out some details below: Honua Kai Best Buys.

Studio Units

There is only one studio unit actively on the market right now. This is Hokulani #737, which is for sale for $780,000. This is a nice property, but I do think that it is a bit overpriced considering recent closings and the value propositions of this property. Nevertheless, the studio units at Honua Kai represent some of the best cash on cash returns for any investment properties in Hawaii. Be sure to reach out to me directly to ask me what I think this property is worth.

One Bedroom Units

Currently, there are 5 one bedroom units on the market right now. The best values are as follows:

• Hokulani #724, a mountain view unit, just reduced from $699,000 to $665,000.
• Hokulani #238, a partial ocean view, listed at $849,000.
• Hokulani #213, which is one of only 7 interior courtyard one bedroom units at Honua Kai, listed at $899,000. I have shared more details on Hokulani #213 on this blog post: Rare Condo Offering – Inner Courtyard Ocean View One Bedroom at Honua Kai Resort.

Two Bedroom Units

There are a couple two bedroom resale units currently on the market, but none of them really jump out at me as a tremendous value. Hokulani #145, a ground floor unit at $1.35M, is intriguing because the ground floor units are some of the best rental performers out there.

Hokulani #745 is a recently listed 2 bedroom resale listed for $1.595M. For all listing details, please visit the following MLS link: (MLS# 361787)

There are a number of ocean view two bedroom units in the mid $1.5M range that I do think represent the strongest values in this category (see above for one of them). Lastly, I do have a pocket listing on a two bedroom listing with a very unique floorplan, so if you have interest in this, please do reach out to me directly.

Three Bedroom Units

There are a couple 3 bedroom resale units on the market, including what is arguably the most spectacular residence in all of Honua Kai: Hokulani #501 offered for an all time high at Honua Kai of $6M, this property is worth it! The outdoor living area of this unit is actually larger than the indoor at 3,200 sq.ft. covered lanai vs. 2,650 interior living.

As far as the best values for 3 bedroom units, there is still a pretty large selection of developer units offered from the low $2M range up to the mid $3.5M range for oceanfront 3 bedrooms.

I have been in many of these units, so please do let me help you identify the best one for you.

Search All Honua Kai Real Estate Here

The above link has all of the resale properties currently listed on the market and a number of the developer ones. For all developer inventory, please do reach out to me directly and I will be happy to provide it to you.

For All Things Honua Kai Related

As an owner at Honua Kai and director of a very successful property management company at Honua Kai, I take great pride on providing excellent market insight, service, and negotiation strategy – please let me know how I can be of service to you today.

Aloha from Ka’anapali, Maui,

My Blog Series on Honua Kai Condos

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