Bank Owned Homes in Ka’anapali, Maui Still Exist Going Into 2016

Much of my personal real estate career between 2008-2012 has been shaped by the ubiquity of distressed properties. I obtained my real estate license in 2006 as a 23-year-old punk who wasn’t quite sure how hard or intelligently I wanted to work. However, I knew that if at some point I could get it together, I would be successful like my father, mentor, and present-day business partner, Tracy Stice. I am proud to say my dad is one of the most well respected Brokers in the state of Hawaii, has been involved in literally thousands of transactions since 1979, and is the closest thing to a Hawaiian real estate encyclopedia that you will ever find.

The huge ocean view lanai from bank owned home #1 listed below

I recently was going over my first blog posts on HawaiiLife.com back in 2010; I noted that they were dominated by bank owned “Screaming Deals” as I called them. I only wish I had the financial means and wherewithal to purchase these properties back then.

The vast majority of both short sales and bank owned REO properties are no longer pervasive in our current market conditions namely because of:

1. Banks actually working with borrowers to enact loan modifications in order to avoid foreclosure.

2. Two very important pieces of legislation that the state of Hawaii passed – Act 48 and its successor Act 182; here is a post my dad wrote in June of 2011 that is about as close to a lucid crystal ball prediction that you are going to see, Act 48 – Will this Foreclosure Law Ruin the Hawaii Market?

I would encourage you to do a couple Google searches on these two laws and you will see a plethora of articles from our fine Hawaii Life agents from around the state sharing their personal take on this.

3. Market conditions and prices drastically improving as banks no longer were dumping their assets at prices anywhere from 40-60% below what they were going for just a couple years back, namely because they couldn’t as subsequent to point #2 above.

One of the views from deal #2 looking south towards Lanai island from the large outdoor deck at 45 North Iwa Place

The Stars Have Aligned – 2 Bank Owned Homes in Ka’anapali Hillside on the Market

I like to write about Ka’anapali – I live in Ka’anapali with my wife and we love it. I grew up on the North Shore of the island in Haiku where my parents still reside, in addition to living in a few other places around Maui for a few stints. I’ve been on Maui the vast majority of my life with exception of attending business school in Boston and being a party animal on Oahu for a few years in my early twenties.

In my opinion, it doesn’t get any better than living in Ka’anapali. We get pretty spoiled with awesome weather in Hawaii, and with the warm and sunny weather in Ka’anapali, constant trade winds to keep you comfortable, and whales jumping left and right every winter – Ka’anapali is the pinnacle of an equatorial paradise.

Let’s get to the real estate.

P.S. Please do excuse my clumsy feet slippah stomping in the videos, my wife calls me Fred Flintstone and it isn’t hard to tell why, hahaha. Enjoy!

Home #1: 21 Pu’u Huna Place – 4 Bed/4 Bath, 4,597 Sq.Ft. Living on 12,502 Sq.Ft of Land

You can find property details and more photos here. Please hit “Search” and then enter 364601 in the top search bar, which is the MLS# for the property.

Please do watch the video as you’ve heard the saying that a photo is equivalent to 1,000 words that makes a video…

A few facts about 21 Pu’u Huna Place:

• The home was built in 2007 and has been on the market for 240 days. The property was originally listed at $1,545,000 and has gone through a number of price reductions, with its most recent one taking a place a few days ago in the amount of 3.8%

• The vacant lot sold in 2006 for $625,000. Comparable lots are in the $400k range at present day.

• Zillow’s Zestimate for this home is $2,377,943 – It’s interesting to see the Zestimate so far off from market value on this home; however, I don’t think Zillow’s algorithms are taking into account the condition and amount of work this home requires. This is a very large home on a larger lot, built not too long ago, and I think that has a lot to do with the inflated valuation that they are giving it. The county of Maui’s assessed value of this home for 2015 was also about $2.2M, which really doesn’t mean much other than the new owner should file an appeal for the valuation of the home moving forward or continue to pay inflated property taxes.

What I Like About 21 Pu’u Huna Place:

1. It’s huge! There are a lot of nice big homes in Ka’anapali Hillside, but not many of them approach 5k sq.ft.

2. Outstanding ocean and outer island views from various interior positions throughout the home, in addition to the massive deck area that looks directly at the ocean, island of Lanai, and year-round sunsets.

3. It’s right next door to a home that I have sold two different times. Here is the video blog I wrote on this house: Exceptional Wood Craftsmanship in Ocean View Kaanapali Hillside Home. Be sure to check out this post for some other good information that I wrote about the neighborhood.

4. It’s the lowest priced home in all of Ka’anapali. Priced at $252/sq.ft., this is significantly below the $400+ sq.ft. range that Ka’anapali Hillside homes normally sell for.

What I Don’t Like:

1. The home backs up to the Ka’anapali Highway aka Puukolii Rd. This is not really a highway, but during peak travel times, there is ample road noise that comes into the home. I would seriously consider taking off the north facing side of the wall and putting in some sort of very thick insulation and then maybe durock. This would almost completely eliminate this objection. I have first-hand experience with this in the house listed in point #3 above.

2. The home needs a lot of work, but at the same time, there is certainly an upside to this for someone who is willing to go through the process.

Property #2: 45 North Iwa Place – 4 Bed/3.5 Bath, 2,644 Sq. Ft. Living on a 10,106 Sq.Ft. Lot

Find property details and more photos here. Please hit “Search” and then enter 367092 in the top search bar, which is the MLS# for the property.

A few facts about 45 North Iwa Place:

• The home was built in 1988.
• The property last sold in Jan 2006 for $1.7M – looking at the home I do think that some remodeling (namely the kitchen) was done around this time period.
• Zillow’s Zestimate for this home is $1,568,441 – Once again the Zestimate is off from market value on this home; however, once again I don’t think Zillow’s algorithms are taking into account the condition and amount of work this home requires. Homes that are in better condition with similar physical attributes are selling in the $1.4-1.5M range.

What I Like About 45 North Iwa Place:

1. Location – The home is located on the interior of the neighborhood and does not back up to any busy roads.

2. View – There are various “pockets” of ocean views scattered amongst palm trees and a few rooflines.

3. Pool – Did you see that pool, hot tub, and outdoor BBQ? Time to head to Maui Brewing Co. to fill up a couple of your favorite growlers and then on to Maui Prime for some Snake River kobe ribeyes for an all around afternoon of excellence!

What I Don’t Like:

1. At $1,175,000 I still think the home is overpriced. Let me share my personal insight on what I think would be the right price to purchase this home for based on your personal intentions with it.

Interested in These Homes or Other West Maui Properties? Let’s Talk Story

Aloha from Ka’anapali,