Maluhia Country Ranches – My Favorite Subdivision on Maui / Hawaii / Planet Earth

In my continuing series of blogs about vacant land, today I wanted to share with you my favorite subdivision on planet earth, Maluhia Country Ranches. Plus, three great Maluhia listings, all listed by Hawaii Life, of course. I own there, I am building there, I live there, and I am Maluhia’s top-selling agent as measured by the number of sales since 2008. Why since 2008? That is when I started selling real estate for a living. Did I mention that I love Maluhia Country Ranches?

Hawaii Life currently has three vacant lots listed in Maluhia, with me as the listing agent. You can click on each to see the individual listings.

• 21 Lahaole Place (Lot 11)
• 51 Lahole Place (Lot 17)
• 27 Hulumanu Place (Lot 35)

Before talking about these three specific lots, let’s discuss the development first. Since I have to be 100% honest with you, I will tell you that Maluhia is not for everyone. I will also tell you that most of the folks that live up there, love it like I do. Then again, we were free to buy anywhere and chose Maluhia Country Ranches. I am very glad that I did, and many of my neighbors are glad they did too.

Location

Maluhia Country Ranches is a 51-lot gated community located between Wailuku and Kahikatoa on the Kahekili Highway. You are only 35 minutes or less from almost everything in Central Maui that you need to get to including the Airport, Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, Whole Foods, Safeway, Maui Memorial Hospital, and the County, State and Federal Offices. The drive from Wailuku to Maluhia is beautiful, and when you pass the Mendes Ranch – Camp Maluhia, the road gets a little narrow and curvy for the last 1.6 miles.

As long as you take it slow and keep your eyes on the road (no peeking at the ocean and waterfalls), you will be fine. As one of my former neighbors told me, drive the road every day for a month, and you will not give it a second thought. You will know where to be a bit extra careful. For most of us, we enjoy having the feeling of being away from it all. When you see the Maluhia sign on the highway, you will know that you are home.

Views

Maluhia is all about the views. This is the view from outside my living room. Some of the lots have better views and other lots less so. Most lots have North Shore, Haleakala, and Pacific Ocean views. The nighttime views are pretty awesome too.

Weather

Being on the windward side of Maui, Maluhia has trade wind weather. This means the temperature is lower (in my opinion, more comfortable) than places like Kihei and Lahaina. Maluhia also gets a nice amount of rain. In my previous blogs, I referenced the interactive rainfall map that the University of Hawaii created. Click here to access the rainfall map. This tool states that Maluhia receives about 55 inches of rain per year.

This wonderful weather results in the beautiful green you see in this area of Maui.

Zoning – Utilities

The 51 lots at Maluhia Country Ranches are zoned agricultural. Regarding utilities, let’s start with everyone’s favorite utility question, water? Water is provided by the Kahakuloa Acres Private Water Company. As for wastewater, you will need to install a septic system. There are underground electrical and phone lines to protect the views. There is no cable TV; however, there are now three high-speed internet solutions available at Maluhia (not all three solutions work on all lots). There is no mail, UPS, or FedEx delivery. You will need to get a PO Box at the post office or at one of the private mailbox companies in town. I went with a private mailbox company, as they accept FedEx and UPS deliveries for all our Amazon Prime orders. We really enjoy the security that our private mailbox company provides and the convenience that there is always someone there to sign for packages and registered mail. There is also weekly garbage collection at Maluhia, and the garbage truck comes behind the gates, so you just need to bring your trash cans to the street and pay the County of Maui. If you want to cook or heat your water using gas, you will need to install a propane system. There are multiple options on how to do this.

Associations

Owners at Maluhia Country Ranches are members of two associations. First, you would be a member of the Maluhia Country Ranches HOA, which as a quarterly fee of $400 per quarter (about $135 per month). You would also be a member of the Kahakuloa Acres Private Water Company (KAPWC). KAPWC has a $156 monthly fee. There is also a water usage fee that is designed to cover the electrical cost of pumping the water from the well to the storage tanks. Yes Virginia, you need to begin paying these fees from the first day you become an owner. Before you begin building, the only other cost is your property taxes, which differs based on the value of your property.

Listings

The three Hawaii Life listings could be thought of as Goldilocks’ delight. Depending on what is most important to you, one of these lots will be ideal. Let’s talk about what all three lots have in common:

• They are all behind a gate. Lots 11 and 17 are behind the Lahaole Gate, and Lot 35 is behind the Hulumanu Gate. Not all Maluhia lots are behind a gate. For me, being behind the gate is more desirable than being outside the gates.
• They all have great views. To be fair, the lot 35 view is a bit hidden until you do more clearing of the lot, but when you visit, you will see how a small gulch that is part of this lot is your friend to enhance the view. The views of lot 11 and 17 can be seen today without using your imagination and are wonderful.

The differences:

• Let’s talk size and price (link on each to see the full listing) –
  • Lot 11 – 2.41 acres – $425,000
  • Lot 17 – 6.23 acres – $530,000
  • Lot 35 – 3.54 acres – $349,000
• Lot 11 is arguably the easiest lot to build on as it has the flattest building site. It is also the smallest lot, so this will require the least amount of upkeep. There is nothing small about the views from this lot or from any of the lots. Small lot small view is just not accurate. Part of lot 11 sloped down into a gulch, which opens up the view.
• Lot 17 is the largest lot providing you the most amount of elbow room. What is unique about this lot is that the Makamakaole gulch borders that back of the lot. This gulch is not only beautiful, but there is a stream that runs along the bottom of the gulch. The upper portion of the lot is where the views and building sites are, while the rear bottom flat portion of the lot is where you can easily implement your agricultural pursuit.
• Lot 35 is the mid-side lot that if you clear selectively could offer the most amount of privacy. The area to clear for the view is not the area to selectively clear for privacy. You are not trading off view for privacy. This lot, like lot 11, slopes down into a gulch, which is ideal for view protection. When you come up to view this lot, the owner across the gulch from lot 35 has allowed me in the past to go onto her lot, so you can view the lot from across the gulch. There are some very helpful neighbors at Maluhia.

Okay Goldilocks, the simplest way to decide between these three lots is to ask what is the most important to you, ease of building, elbow room, or privacy?

Somewhat surprisingly, there are four other lots currently listed at Maluhia by other brokerages. For the life of me I can’t understand why someone would do that, other than the agent that has her own personal lot listed. Obviously, the three Hawaii Life listings are superior (half-joke, half-truth), but on the off chance that you are drawn to one of those, when you come visit, I will be happy to show you those lots also. There are also two single-family homes listed for those of you that don’t want to go through the building process.

Want to Know More About Maluhia?

Please reach out to me, so I can provide you more information about my favorite subdivision and setup a time for our own private tour.