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Getting Started
If you are interested in Maui real estate For Sale, Bob's job, once you have selected him to be your Maui Realtor®, starts with helping
you get to know the island, it’s several regions, the real estate markets in these regions, and other factors important to you, such as
variations in climates, proximity to commercial centers, hospitals, restaurants and entertainment, recreation, etc. Many of my clients
have found it most effective to meet with me first. That gives us an initial opportunity to discuss the Maui real estate market and the
clients initial requirements regarding the type of real estate which interests them.
Following our discussion, having integrated their criteria for buying Maui real estate with some knowledge about the Maui real estate
market, past feedback suggests it is most effective for buyers to go explore Maui on their own, with no Realtor® to get in the way. You
can check out sub-divisions, the various architecture, lot sizes, proximity to those things important to you and general prices (all
contained in your copy of Bob’s Maui Real Estate Buyers’ Guide). It takes time and a relaxed atmosphere to get the feel of a neighborhood…
and an island. Once you have some ideas about where your Maui dream home or condo might be found, it’s then time for us to meet again,
review your thoughts based on what you saw and schedule some properties to view.
Searching for Maui Real Estate
Maui’s computerized MLS system allows Realtors® to print out a number of standard reports for clients, including CMA’s (Comparative
Market Analysis) which will indicate what homes are available for sale and the prices of comparable homes which have recently sold. You
can request your agent to include you on the Auto-Notification feature of the Maui MLS system, for selected properties (i.e., specific
areas/regions, certain condo complexes or subdivisions, specific styles of homes or locations, such as ocean of beach front.
Auto-Notification sends the client an e-mail with a link to a full page report on each new property that is listed in the Maui MLS the
instant it is entered into the system. Your not waiting for your Realtor® to notice the new listing and notify you.
For prospective buyers looking on the Internet, please make use of my Custom Maui Real Estate MLS
Search Center and the information in More About South Maui Real Estate. You will find a wealth of
information, much of it only available on BobStaples.com, or you can also Contact Maui Realtor® Bob
Staples. Your contact information or any other information you provide to me will be kept confidential, on a new, secure DELL server
located in my private office so confidential information is not residing on remote or unsecured sites.
:: BUYER’S PROPERTY REQUEST – On-Line Submittal Form
If you are not having any luck finding what you are looking for in the Custom Maui Real Estate MLS Search Center and would like me to
query the Maui MLS for specific property criteria, please go to the Buyer’s Property Request online submittal form. There you tell me
exactly what you want and I will search the Maui MLS for you and return the results to you promptly.
Real Estate Values
While prospective buyers from the West Coast and other areas with high real estate markets are not generally surprised at Maui’s Real
Estate prices, many people who live in areas where real estate prices are much lower, are surprised and even shocked at the cost of real
estate on Maui.
This last cycle of appreciating real estate values on Maui started in 1999. Since than, in general terms, prices have gone up between
100% and 200%, or put another way, a Maui condo or home valued at $500,000 in 1999 is now valued at between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000.
Here is a chart showing the rate of appreciation of one oceanfront and beachfront condominium complex in Makena (just below Wailea in
South Maui). The CAGR (Compound Average Growth Rate), based on unit sales each year since 1996, was around 13% in each of the last three
years, 2002 to 2004. This is probably typical of real estate values in many other markets; Maui just started with higher values than many
areas, sans the West Coast.
Today, Maui resort real estate prices, in Wailea, start in the $600K’s for 1B/2B garden view condos and between $750K and $1 million
for 2B/2B ocean view condos. Single Family Homes, approximately 2,200 square feet on a ¼ acre, begin around $1.0 million with a garden
view to a median of approximately $2.5 million with a view and typically around 3,000 square feet in size. Prices of Kihei condos start
around $250K for 2 bed, 2 bath with a garden view not in a vacation rental complex. Ocean view, 2 bed, 2 bath in a vacation rental complex
are generally starting in the $500K’s. If they are beachfront complexes the prices are typically between $750K and $1.0 million. Kihei
single family homes start in the $600K with most now between $750 and $1.25 million.
For a thorough analysis of present Wailea and Makena real estate market values, download current CMA’s (Comparative Market Analysis)
for each Condominium Complex and Residential Home and Residential Land (Lot) Subdivision.
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Fee Simple and Lease Hold
These are two terms that are alien to most people, especially “Leasehold”. They describe the two basic ways a property owner in Hawaii
hold title to real property. Fee Simple is basically the way most people hold title (tenancy) to property elsewhere on the Mainland US or
a number of countries. Fee Simple describes a situation where one owns both the land and all improvements on the land. Leasehold is the
term in Hawaii, given to real estate where only the improvements are owned by the property owner and the land on which the improvements
sit is owned by a third party lessor who holds a long term lease and collects monthly rent for the use of the land. The owner of real
estate improvements is the lessee. This is a concept that some customers looking to buy Maui real estate are not comfortable with. The law
which allowed ‘leasehold’ property sales went into effect in 1961 and many of the leases were/are 50 years terms. So, starting in the
second decade 2011 and on, we will start to see some of those leases come to term. Whenever you purchase leasehold real estate in Hawaii,
you want to know and understand the distinct terms of your property’s lease, when lease payments are up for renegotiation, when the lease
expires and what the options are for lease extensions and at what terms.
In theory, a leasehold property’s real estate market value would be equal to the value of a comparable Fee Simple property minus the
present value of the future lease payments discounted at a rate equal to an anticipated growth rate for the comparable Maui real estate.
Oceanfront Versus Beachfront Property
Now it’s time to sit down, pour one of those Mai Tai’s and relax while we discuss what oceanfront and beachfront real estate on Maui
costs and what the distinction is between the two terms, oceanfront and beachfront. Beachfront is simple, it describes property fronting
one of Maui’s nice sandy beaches. Oceanfront is the term used to refer to all other frontage situations—rocky coast, rock cliffs (check
out the North side of West Maui for some great examples of rocky cliffs). Ownership of any beachfront or oceanfront property stops at the
vegetation line; the line at which natural vegetation ends (usually a few feet beyond the highest tidal points). Hawaii state law states
that from the vegetation line to the water is public property, not subject to private ownership or control.
A Word About Ocean Views
While most Maui Real Estate is not on the beach or ocean front, big, expansive ocean views can increase a homes value 30%, 40% or, in
some locales even, more over the same home with no ocean view (garden or mountain views). This is no more evident than condominiums in
vacation rental programs. The ocean view condos are worth considerably more than garden view units because they can generate higher
occupancy rates and higher nightly room rates.
Save Yourself Thousands, Literally, in Lower Maui Property Taxes
If you are planning to buy, or have already bought, a home on Maui, whether a single family residential home or condominium, and are
planning on living here full time, you are entitled to a Maui County property
tax exemption. This literally saved me about one third of my annual property tax billing before I received the exemption. Now, this
only applies to principal residences; not to 2nd homes, vacation homes, investment/rental properties. Ask your Maui Realtor® for the
property tax exemption form; better yet, ask them to fill it out, you sign it, and then ask them to file it for you. That is part of my
full service commitment to my clients. To be effective in any calendar year, the request must be filed before December 31st of the
previous year. Click this link for more information on Maui County Property
Tax Explanation.
Buyers Representation Agreement
This is a concept that has really taken off in some areas of North America, while not in others. The concept involves a written
agreement between buyers and a real estate brokerage and agent, basically the same as the written agreement between the sellers and a real
estate brokerage and agent. It gives the buyers’ agent the knowledge that he or she will get paid a commission regardless of what home the
clients select. This gives the agent the freedom to devote greater exclusivity to his or her buyer clients and spend more time finding the
perfect solution, even if the perfect solution is a “For Sale by Owner”. The form of agreement is standard in Hawaii and is called a
Buyers Representation Agreement.
The vast majority of the time, the Buyers realize the benefits of a BRA (alright, stop smiling) while not having to pay any commission
because the property purchased was listed by a real estate brokerage where the Sellers pay the commission, or, the Buyers, through their
agent, were able to negotiate that the Sellers pay the commission as part of the purchase agreement with a For Sale By Owner or Sellers
using a discount/limited services Sellers’ broker.
While I don’t insist on my Buyer clients entering into a written agreement, I do encourage them to consider it. I believe I stand apart
from most agents in the amount and effectiveness of the effort I give my clients. It starts with this website and expands when you engage
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