The Number That Tells the Story

What Happened

By 2007 the national housing market was in serious distress. The subprime mortgage crisis had broken into the open. Bear Stearns hedge funds collapsed. Foreclosures were rising across the mainland. And Maui? Single-family home sales actually increased — from 1,082 in 2006 to 1,138 in 2007, a 5% gain. Dollar volume for residential sales crossed $1 billion, rising 4% to $1,047,878,879. People still wanted to be here.

But price told a different story. The island-wide single-family median fell from $690,000 to $630,069 — a 9% decline in one year. Sellers who had held out for 2005 pricing were finally conceding. Properties were moving, but at adjusted values. Days on market stretched: residential homes averaged 176 days in December, condos 184 days, land 160 days. Inventory was building — 1,087 homes, 1,368 condos, and 514 land lots were active, pending, or contingent as the year closed.

Condominiums told a split story of their own. Unit sales fell 5% — from 1,247 to 1,179 — but median condo prices rose 6%, from $518,000 to $550,000. Fewer buyers, but the buyers who remained were reaching for quality. Land continued its slide: unit sales fell 11% to 226, and the median dropped 18% from $688,066 to $562,500.

Short sales were beginning to appear on the market for the first time in years. RAM noted them specifically in their year-end overview — a sign of what the national credit crisis was starting to push through to individual sellers on Maui.

Wailea & Mākena

The luxury corridor showed its characteristic resilience. Wailea/Mākena single-family sales increased from 32 to 36 transactions, and the median held at $2,028,500 — essentially flat with 2006's $2,065,000, a 2% adjustment. Condo sales in Wailea/Mākena surged 15% — from 202 to 233 units — with a median of $1,328,775, down just 3% from $1,375,181. Serious buyers were finding value in the corridor even as the broader market softened. Wailea/Mākena land saw only 10 sales against 13 the prior year, but the median rose to $2,000,000 from $1,250,000 — reflecting the scarcity and enduring appeal of land in the corridor.

What It Meant for Buyers

2007 offered the negotiating room that 2005 and 2006 had made nearly impossible. Days on market stretched to levels not seen during the boom years. Sellers who had resisted reality were finally adjusting. Contingencies were back. Inspections were being done. For buyers who could qualify for financing in an increasingly cautious lending environment, the table had turned in a meaningful way.

What It Meant for Sellers

RAM's year-end message to sellers was direct: those who resisted the realities of the softened market risked being left behind. Realistic sellers — those who priced carefully, presented their properties well, and offered flexible terms — were still closing. Those chasing 2005 numbers were sitting. The gap between aspiration and reality had become costly.

December Snapshot

• Single-family: 85 sales · median $582,002 · 176 days on market
• Condominiums: 71 sales · median $626,000 · 184 days on market
• Land: 13 sales · median $575,000 · 160 days on market

Jolanta's Feedback

This was the year I watched Maui prove something I had suspected: even when the mainland is in genuine crisis, people do not stop wanting to live here. Sales volume held. That resilience was not lost on me. The buyers who came to Maui in 2007 — who looked past the headlines and acted on what they saw in front of them — made decisions that have held up well over the long arc of time.