The Number That Tells the Story

What Happened

Through July, 2023 was tracking as a steady transition year. Single-family pace was running near 2022 levels, condo inventory remained historically lean, and prices held elevated but stable.

The August 8 wildfire in Lahaina was a catastrophic loss for West Maui and for the entire island community. The displacement, the rebuilding, and the long recovery are still ongoing. The market data that follows reflects a year when the priorities of nearly everyone on Maui shifted to something more important than real estate.

Year-end single-family sales totaled 729, down 28.5% from 2022's 1,023. The median held at $1,200,000, essentially flat year-over-year, as sellers refused to discount into uncertainty and the buyers who transacted came to the table committed. Condo sales fell from 1,519 to 969, down 36.1%, with the median rising modestly to $832,500. Inventory built through the back half of the year: single-family ended at 231 active listings (3.7 months supply), condos at 376 (4.9 months) — still lean by historical standards but meaningfully elevated compared with the pandemic-era near-zero.

Wailea & Mākena

South Maui, geographically distant from the fire zone, held steady. Single-family: 20 sales, median $4,512,500, volume $137.9 million. Condominiums: 112 sales, median $2,427,050, volume $424.8 million. The luxury corridor showed its characteristic insulation from broader market disruption — buyers at these price points tended to be less reactive to near-term events.

What It Meant for Buyers

Buyers who transacted in 2023 — particularly after August — needed conviction, patience, and advisors who understood the evolving insurance and title landscape. Properties in unaffected areas such as South Maui and Upcountry continued to see demand. West Maui faced prolonged uncertainty. Due diligence timelines extended as buyers sought clarity on insurance availability, special assessments, and HOA financial health.

What It Meant for Sellers

Sellers in West Maui faced a market unlike any in modern memory. Those elsewhere on the island navigated a buyer pool that had narrowed and grown more cautious. Prices held better than transaction volume — a reflection of sellers' resolve and the structural undersupply of housing that persisted even through the crisis.

December Snapshot

• Single-family: 55 sales · median $1,200,000 · 96 days on market
• Condominiums: 94 sales · median $850,000 · 99 days on market
• Land: 19 sales · median $942,000

Jolanta's Reflection

The Maui real estate community responded to August 8 the way Maui communities respond to anything — by showing up. Realtors across the island volunteered, organized, donated, and stayed available to clients who had questions no one had ever needed to ask before. Conversations in the weeks that followed were rarely about listings or prices. They were about people trying to understand what their next step could be, and what their families and futures looked like from where they were standing.

We will never forget the 102 lives lost that day. We will never forget the families, the homes, the businesses, and the irreplaceable history of Lahaina town. The numbers in this report tell one story. The recovery — still underway across West Maui — tells another. Both matter, and both deserve to be remembered.