Maui’s Skyrocketing Home and Rent Prices Spell Trouble for Island Residents
When it comes to fulfilling the dream of purchasing a family home, most island locals are simply left out in the cold.
Maui County once again set a new record price for single-family homes this past April, with the median sales price coming in at more than $1.2 million (according to statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Maui, dating back to the early 1990s). It’s the third such record set this year alone, as an ongoing lack of available inventory drives prices into the stratosphere.
Meanwhile, the going rate for condominiums isn’t far behind, setting its own record for median sales price at $815k in April, just off March’s all-time record of $820k and an increase of 27.4% from the year before—and the second all-time high of 2022 thus far, with many months yet to go before the year is through.
(Also, a quick word on the median: most media outlets will report on the median sales price, or the midpoint between the highest and lowest numbers in a set, because it can be a better indicator of the market’s overall trends than using the average, or sum of all numbers divided by the tally of figures in the set, as averages tend to skew the data when there are outliers. For example, if four hypothetical houses sold for $300k, $400k, $500k, and $10 million, the median sales price would be $450k; the average sales price, however, would be $2.8 million. As such, the median can be far more useful in capturing the overall direction and availability of homes being sold in the marketplace.)
With more and more Maui County homes being purchased by out-of-state buyers as of late to boot, scores of island kama’aina are left wondering where to turn to solidify their futures as Maui Nui’s buying frenzy shows no signs of abatement in the months to come.
Furthermore, hard times aren’t just impacting those looking to buy, either: a recent report from the University of Hawai’i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) detailed how rent prices have soared on Maui and across the islands as well in 2022, with the Valley Isle bearing a 41% surge in asking prices for the typical rental unit (compared to the typical price in April of last year).
According to the report, the median rental price in March of this year rose to $2,600 on the Valley Isle, whereas the median price back in March of 2021 was $1,850.
With no end in sight to Maui’s record-setting seller’s marketplace, our citizens continue to await relief for local, affordable housing—and some positive developments are gaining momentum.
Workforce Housing Projects Set to Move Forward
Thankfully, there are currently several workforce and affordable housing projects underway to assist our kama’aina to secure their futures on the island, including newly-announced projects slated to begin in the coming years. And, of course, Alaula’s next two neighborhoods are soon to be moving along as well!
Kuikahi Village, inspired by communities in Pa’ia, Lahaina, Makawao, and Wailuku, is a 100% workforce housing neighborhood utilizing infill, multi-purpose designs and eco-friendly principles
Hale Waipuilani, modeled after the success and ongoing construction of Hale Kaiola in North Kihei, combining natural surroundings with the very best in environmentally conscious design into elegant, 100% workforce housing for local kama’aina
““It has been a very long journey but we are very excited about our newest 100% workforce neighborhoods nearly coming into realization. As a community we need to build this much-needed housing to keep essential workers and our children from moving away. We are doing our very best to be part of the solution.””