HAPPY NEW YEAR!
December 31st, 2006Aloha,
We hope that you and your families find health, happiness and prosperity in 2007.
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Aloha,
We hope that you and your families find health, happiness and prosperity in 2007.
This article details the increasing focus on trophy properties in the real estate world, in this cast the $5.4 billion purchase of New York City's Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Hmmm, trophy properties, maybe it has something to do with Maui after all. For example, the Makena Resort is still in the midst of its bidding process. News should be forthcoming on that over the next several weeks.
Tiger Woods apparently prefers skiing to Maui. Kind of makes one wonder, huh? Tiger will not be playing in the upcoming Mercedes Championship next week. Oh well, I suppose we'll, have to get along with only Vijay Singh, three time defending Champion Stuart Appleby and Kapalua's own Jim Furyk. These guys are good!
This past week has been very quiet at Wailea Ekolu. There have been no new listings or sales. Wailea Ekolu currently has six units listed for sale, only a single one bedroom unit, 407. The listings are averaging just over $900 per square foot and have only been on the market an average of sixty days. For more information, click on Current Listings above. Wailea wide, for sale inventory remains around ninety units.
The National Association of Realtors reported that the number of existing home sales in November rose modestly from October while the median price was 3% lower than last November. For the Western part of the US, sales rose faster than the average and the median price fell less than 1%. What does this mean? Here are some opinions.
On December 30, the Wailea Tennis Club will be hosting the Number One Men's Doubles Team in the world! The Bryan Brothers will host a clinic, play in pro-am and exhibition matches and sign autographs. Luke Jensen will also be making an appearance. Click here for details.
As 2006 winds down, we can draw some preliminary conclusions at to what happened in 2006 and what that might mean for 2007. Some major points. Excluding pre-construction sales, approximately 100-105 condominium sales will have occurred in 2006, down dramatically from the 140+ in 2005. Prices however will have increased by roughly 10-15% over 2005. The twenty or so units now in escrow seems to indicate that the sales pace for 2007 could fall somewhere between 2005 and 2006. Of course, the telling information will come in the next four to six weeks. The mindset that the West Coast visitors bring with them regarding real estate will be an enormous factor.Current inventory stands at under ninety units for sale, or at the current pace, approximately 9-10 months worth of inventory. With the economy still slowly chugging along, low interest rates, relatively easy credit terms and Wailea and Makena still being Wailea and Makena, we remain optimistic about 2007.
In today's New York Times, the answer seems to depend greatly on who one talks to. The entire article is here. Some economists are forecast 3% GDP growth, others are arguing that a recession may appear in the second half of 2007, others are calling for slower growth, but not a recession. The big issue seems to be how one views the housing slowdown.
We'll be light on the blogging updates over the next few days and we'll pick it up after Christmas.