Brief Maui Statistics Overview:
September’s Sales Volume – September’s Residential Sales dropped slightly to 78 homes sold, while Condo Sales declined to 76 units sold. Land sales came in at 11 lots sold.

September’s Median SALES prices – Home median prices held steady at $414,000, while Condo median prices rose to $310,000. Land median price was $285,000.

Days on Market for Residential homes = 117 DOM, Condos = 142 DOM, Land = 129 DOM.
(General DOM Note: this is the average DOM for the properties that SOLD. If predominantly OLD inventory sells, it will move this indicator upward, and vice versa. RAM’s Days on Market are calculated from List Date to Closing Date [not contract date]. As such, it includes approximately 60 days of escrow time.) Also – Short Sales transactions can often take 4-6 months to close thereby extending the marketplace’s average DOM.

IN A NUT SHELL…… the good, the bad….. AND THE ROAD AHEAD ……
Strong buyer-showing activity is now evidenced in actual reported sales, with multiple offers competing for well-priced properties. Inventories have declined 12-21% over the past 12 months. Many short sales and REO (bank owned) properties will need to be absorbed as sales before we can move ahead to a more normal marketplace.Interest Rates are remaining near historic record lows which may help motivate would-be Buyers to go ahead and buy IF they can qualify. Current World and US events will have ripple effects on cost of living, consumer confidence, and our Real Estate Market.

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The investors who want to take control of the owner of the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa are trying to extend a Feb. 1 due date on the restructuring of $1.5 billion of debt on the Maui resort and seven other large Mainland resorts.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the ownership of the former CNL Hotels & Resorts Inc.’s portfolio — owned by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund V but now controlled by investors who took over last month — is at stake.
The 780-room Grand Wailea, which is managed by Hilton through its Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand, is the second property on Maui that’s been caught up in Morgan Stanley’s financial difficulties.
The Wall Street giant had acquired the 780-room Grand Wailea in early 2007 when it bought CNL Hotels & Resorts for about $6.6 billion. Florida-based CNL had acquired the hotel, which was built in 1991, when it bought the resort’s previous owner, KSL Recreation Corp., for $2.2 billion.
The 1,800-acre Makena Resort, which Morgan Stanley purchased with Maui developer Everett Dowling for $575 million in 2007, was taken back by Wells Fargo in a foreclosure last year after Morgan Stanley defaulted on a $192.5 million mortgage.

Beautiful View of Snow from Haleakala

AS PUBLISHED IN THE MAUI NEWS ON JANUARY 20, 2011

HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK – The most recent wet winter weather to hit the Valley Isle left something prettier than mud and dirty runoff.
Snow! Yes, in normally sunny, tropical Maui . . . the white, cold stuff . . .
“It’s outrageous. It’s gorgeous,” gushed Makawao resident Shawna Conyers, who enjoyed the view of the snowcapped dormant volcano from her home Wednesday morning. “It’s still exciting when it happens,” said the 55-year-old, who can recall fond memories of her family traveling up to Haleakala to frolic in the snow more than 20 years ago.
On Wednesday morning, the road to the summit was closed at the visitor center because ice, slush and snow made driving hazardous. But at 11 a.m., the road was reopened.
“We are blanketed with snow and ice,” said Navnit Singh, public affairs officer at the park.
The snowfall was as low as the 9,000-foot elevation on the 10,000-foot-high mountain, Singh said. Park headquarters at 7,000 feet remained open.
“We’ve seen some snowflakes, but nothing stuck,” Singh said of conditions at the headquarters.
Although the snow at higher elevations looked plentiful from Central Maui, Singh said it wasn’t that deep and was more like a “dusting.”
By 1:30 p.m., all the snow was gone, park staff said.
The snow came from cold temperatures and moisture in a weather system that passed over Maui early Wednesday morning. The weather announced its presence to sleepy Valley Isle residents with claps of thunder around 5:30 a.m. Temperatures at the Haleakala summit were in the 30s during the day Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters also posted a flash flood watch through Wednesday afternoon. But according to Maui County officials, there were no reports of flooding or problems. That came as some relief after last week’s windy and heavy rainstorms wreaked havoc with power service and flooding, particularly in South Maui, where mud filled people’s homes and cars and shut down a portion of South Kihei Road for a couple of days.
By the time the road to the summit was reopened at 11 a.m., the patchy snow was already quickly melting.
Nevertheless, people wearing hats and jackets drove up Haleakala wanting to get to the summit. Singh estimated there were about two dozen cars with people waiting for the road to be opened, filling up the park’s lower parking lot.
Kula resident Francisco Montes said he awoke and went outside to grab his newspaper and saw snow on the mountain. He grabbed his camera around 7 a.m. to capture the unusual sight.
“I think it’s great to see snow on Haleakala, as it is a radical concept to experience snow on Maui,” Montes said in an e-mail.
Singh said the last snowfall atop Haleakala was last week during the heavy rains. But he said the snow wasn’t as visible as Wednesday’s snowfall.

Snow Capped Haleakala

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Honolulu issued a winter weather warning for the summit and upper slopes of Haleakala. It was canceled at 4:45 p.m.
The weather service also continued a high-surf warning for the north-facing shores of Maui and the north- and west-facing shores of Molokai in effect until 6 p.m. Friday. Trade winds and more settled weather were expected to return today and last into early next week, the weather service said.

I personally attend many events that the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (aka The MACC) feature annually therefore wanted to share with you a link to their official website which outlines the various local and international entertainers & events being held.   Please click on the link to view the exciting line-up for 2011 including Elton John in February!

www.MauiArts.org

Hana Ranch (photo by Ron Chapple)

AS PUBLISHED IN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS LAND TRUST WEBSITE ON JANUARY 4, 2011

Four existing conservation land trusts representing all counties within the state recently combined to form the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT), a new statewide land conservancy. Official on January 1, 2011, the merger creates an organization with the sustainability and resources to safeguard existing protected lands and dramatically grow conservation lands in Hawai‘i. Participating in the collaboration are Kaua‘i Public Land Trust, O‘ahu Land Trust, Maui Coastal Land Trust and Hawai‘i Island Land Trust.
This decision to merge was driven by shared missions and a combined vision for a cohesive and sustainable approach to land conservation in Hawai‘i. “Our passion is preserving land, our promise is to protect it forever,” says HILT Executive Director Dale Bonar, former head of Maui Coastal Land Trust. “By joining forces we are a stronger and more professional organization capable of sustaining that commitment of perpetuity.”
Hawaiian Islands Land Trust now securely holds each organization’s conservation easements and fee lands. Combined, HILT oversees 15,229 acres of conservation land across the state, including 188 acres on Hawai‘i Island; 11,810 on Maui; 3,057 on Moloka‘i; and 174 on Kaua‘i.
Fundamentally, the merger boosts the organization’s capacity to save more land, according to a recent release from HILT. Because of its statewide scope, HILT is in a better position to attract the broad financial support and resources needed to significantly increase local conservation lands. Collaborative and non-partisan by nature, HILT’s strength is its ability and willingness to work with a host of governmental agencies and other conservation nonprofit organizations.
Currently in active negotiations with landowners on the four isles, HILT expects to announce thousands more conservation acres within the first quarter of 2011.
The Hawaiian Islands Land Trust central office is based initially on Maui, but to continue to best serve the communities in which they work, island offices will be maintained by existing directors on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island. All employees have been retained by HILT, creating a staff of ten.
“In some cases, entire operations of an island were falling on one person,” said Bonar. “A tremendous benefit of our collaboration is that now each staff member can be more highly specialized within his or her skill set.”
From its inception, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust has national accreditation. A mark of distinction in land conservation across the nation, the status was originally earned by Maui Coastal Land Trust in 2009 and conveys to the new organization.
According to HILT, the land in Hawai‘i is our most important and valuable resource, as its conservation helps ensure clean air and drinking water, food security, scenic landscapes and views, recreational places, and habitat for a diversity of ecosystems. Land conservation is especially imperative here due to the added significance of “inseparable cultural relationships and our intrinsic space limitations.”
Hawaiian Islands Land Trust is a nationally accredited nonprofit organization with the mission of acquiring, preserving and protecting conservation lands across Hawai‘i for the benefit of the natural environment and current and future generations.

AS PUBLISHED IN THE MAUI NEWS ON JANUARY 10, 2011

WAILUKU – From grocery stores to toy stores, businesses beginning on Tuesday will no longer be giving out plastic bags to their customers. The county’s plastic bag ban takes effect then, following a long publicity campaign.
Last week, businesses and county officials were busy preparing for the ordinance to take effect.
Jerry Masaki, general manager at Pukalani Superette, said he has banners hanging outside his store along with posters inside and employees wearing buttons to remind customers of the change and to encourage them to bring in their recyclable bags.
The store also spent about $500 to print up its own banner and signs, in addition to using others provided by the county. The Superette also spent money on extra advertising about the ban.
“I’m all for the ban,” Masaki said. “The part of us spending money . . . I feel as a business we need to assist our customers. Money is not the issue.”
“I think people are (already) adapting; we want to just try to make the transition as smooth as possible,” he added.
Masaki said he will have paper bags available for his customers, but these won’t necessarily be large paper bags. Rather, the store has small bags a bento and a soda can fit into. But he will have some large paper bags on hand, just enough for the early days of the ban for those who forget their reusable bags.
Robert Loera, owner of Maui Toy Works at the Lahaina Cannery Mall and Whalers Village, said (without divulging numbers) that he has ordered paper bags to comply with the new law, even though they cost four times what his small, local business was paying for plastic bags.
He said the cost will not be passed on to customers.
“The only good news is there are lot of customers who are opting to not have bags,” Loera said.
He said that in the past two to three months some customers have not been taking bags with their purchases.
Loera added that as a small business he can’t afford to waste anything and will give out his plastic bags up until closing today.
Loera said the ordinance can be confusing for retailers, since some plastic bags are allowed but others may not be allowed.
Under the Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance, businesses cannot give out plastic bags at the point of sale, including at swap meets, fairs and festivals. The ordinance particularly targets the thin “T-shirt” type bag. Ordinance proponents want to do away with these especially, which they say they are both a eyesore and an environmental hazard. Discarded bags fly in the wind and get stuck on fences (notably at the Central Maui Landfill) and can get into the ocean, where they harm marine life.
But businesses will be permitted to provide customers with paper bags and thicker, reusable plastic bags that adhere to the ordinance guidelines. Some stores also have reusable bags for sale if customers forget theirs or don’t have one. But stores are not required to pass out paper bags, said Hana Steel, recycling coordinator for the county.
The Maui County Council passed the ordinance in August 2008. It was introduced by former Council Member Mike Molina.
Kauai County followed suit, and its ban also begins Tuesday. Only a few cities in America have a ban on the bags, such as San Francisco. Parts of Europe have put a stop to plastic bags.
Steel said last week that the county has gone to “hundreds” of businesses, including grocery stores, boutiques and restaurants, passing out posters, frequently-asked-questions fliers, buttons and banners to publicize the bag ban.
Businesses still wanting posters and buttons may call the Recycle Maui County Hotline at 270-7880.
The county also is running advertisements in The Maui News, and officials have gone on KAOI radio to discuss the ban.
The push is part of the county’s B.Y.O. Bag: Shop Smart campaign, which began last July with the county’s Office of Economic Development, then was turned over in December to the Department of Environmental Management’s Solid Waste Division, Steel said.
“The vast majority of the merchants know about this,” Steel added.
Contrary to Loera’s estimate, Steel claims the ordinance will eventually benefit small stores economically.
“The smaller stores will be saving money when they can retrain their customers to bring their own bag in,”she said.
Steel said she has received positive responses from businesses that are already operating as if the bag ban were in effect. Clerks at one “large box store” have been asking customers if they need a bag for their items, and 80 percent to 90 percent said no.
Foodland and Sack N Save officials have been gearing up for the ordinance since last year by doing various promotions, some of which will be ongoing, said Sheryl Toda, director of corporate communications for Foodland Super Market.
For example, for one of the ongoing promotions, customers receive a 5-cent credit for each reusable bag they bring in.
“We want to encourage customers to bring in their own reusable bags every time they grocery shop,” she said.
Customers who bring in their own bags also receive one stamp per visit on a stamp card. After 10 stamps, the card can be redeemed for a free bag of nuts, Toda said. It is part of Foodland’s “Good to Be Green” stamp card program.
Toda acknowledged that some Foodland stores on Maui had run out of plastic bags before the new year and are now giving out paper bags to those who do not have a recyclable bag.
The store has also designed reusable bags that are for sale near the checkout stands in case someone forgets to bring a reusable bag.
Pukalani Superette also has run promotions to get people to comply with the law. In one, every customer who buys $20 or more worth of goods can purchase a reusable bag for 50 cents.
Masaki said he might bring in a thicker plastic bag that complies with the law, but might charge 15 to 25 cents for it, because that bag costs “double” what a paper bag costs. He said he would not be making money on the bags but might have to charge to recoup the costs.
He said this type of bag can be reused.
Masaki said the store ran out of plastic bags before Christmas, which is a busy time, so instead of putting a stop to the plastic, he ordered a little more, noting that it will take time for people to get used to the new law.
“I still brought it in because, you know, the older shoppers, (some) are not getting the message,” he said.
Businesses that do not comply with the ordinance will generally face a warning letter; then if further noncompliance is noted, a notice of violation.
A businesses found to be noncompliant can face a $500 civil fine for each day of violation up to 30 days. The fine escalates to a maximum of $1,000 per day thereafter.

The Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa on Maui has been taken over by a group of lenders including New York-based Paulson & Co. who seized control of former CNL Hotels & Resorts Inc. from Morgan Stanley.
The takeover was part of a $600 million restructuring of Morgan Stanley’s real estate funds, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Morgan Stanley acquired the 780-room Grand Wailea, which is managed by Hilton through its Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand, in early 2007 when it bought CNL Hotels & Resorts for about $6.6 billion. Florida-based CNL had acquired the hotel, which was built in 1991, when it bought the resort’s previous owner, KSL Recreation Corp., for $2.2 billion.
A spokeswoman for the Grand Wailea said the restructuring would have no impact on the resort’s operations.
One of Morgan Stanley’s real estate funds lost the Makena Resort to Wells Fargo in a foreclosure last year after defaulting on a $192.5 million mortgage. Morgan Stanley and Hawaii developer Everett Dowling purchased the 1,800-acre South Maui resort, which included the Maui Prince Hotel, for $575 million in 2007.