March 7, 2012Spring tends to be the busiest time of year, and we are seeing increased visitors to Maui in general. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority (www.hawaiitourismauthority.org), Maui began 2012 with visitor spending in January, the highest on record for that month. Total arrivals to Maui rose 8.7 in January 2012, when compared with 2011: primarily due to increases in visitors from Canada (+12.7%), U.S. East (+7.1%), U.S. West (+2%) and Japan (+7.1%). I found it interesting that the number of visitors was up from California but down from the other West Coast states of Washington and Oregon.With increased visitor arrivals, we have been seeing an increase in the activity in our real estate market. This holds true for the Kapalua real estate market. The following is an overview... 03/07/2012

Join the Kapalua Spa and Spa Finder for a week of wellness right here in beautiful Kapalua, Maui! From March 19-25, 2012 the Kapalua Spa will be hosting week of exciting events and activities focused on providing customized fitness plans, classes and wellness tips. From March 20-25th, specials include: 50-minute personal training sessions for $50Private 50-minute Yoga Sessions for $50Private 25-minute Reformer Pilates Sessions for $5050% off fitness classes I personally love the Kapalua Spa--it is one of my favorite things about living in the Kapalua Resort.  I love the yoga and bootcamp classes, and if you have a chance, I'd highly recommend booking a personal training series with Tom Ockerman.  He's fantastic! You can meet the Kapalua Spa team at their Wellness Fair and Expo on March ... 03/03/2012

The Kapalua real estate market is moving along with nice momentum considering it is so early in the year. Last year, as of this time, the resort had just two sales for a total dollar volume of $4,583,300. This year, we have had 9 sales, with a total volume of $19,891,000. So far, the sales in the Kapalua Resort have been concentrated at the low and higher ends of the market, with a low of $515,000 and a high of $5,000,000: Kapalua Golf Villa 18P56: Listed at $559,000, sold at $515,000This is a two bedroom, renovated villa on the golf course. REO Kapalua Ridge Villa 1721: Listed at $62,000, sold at $566,000This is a one bedroom, ocean view villa in original condition. Kapalua Golf Villa 18V4: Listed at $575,000, sold at $575,000This is a renovated, ocean view villa.Honolua Ridge II, Lot ... 02/10/2012

Aloha! The latest edition of my Kapalua and West Maui Real Estate newsletter is now available online at www.LuxuryRealEstateMaui.com In this issue,  you'll find updates taken from the Kapalua Resort Annual Sales Reports, which illustrate how sales in 2011 compared with prior years for the Resort in general, as well as by property type (Condominiums, Homes, Land), and by each individual neighborhood. 2011 continued the trend of 2010, with a concentration of sales at the low end of each market segment and record high sales. The average sale price for the resort was buoyed by two record high closings at the Plantation Estates at $14,000,000 and $9,600,000, and several closings at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Kapalua Bay. With these high sales, the average sale prices for condominiums and h... 02/09/2012

The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui: It's whale season here on Maui!  No matter how many times you see them, year after year, it's still exciting to see the whales return to Maui.  To me, it marks the beginning of the holidays and the birth of a new year.  I walk the Kapalua Coastal trail almost every day, and am always on the look out for the whales that frolic off the coastline. For those of you that are passionate about whales, Maui's ocean, and/or photography, you must attend Whale Tales.  This is a free, public event held February 3-4, 2012 here at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua.  World renowned scientists, photographers and filmmakers will be on hand to share their latest research and projects with the public, through educational seminars and programs, activities for children, book signing... 01/13/2012

  Aloha from your resident experts! From Jan 1 to December 31, there were 35 listings (3 were short sale and 8 were REO/bank owned). Out of 35 listings, 5 were taken off the  market or expired, 17 were sold, and 1 was pending at the end of the year.  At year end there were 12 active listings.   2011 has been a year of extremes—from the lowest priced sale for a 2/2 unit at $205,000 in February to the highest closed sale for a 2/2 at $325,000 in November.  The reasons for the extremes are differences in seller’s and buyer’s situation/motivation, location and condition of the units, and timing. The low was bank owned with no furniture and a quit claim deed;  the high was nicely furnished and in one of the best locations overlooking the large pool and pavilion and with a mountain view. This... 01/07/2012

  Aloha!   Condo sales on Maui increased slightly in 2011 over 2010.  Condo sales in Kaanapali, however, were down by 30% and it was a slow year at Kaanapali Shores as well.  And while Kaanapali Shores may be the best value in the whole area, sales were down and prices were down in every category. There were 3 studios sold in ’10. That dropped to only 2 last year, and both of those units sold early in the year.  There are currently 12 studios for sale including leasehold units.  Showings do seem to be picking up. One bedroom units didn’t fare much better.  There were 7 ocean view one bedroom units sold in ’10 and 6 in ’11.  The important thing is that the median selling price in ’10 was $404,000 and decreased to $352,500 in 2011. But if things were slow for studio and one bedroom units,... 01/06/2012

The start of 2012 is all about Kapalua Golf! All eyes are on Maui's famed Kapalua Resort, as the Hyundai Tournament of Champions welcomes the world's best golfers to the Plantation Course for the PGA Tour's season opening event.  Home to some of the most breath-taking views in the resort, you'll find some of Kapalua's finest estate homes nestled along the course in the Plantation Estates.  The tournament is a fundraiser for local charities, and the course has some incredible spots for spectators, so please join us if you will be on Maui. Kapalua Golf has been stacking up accolades in the new year as well:  GolfWorld has just named both the Plantation Course and Bay Course Pro Shops to the 2012 "100 Best Golf Shops." Legendary for the challenging Plantation Course, and the oceanfront Bay... 01/03/2012

The 11th Annual Lighting of the Banyan Tree will be held this weekend, December 3-4 in downtown Lahaina.  As has been the tradition, the tree will be lit with hundreds of strings of brightly colored Christmas lights. The official tree lighting is at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening; however, festivities run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.  Some of those festivities would include a visit to the Winter Wonderland where Frosty, our Hawaiian "snowman" will be.  Santa arrives on Saturday at 2 p.m.  This will also mark the start of  children's crafts, including face painting and some very fun cookie decorating. Music begins at 10 a.m.  Admission is free, with the exception of the Winter Wonderland, where the Lahaina Town Action Committee is requesting a donatio... 12/02/2011

A simple Hawaiian hale in Lahaina Maui, home sweet home Simple architecture in a climate where you don't need heating or cooling.  HALE (pronounced ha-leh) is the Hawaiian word meaning house or home.  This is not really somebody's home, but a hale in a park near the beach. Lahaina Maui HI 96761 homes for sale Are you looking for a simple home in Hawaii?  A little grass shack by the beach perhaps, or a cozy jungle cabin?  Let me help with your search and negotiations... call or text me 808 283-0635 ~ EMAIL Georgina M. Hunter Maui Realtor(S) e-Pro  Search the Maui MLS here  Aloha from Maui...   11/30/2011

11/23/2011

Aloha! The latest edition of the Kapalua Real Estate Market Update and Newsletter is now available online. The real estate market in Kapalua has held relatively steady over the past year.  Comparing sales through this time in 2011 with 2010, we see that the number of sales is up 11%, and sales volume is up 19% with $81,248,862 in closed sales in 2011 vs. $65,533,000 for the same period in 2010.  It is noteworthy that average closing prices are up approximately 10% over last year--the low remained the same and the high was buoyed by the sale of a magnificent home in the Plantation Estates at $14 million. Our market has done well compared with other areas of the island and the mainland US.  In part, we have few short sales and foreclosures (4 REO's and 2 Short Sales out of 37 Sales Year t... 11/22/2011

36 East Mahi Pua place Lahaina HI 96761 Maui Hawaii for the sum of $1500000.00 Judicial hearing to proceed 120 Hui Road F L-204 Lahaina Hi 96761for the sum of $ mystery aoao 11/04/2011

  Halloween was "Back on Front Street" this year! Hundreds turn out to participate in Halloween Parade on Front Street in Lahaina Town This was the first year in quite a while that Lahaina had an official Halloween Celebration on Front Street. Check out our video of some of the costumes and participants! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyhS0WZHI8U Do you know when the last official Halloween Celebration was on Front Street? Live ALoha! Lahaina Lee 11/03/2011

Halloween in Lahaina Maui is happening again - cruise over there in style! Halloween is BACK ON FRONT.... Once again the famous Lahaina Halloween celebration is happening on Front Street.  In recent years the festiviites were toned down or cancelled altogether due to some community protests, which causes hardship for the merchants in Lahaina.  This year it's full speed ahead and Front Street will be closed to cars to allow revelers to roam the street safely.  It's a party atmosphere all night, with bars and restaurants at capacity, live entertainment, fun activities and costume contests.   If you want to avoid parking hassles and driving while drunk, there's a great alternative to driving over to the West Side.  Pacific Whale Foundation will be offering a couple of COCKTAIL CRUISES depa... 10/21/2011

    Aloha! It is a strange year at Kaanapali Shores.  So far this year there have been just 9 sales.  By this time last year there had been 17 sales, but then there was just one more for the rest of 2010.This quarter there were 3 sales; all of them were one bedroom units, and all were the 717 square foot D floor plans.  One of them, the one on which Lee represented the buyer, was a short sale.We handle a lot of shorts sales, more often than not representing the seller.  They all have their challenges, but all things considered, they generally go pretty smoothly.   This one did not go smoothly.  It took over a year to finish and there were plenty of times it looked like it wasn’t going to happen.  But thanks to a very patient buyer, who hung in there the whole time, it got closed.A short... 10/15/2011

Aloha from your resident experts! From July 1 to September 30, there were 20 listings (2 were short sale and 3 were REO/bank owned). Out of 20 listings, 2 were taken off the  market or expired. And 1 was pending at the end of the quarter.  As of October 10, Aina Nalu owners have sold 15 units in 2011, or an average of 1.67 sales per month.  There were 14 sales in the entire year of 2010, so our sales pace is well ahead of last year’s.Of the 2011 sales, 9 were listed or sold by Aloha Realty Group, so we are feeling very positive about the direction of the market here at Aina Nalu.  Our latest closing on October 7 was unit J106, a one bedroom downstairs unit that sold for $205,000 cash.At this time there are 13 active listings on the MLS for Aina Nalu condos.  At the 2011 sales pace, we ... 10/11/2011

Foreclosure Friday September 23, 2011 151 Mele Komo place Lahaina Hi 96761 for the sum of $520,000.00 with a judicial hearing to follow Surf the Hawaii MLS Find me on Youtube video walk through Find Maui Foreclosures Auctions on Youtube Foreclosure videos Find me on Twitter Twitter Find me on Flickr Fotos Realty Trac Reliable Posting & Publishing USA foreclosures Notice of Defaults in the Star-Advertiser Also The Maui news paper though on line they do not publish Notices of Intent Notice of Defaults in the Pacific Business news. 10/04/2011

Foreclosure Friday 9/30/2011 500 Kapalua Drive Golf Villas Unit # 24 P506 Lahaiana HI 96761 for the sum of $175,000.oo Judicial right of confirmation hearing to proceed Surf the Hawaii MLS Find me on Youtube video walk through Find Maui Foreclosures Auctions on Youtube Foreclosure videos Find me on Twitter Twitter Find me on Flickr Fotos Realty Trac Reliable Posting & Publishing USA foreclosures Notice of Defaults in the Star-Advertiser Also The Maui news paper though on line they do not publish Notices of Intent Notice of Defaults in the Pacific Business news. 10/04/2011

One of the wonderful things about living on Maui is the incredible community, which gathers together to lend support and encouragement to those in need.  Several members of our community have gathered together to present a "Dinner of Aloha" to raise funds to assist the family of Olivia Bianco, a young girl from Maui recently diagnosed with cancer.  Olivia is in home hospice care, and proceeds from the dinner will assist the family with mounting medical and living costs. If you are a foodie and happen to be on island, you'll want to check out this six course wine dinner held beachfront at the charming old Olowalu Plantation House.  Prepared by Chef Luis Fuentes of Island Catering and featuring fine wines from Sandwich Isle Cellars, the menu includes Hawaiian Ahi Poke, Lobster Mango Summe... 09/25/2011