Maui Million Dollar Home Sales ($1.0M+) – Day 5 of 10 – Price Per Square Foot

September 22, 2013

From January 1, 2012 through September 16, 2013, a total of 231 “million dollar plus” homes sold in Maui County, generating total volume in excess of $525 million.  There are many ways that Hawaii real estate appraisers analyze sales statistics for luxury homes.  Because a proper market study for this segment would run many pages, I am posting one article per day for ten days.

Day 5 of 10 – Maui Million Dollar ($1.0M+) Single Family Homes By Price Per Square Foot Of Living Area

Consider the following graph and chart, which measures each of the million dollar sales divided by their respective living areas in square feet:

Maui Million Dollar Sales By Price Re Square Foot

Maui Million Dollar Sales By Price Per Square Foot

 

Island of Maui Million Dollar Single Family Homes By Price Per Square Foot Of Living Area
Sold From 1/1/2012 through 9/16/2013
Price Per Square Foot # of Sales % of Total
$0-$250 2 0.9%
$250-$500 81 35.1%
$500-$750 77 33.3%
$750-$1000 36 15.6%
$1000-$1250 14 6.1%
$1250-$1500 7 3.0%
$1500-$1750 4 1.7%
$1750-$2000 2 0.9%
$2000-$2250 2 0.9%
$2250-$2500 2 0.9%
$2500-$2750 1 0.4%
$2750-$3000 1 0.4%
$3000-$3250 0 0.0%
$3250-$3500 0 0.0%
$3500-$3750 1 0.4%
$3750-$4000 1 0.4%
Total 231 100.0%

More than 90 percent of Maui’s million dollar home sales in the study period fall in the “price per square foot” range of $250 to $1,250, with the $250 to $1,000 range accounting for 84 percent of the transactions.

Maui real estate agents that are active in the luxury sector report that the high-end/luxury market typically begins at the $1,000 per square foot level.  The sub-$1,000 data shows how raw demand for Maui residences generates a great number of high dollar ($1.0 M plus) sales for “less-than-luxury” homes.

The two sales that cleared the $3,000 per square foot level did so for different reasons: one was a prime white sand beach home on South Kihei Road that sold for $23.0 million.  The other was an older/smaller cottage on an amazing 1.1 acre oceanfront lot near Paia–the high price per square foot of living area was due to the largely insignificant improvements on a very valuable piece of land.

Bottom Line: At least on Maui, a million bucks doesn’t go as far as it used to.

At these prices, it is easy to see how a Maui real estate appraiser could be regularly confronted with homes that sell for prices that easily exceed Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA conforming loan limits.

Questions or comments?  Please leave them in the comment  box below, I would be happy to clarify and/or expand.

Aloha, Chris

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