Maui Million Dollar Home Sales ($1.0M+) – Day 7 of 10 – “When Were They Built?”

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 7 of 10 – Maui Million Dollar ($1.0M+) Single Family Homes By Year Built

Consider the following graph and chart, which categorize Maui million dollar home sales by the year of their construction:

Maui Million Dollar Home Sales By Year Built

More than 50 percent of the Valley Isle’s million dollar home sales have been built since 2000, with 84 percent constructed since 1980.

Bottom Line: Newer is better, no surprise here.

As wealthy buyer preferences for residential real estate evolve over time, the luxury segment is quick to adapt.  For example, solar energy and “great rooms” are in, rear projection television nooks and galley kitchens are out.

Although they are usually built to high construction standards, an appraiser often observes that residences in the high-end/second-home market can have economic lives that are are shorter than less expensive dwellings–sometimes meaningfully so.  A future article will identify a case study or two where ultra-high end oceanfront homes in Hawaii were torn down for land value/redevelopment, despite being less than 20 years old!

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

Aloha, Chris

Bonus: Economic Life

economic life

The period over which improvements to real property contribute to property value.

Source: Appraisal Institute, The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal, 5th ed. (Chicago: Appraisal Institute, 2010).