February Maui Whale Festival

In February, Maui is a hub of activity for whale lovers. The Maui Whale Festival includes an entire month of planned events that will allow both residents and visitors to show their support, lend a hand in conservation, and learn about these majestic denizens of the deep.

Let's go over some of the highlights.

• A Tribute to the Whales: Whale & Dolphin Photography Exhibition in Ma'alaea will have its doors open, free to the public, daily from 10:00am to 4:00pm, until February 29.
• Run and Walk for the Whales is scheduled for February 4 and 19.
• VIP Whalewatch Cruise with Pacific Whale Foundation's President and founder, Greg Kaufman, on February 5.
• February 10 and 11 is Weekend with the Experts, a free venue where whale researchers, scientists and photographers will present their most recent discoveries. The same whale and ocean specialists will then take guests out onto the water for the VIP Whalewatch with the Experts on February 11 and 12.
• Keiki E.C.O. Day (Educating Children Outdoors) will be on February 17 at Kalama Park.
• February 18 is the much anticipated World Whale Day. This spectacular, annual event will include Maui's Parade of Whales, a "Made On Maui" Artisans Fair, Keiki Carnival, delicious food and a Silent Auction. Live music for World Whale Day will be featuring John Cruz, Anuhea, Willie K., Marty Dread, HAPA, and others.
• On February 22, the Pacific Whale Foundation will host a free, guided hike in Lahaina for the Whalewatch and Natural History Hike. Whale Watch Photo Safaris will also be featured Sundays on February 5, 12, 19, and 26.

The Maui Whale Festival is sponsored by the Pacific Whale Foundation, a non-profit organization that specializes in whale research and conservation. February's festival is part of an ongoing, 6 month succession of events that began in November and will continue until May. The lengthy nature of the celebration is aligned with the season in which the humpback whales take up residence in the protective waters that surround our islands. In all of Hawaii, these whales prefer to spend their winter days in the areas of 300 foot deep ocean that separate Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i and Kaho'olawe. Maui no ka oi!

For detailed information on individual events and a full calendar schedule, visit www.mauiwhalefestival.org. If you have any questions or comments for the Maui Whale Festival, call (808) 249-8811 ext. 1. If you're interested in Sponsoring the Maui Whale Festival, call Toula Vivilakis at (808) 856-8304, or if you'd like to volunteer, call Kelly Vough at (808) 856-8320.

In the meantime, if you are interested in joining us here permanently and buying Maui real estate, or real estate on Lanai or Molokai, you'll find plenty of Hawaii mls listings to choose from in your search. If you need assistance, you'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

Alternative Energy Festival on Molokai

On January 13th and 14th, Moloka'i will be hosting its very first alternative energy festival. If you're a Moloka'i resident, or happen to be visiting, this is an excellent opportunity to explore energy saving workshops and investigate different strategies intended to aid homes and small businesses. A wealth of information will be provided and several energy saving devices will be put on display by contractors and exhibitors.

The festival will also include live music and delicious food. This is a family-friendly event, so if you'd like to bring your keiki (child), there will be children's booths and a youth poster contest. If your keiki would be interested in entering the contest, entries are due by Jan. 12th.

The event has been organized by I Aloha Moloka'i (IAM), a Hawaiian non-profit organization that aims to keep Moloka'i clean and green. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has chosen to support the organization by approving a $92,500 grant for the festival. IAM strongly opposes the Big Wind Project, an effort that would build 90 colossal wind turbines over 18 square miles of Molokai land. All energy generated by this project would be given solely to Oahu via a billion-dollar undersea cable.

The alternative energy festival will be held at the Mitchell Pau'ole Center from 8am to 6pm on both days. If you'd like more information on the youth poster contest, visit ialohamolokai.com or for further details on the festival itself, contact Cheryl Corbiell at 808-553-9009 or via email at ialohamolokai@gmail.com.

Looking for a Hawaii home? Not only do we specialize in Maui real estate, but Lanai and Molokai real estate as well. We strive to provide you with the highest standard in assistance throughout the real estate purchase process. You'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

Maui Real Estate Sales Are Up

Normally, when Maui real estate statistics are released by the Realtors Association of Maui (RAM), an agent will warn you that because the market is small, individual sales make up a larger proportion of the whole. For this reason, a single sale can exaggerate the percentages. For example, if someone tells you that real estate sales in Hana doubled last month you might be impressed, until you found out that there were, say, four sales last month, as opposed to two during the same month last year. Sometimes, however, the numbers should be considered substantial.

During the month of November, however, single-family home sales within Maui County rose by 26 percent compared to the same month last year. What does that mean by the numbers? There were 73 sales compared to 58. It's up to you to decide how substantial that change is, but a statistic like that will generally be considered quite significant.

Prices also went up, but only slightly. The median price of a single-family home in Maui County was $450,000 in November, as opposed to $445,000 during the same month last year.

As for condos, sales increased by 12 percent last month, based on the sale of 74 units compared with 66 during November of 2010. Unlike home prices, condo prices fell. They went from $349,990 in November of last year to $261,750 last month. That is a 25 percent drop.

Now as for your Maui real estate search, it is up to you to decide when it is the best time to buy. As they say, there's no bell that rings when the market hits the bottom. In the meantime, if you would like to browse Maui homes and condos, see the categories to the left. If you need assistance, you'll find my contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!

Visitor Spending up in Hawaii and Maui

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) has recently reported that total visitor spending jumped nearly 20 percent in September, compared to the same month last year. What an incredible boost for our economy. Revenues topped out at over a billion dollars.

The HTA pointed to an increase in average daily spending from visitors coming from the West Coast, Japan and Canada. Spending went up by 12.6 percent from $176.40 to $198.60 per person, per day. The total was just over a billion, as opposed to the $839.6 million spent in September 2010.

The report also pointed to a continuing increase in Japanese visitor spending, which is a good sign for their economy, given the tragic natural disasters that struck them in March.

Arrivals rose by a slight 4 percent from 539,255 to 560,707 visitors. As for total visitor days, which is the number of arrivals multiplied by the average length of stay, rose by 6.3 percent to 5 million, compared with 4.75 in September last year.

As you'll often hear from we real estate agents, it is important to look at long-term trends rather than put a lot of stock into short-term numbers. So, let's look at the year thus far. Total visitor spending for the first nine months of the year was $9.3 billion. That is a 14.7 percent increase compared with the same period in 2010, when a total of $8.1 billion was spent. Mike McCartney, the President and CEO of the HTA expects this momentum to continue in the fourth quarter.

Economic analysts have gathered data showing that Maui's economy has been improving thanks to tourism and despite a lag in construction projects, the latter of which is expected to pick up as there are several in the works now. As mentioned in an earlier blog, Maui is also leading the state in the sale of foreclosure and REO homes and the rate of foreclosure is slowing. All these factors point to an increase in Maui real estate value if the current trends persist, and they have indeed been consistent. If you are interested in taking advantage of affordable Maui real estate prices, this may be the best time to buy. You'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page if you need any assistance. Mahalo!

New Hawaii Foreclosure Resolution Program

In our last blog, we discussed the fact that Maui has been seeing the highest percentage of foreclosure sales in Hawaii, and how foreclosure rates are slowing throughout the state. Now the state of Hawaii has introduced a mortgage foreclosure dispute resolution program that should slow them further.

According to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, this new program will allow owner-occupants with homes in nonjudicial foreclosure to have an opportunity not only to meet directly with their lenders, but also to work with them to modify loans and agree on an alternative to foreclosure.

This development is all part of a new state law that was designed to reform Hawaii's foreclosure process, and funding will come from fees paid by participating lenders and homeowners. It will be in effect from October 1st 2011 to September 30th, 2014.

We'll have to see how this effort plays out. Just because lenders have to meet with owners doesn't mean a resolution to appease both sides will be achieved. Hopefully there are provisions within this program that require certain flexibilities from both parties.

Again, if the program is successful, Hawaii foreclosure rates should continue to slow, depending on the performance of the economy in the future. In Maui County, tourism has gone through a major revitalization this year, but overall recovery has been hampered by a lack of work in construction.

As for those who are considering a Maui real estate purchase, or perhaps real estate on Molokai or Lanai, we would be happy to assist you. We also specialize in REO real estate, so if you need any assistance, you'll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!