A June Economic Update For Maui

The 14-day quarantine rule for all visitors and even returning residents to the State of Hawaii is still in effect until at least July 1^st.

In spite of the quarantine, more visitors keep arriving in Hawaii each day. On Sunday, 1891 people arrived in Hawaii. Of course, this is nothing compared to the average daily visitor count last year which was close to 30,000.

Businesses have slowly started reopening and inter-island travel is scheduled to reopen on June 16^th. Read more about the quarantine rules in effect as of today.

As you would expect, the quarantine rules are having a huge impact on our tourist related economy. In Maui, the unemployment rate was and probably still is the highest in the Country at over 35% in May. As we slowly reopen, my guess is that it is much lower now, but still terribly high. Read more.

You would think that given the large scale unemployment that our real estate market would have ground to a halt, but it has not. Sales of homes in May were up 8% and the median price was up 4% versus a year ago.

Keep in mind though that sales are a lagging indicator as the normal sale takes about 60 days to record. Condos are affected way more by the quarantine as they are often being bought by off-island people. This category dropped by 18% in May, but the median sales price was still up by 11%. Here is a link to a graphic showing the overall sales in May for the whole island as well as broken down by District.

We know from our personal experience that there is still a huge pent-up demand for housing on Maui. We listed a bank owned property 12 days ago in Kula (featured on a previous newsletter). We had over 60 showings in the first 5 days, and we submitted 8 offers all over the asking price.

We hope and pray for a lifting of the quarantine rules soon so that our friends, clients, family, and visitors may once again enjoy what was voted: Best Island in the World for 23 consecutive years by Conde Nast Travelers.

Please call or email us if you have any questions, or we may help you in any way.

As always, stay safe and be healthy!

Photo by Satty Singh on Unsplash