 Then nicely, and this is the life of the land is in its real estate within tech Hawaii. Today, I am lucky enough to have Rita Chin from Fidelity National Title from Maui. We're gonna talk about how COVID-19 has affected the market on outer islands and what it looks like on Maui. So, hi Rita. Thanks for joining me. Hi Keena. Nice to see you. Yes. It's great to meet you and see you too. So, go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself. Okay. I'm Rita. I am proud to say that I work at Fidelity National Thailand Escrow. I began in this industry actually in 1990, I was licensed as an agent from 90 to 94 and I started Fidelity's first office on Maui in 1998. I was there for eight years and then went off and did my own thing and then came back into the Thailand Escrow industry in 2011. So, we just work well here, play fun and we are Maui Nukoi. So, I'm here to just update you guys on what's happening in the real estate market. Great. So, what is that? Well, like everywhere, if you don't mind showing, that is probably the two biggest questions that we get asked. What's happening in real estate on Maui and what's selling. So, if you can pull up that one, what I'd love to show you is here at Fidelity, we have been keeping statistics since January 2019 for those of you who like numbers or need to know the data. The green is pending and the blue is sold. So this is a graph since January of 2019 and what I want to show you just like you and Oahu, the second week in March is when everything shut down. So you will notice this big drop in our pending and of course sales follows. In April of this year, we had for Fidelity, 27% of our deals got canceled, which is huge statewide. So, you can see this huge drop in the market, but I want to let you know is this is a very similar graph to the stock market graph in real estate. When investors feel as though they have money, they spend. And so this you recovery, which is what we're calling it and we're willing it, this graph, this you recovery is very similar to the stock market. And I'm really happy to say that August of this year was the very first month that Maui put more pendings and we recorded more sales than any month versus last year. So that is very encouraging. We educate the realtors weekly on what's happening in the market and if you can pull up that third slide now coming through September. So you know, just like Oahu, September is usually a slower month. That is when all the kids go back in school and that is when it slows down. But looking at this graph, I'm thrilled to see that just I pulled the numbers about an hour ago for this. We have put in 270 deals in the month of September and how that compares is last September, we only put 221. So it's a 49 unit difference. We recorded only about 86% of the deals this in September. We recorded 219 versus 253, but I guess what overall, I mean, that is really encouraging given the 14-day quarantine given people haven't been here. And the reality is I say this so much, Maui Naka'oi, we in Hawaii, especially Maui, we are seen as a very safe place. I think what this time has done for us, it's caused people to really examine their lives, where they put their time, where they want to live and we are getting a lot of people who are coming to the mainland. The other point I do want to point out, because it does affect so many investors, because on Maui we have a lot of investors, the big notable item is that historically on Maui, Kina, we have recorded about 59% of the transactions have always been condo sales, mostly second owners, investors. If you'll notice at the bottom of that little third page graph, in March we recorded 59% of the deals were condos. In less than six months, that has dropped to 53%. So that 6% difference is huge. So we're seeing that more homes are selling now versus condos. So why do you think that is? Why are they looking, I mean, I have my theory as to why people are achieving single family homes. We are seeing the same thing here on a lot who are inventory of condos is months more than single family homes. What is your theory there on Maui? Why do you think you're seeing? Well, first off, the 6% drop in condos, owners are unable right now to get income. And honestly, because things have not yet fully opened or not yet opened, some owners need that income to offset their mortgages. A lot of people, again, as I say, are moving to Maui. They're buying the homes. They want to make Maui their home. So you're seeing a lot of, it's a ying and yang of investors pulling out of the condo market. However, and the other thing we're seeing is there's so many more listings for condos than there are versus homes. So that will affect, and I'm sure we know, the supply and demand, what's going to happen with prices for condos. So that's what we're seeing on Maui. Yeah, we're seeing a mirror image here, although I think we rebounded more in a V than a U. I feel like we did. We are selling, surprisingly, it's a crazy market for single family homes. So who's buying these homes on Maui? Are they coming from the mainland? Who's really the ones buying them? Interesting. I pulled up a year to date through just August, not September. So it turns out 59% of the transactions, you know, were residents of Hawaii, which is really interesting. Five or 15% came from California and here on Maui, 5% from Washington. And again, this discounts September numbers, but it's August. And I would love to pull this up on the first page of the overview because I know that there are people who love Oahu, but a lot of people who are interested in Maui as well. What this shows you, and I want to point this out to you as we go through this every week, it's the fact that we are having, again, more home sales. And when you look at the pending sales homes, 224 to condos, 211, that's a big difference when it used to be 60% of condos versus home. It's pending are now, you know, almost equal. What's interesting too, we have had a drop in home sales of 12% year to date through today versus 24% difference in condo sales. The other item I want to bring up are the new listings that I say. There are 335 homes on the market versus 743 condo sales. So a lot of, you know, think about it on the mainland, people have lost their jobs. And so what are they going to get up first? Their investment in Hawaii or their principal residence back home? So a lot of activity in the condo market, but interesting. And I think it's the same thing in Oahu, both the median sales prices for condos and home, both up. So, you know, that's an interesting thing that's happening is that the price of real estate, both in Oahu and Maui, I believe, have both increased versus last year. So what is the median price for a single family home on now? Seven hundred and sixty nine thousand. You guys are right there. I think you're about seven ninety nine. Yep. We're about right there. Now, what about with the condos of somebody? If ours are higher? Ours are five hundred and sixty one thousand for median sales price. Yours is probably, I would guess, in the high fours. Yeah. Yeah. So how do your maintenance fees look there? Are you? It seems like we average between five hundred and a thousand dollars a month in maintenance fees for condos. It varies. Ours are probably a little higher. Most of the business, just so that, you know, Maui, South Maui does about thirty two percent of the transaction. So South Maui is a place where there's hotels. It's the resort areas. It's the condo market. It's the higher end west side. That's the second busiest marketplace. So they do about twenty four percent of the deals. And so the maintenance fees, I think, are slightly higher than Oahu because our our condos, our median prices are are a little bit more expensive than yours over there. So I do work with a lot of investors who are looking to, you know, buy something that needs a little work and maybe put money into it and then put it back on the market. Do you see a lot of that going on there and now on Maui, a lot of fix and flip kind of stuff? There there have been and there are. There continues to be a lot of opportunity here on Maui. But what you're seeing are a lot of these condo condos coming on the market. And I'm noticing because I get notifications of price reductions. So and we have a lot of clients, a couple of clients, especially realtors, licensed in the business for 30 years. And that's all they do is they hunt for the good deals. And it is slim with the price that you purchase it for, the money that you put in it and then you turn around and sell it. So the selling cost. So yeah, so somebody, you know, wanted to come to Maui, maybe buy a second home. What do you think like the best area and we know have no crystal balls? We take no responsibility. But if they wanted to, I always have to preface with that, if they wanted to buy a rental, so what what may be the best part of the island to look into as far as investments? Well, it all depends. You know, we have people who it depends on you. If you're coming from the mainland and you are sick, tired, the cold. Well, obviously you want to be down by the water. And that is South Maui or West Maui, South Maui inventory. There's a lot more inventory. And again, that's where 32 percent of the deals happen. So there's a lot of turnover on this side on West Maui. That's the second busiest area. But those prices are a little bit more expensive. And so I would say South Maui. I would say only when the island is opened up and you can count on that additional income for those who are second home homeowners or investors. So so how is your rental market? So my last show, I did have a property manager. He was great, great information on the O'ahu rental market. How is the long term rental market there? Is you know what? Amazingly, it is strong. And I know this to be true because a lot of my clients, realtors, they manage properties and they have literally they will put properties on the market for rent. They have had to lower prices a little bit, but they're getting scooped up because people there are a number of people and you can see it in the Honolulu star and in the Maui now and Maui news, just how many people have come here with the intention of moving here. So they rent first. And so it's a it's a strong. All of this doesn't make sense, to be honest with you, Kina. I was talking to another realtor. This makes no sense that the stock market was up 500 points today. And it has truly recovered. It's again, that you recovery, which a lot, you know, that with the unemployment in Hawaii and Maui has taken just so you know, the island of Maui has had the biggest hit on unemployment. The hotels have yet to open. And still the real estate market is recovering, is strong. The interest rates continue to be low, historically low. But it makes no sense to me. It's as I work every day, I am thankful, thankful that that people are still able to get into homes. Yeah, we talked about the long term rental. Let's talk a little about you guys do have the short term rentals. I don't know if you may have more. How many you told me how many short term rental licenses they had on Maui? Well, you know, there's a graph there. And if you can pull it up, just want to share with you the short term versus the long term in this graph, the short term is the blue. And again, the big drop that happened from March to April, but it's slowly recovering. The long term rentals are still available and still being sold. It's a tough thing right now with the uncertainty. Here's the good news about Maui, though, from what we hear. Four Seasons is opening November 20th. So here are the gauges for the island of Maui. Four Seasons has started renovations for November 20th. When we know that a hotel of that caliber is opening up, they have are in close contact with the governor, the visited beers, etc. They're opening up November 20th. Our big, beautiful restaurant, the five star mama's fish house. They are set to open November 6th from what we're being told. The hotels have earmarked tentative opening dates from November on, which is going to bring a ton more for the Christmas season. And hopefully for us, as you know, it's the high season after Thanksgiving through March in real estate. You know, I'd love to talk like how this covid has actually affected statewide. So if you can pull up that statewide and referencing your condo question. So what's interesting is all of us, all islands have been affected. The number one island hit, which is really interesting for condos, the big island through August, they were down 33 percent. So one third of their condo sales cut from Maui. We took the second big hit 26 percent down through August. Hawaii, 23 percent and Oahu, 21 percent, which honestly is not that big of a from what I would expect in Oahu. Now, homes really different. When we, Mercy Palmer and I, who my partner in crime, who I work with, we take all the stats, we look at them, we examine them and give it to our clients when we looked at the home sales because of covid. So the one, the island that took the biggest hit on home sales. Why? Surprisingly, they really, if you remember, they shut their island quickly and for a lot longer. So their home sales dropped 28 percent. Then Maui took the second hit. We dropped almost 12 percent hit in home sales. And what surprised me, Kina, Oahu, you guys four and a half percent off from last year, which not that bad. And then the big island almost four percent, three point seven four. May I ask you a question? For home sales, do you, did you have a lot of military where there are a lot of transactions because of this with covid? What did you, I'm just curious because of the bases over there. Yeah. So we don't have the inventory because a lot of the military are not leaving yet. They don't have their orders to leave. So they're not comfortable putting their houses on the market. We're just now starting to see our VA buyers come in. So I, I mean, I only picked up five VA referrals just in the last two weeks. So they're just now coming in and starting to do their home searches. So what we were normally seeing and we prepped for in April and May and think they're going to get here in June because, you know, they want to come after schools out. Yeah, that didn't happen. We they didn't come and we still the market still stayed strong with with people buying here on the island, selling their condos because the interest rates are great and being in those small condos with a family locked down, they were ready to get out. They want the yard, they want more space. So that's who we were selling to and working with during the summer months. And now the veterans and the VA buyers, they're coming now and a lot of active duty. Now they're moving. We've got some coming, you know, we'll be there in in January, March, the two of the referrals from that I talked to you today will be here in March. So it's just a later, a later push. So I don't know, you don't have that market. No, no, we work a lot with the high end luxury as well. So very a lot of clients. And here's the word on the street from our high end luxury clients. And this is both on West Maui side and South Maui side. There are so many wealthy investors who are waiting to get back here, who are waiting to come back to pull the trigger on purchasing high end properties. But because of the whole COVID, they're just pausing. And but they're not ruling it out. You know, my friend who is up sells montage. Those owners are antsy and they've just set an open date. They're antsy and cranky to get back here. And I just spoke this morning to my friend who owns Path Media, one of the largest media companies in the state of Hawaii and does a lot on Big Island and Maui. He says after the governor, you know, lifted the October 15th, the negative test, his phone has been ringing off the hook. The high end market here, especially I think on Maui, it's just been a pause. People, investors want to get back here. And we have had some major transactions close. High end transactions close here, both on the West side and on the South Maui side. And there's going to be a lot more opportunity with 740 condo listings on the market and with some price reductions. Yeah, so it could be the time to get your deal on Maui. If you're, you know, of that second home on Maui. I I do have a friend that she has her second home on Maui and has just been so frustrated because she can't go. Um, you can't go to her other home, but so yeah. So with your high end deals, have you had a lot of luxury closings? Because because like I told you before, I feel like Maui has money. So when I'm there, I'm always like, wow. Yeah, absolutely. A West side deal before it was put on the market went in and enclosed. I think within 15 days we record it for $16 million. Wow. So you're still seeing those types of transactions. Oh, absolutely. And those realtors again, they're telling me that their clients are just waiting. And so absolutely, things are still moving and their offers. We continue to do estimated statements with every day. I mean, actually this week. So the highest pending we've ever had on Maui were 624. And that was in February. And this is over 15, 18 years. With 624 pendants and this past 10 days, we finally went over the 500 mark because we went all the way down in it to 320 pendants for the. And that was back a third week, fourth week in March, but now it's back up to 523 this morning. So is that just within fidelity or is that Island of Maui? Wow. The Island of Maui. Yeah, the highest ever 624 in February. And again, dropped to 320, you imagine? And then now we'll back up to five. And again, it makes no sense, except now I know Kauai. Yeah, I mean, it's great. So it's a good point. So wow. Well, is there anything else you'd like to share with our guests? Just in case they're interested in coming to Maui and making it their home or their second home? Well, just know this, you know, what we try to explain to people in the title and escrow. And I think this is under normal circumstances, but also COVID. Buying and selling real estate is probably going to be your most expensive purchase or sale in your life. And around that surrounds a lot of emotion. And then when you on top of it, add the COVID with the inspections, with the masks, with, you know, the bureau opened, but our offices, just to let you know, we are closed to the public. Attorneys are still, most of them are working out of their homes. So, you know, I just want to encourage anyone who's looking to purchase or sell to. I encourage you to have a lot more grace and mercy during this time because everyone's doing their best, given the circumstances with showings, with recordings, with signings. You know, for example, Canadians, our borders are closed. So working with consulates and doing mobile notary signings, that can be very difficult. And so this can be for those looking to purchase. Maui is is Maui. It's something that will never change. It is truly I'm incredibly blessed to live here. It is if you're going to get stuck and be a stay at home or quarantine, this is the island to do it. The island is so quiet right now, Kina. I am hiking, I am swimming, I am doing everything. And so I just encourage people life is short. And so maybe at this time, you kind of reexamine your lives and think about life is short. Where do you want to end up or where do you want to be? And just value the stillness. I that has been the best thing. I mean, I know it's it's the economy is taking the hip. But the stillness around us and then to be able to walk on the beach and it's it's so quiet. And then I you know, this weekend, I was swimming and watching the beach and it was all these local families enjoying Mikey Key. Yes, I understand the impact it has on the economy, but it was just a beautiful sight. It was amazing. So, yes, I I understand. And we will get back to where we are. But so let's real quick. Are you your agents doing a lot of virtual showings and virtual inspections? I know how it is on Maui. It might be different from Milwaukee. So there are no open houses per se. There are open houses by appointment only. There's a little number of limited. You have to have masks. You have to do all the health requirements. But they're doing a lot of virtual tours. There have been a great number of closings with people on the mainland who their by their agent will do the final walkthrough. And of course, you hire an inspector because it's worth your money to hire a professional. And they're doing virtual showings. They are doing a lot of videos. We at Fidelity put together what's called Fidelity Maui Connects. So we do a meeting twice a week and we gather realtors and they're able to pitch their listings to one another. We educate them on statistics. We give them tech tips, update them on escrow and title. What's going on? Because there have been so many changes for the Bureau just all throughout the last six months as we're just all finding our way. So well, thank you for everything you're doing for them. Because, yes, a real estate agent during this time is it definitely has its challenges. It's totally worth it, but thanks for everything you do to make make our job a little bit easier. So, yes, but thank you very much. This was great. And thank you, everyone. Again, I'm Keena Nisley. I'm with Keller Williams on a Wahoo. I work out of Honolulu. And this is the life of the land is in its real estate. And thank you, Think Tech Hawaii for the opportunity. And I will see you all in a couple of weeks and we will talk about the commercial market or right now the lack there of the commercial market and the impact that's having. So I will see you all in a couple of weeks. Thank you very much and have a great day. Thank you.