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Wailea Real Estate Market Insights
Wailea is one of Maui's most pristine and coveted resort areas. Known primarily for its amazing sunny weather, calm beaches, and luxury lifestyle, Wailea is also home to some of Maui's most beautiful properties and a robust luxury real estate market.
There are 18 different communities with condos for sale in Wailea, 9 of which are currently approved for short term rentals and 9 of which are not. There are 8 residential neighborhoods with homes for sale in Wailea, all of which are gated.
Makena, a smaller but more expensive market, has historically been included with Wailea in MLS statistical reporting. However, with the addition of Makena Golf and Beach Club and the ultra-luxury oceanfront homes in Makena, the numbers can skew the averages as an oceanfront home in Makena can sell for 30M and a condo at the Beach Club can go for up to 22M. Makena condo complexes include Makena Surf, a hotel zoned short-term rental, and Na Hale O'Makena, an apartment zoned non-short-term rental
My report will include some of the statistics that include both Wailea and Makena, but mainly it will be about the trends I'm seeing as a realtor from my office in Wailea and how they can inform decisions for buyers and sellers.
Wailea Real Estate For Sale
Wailea/Makena Real Estate By The Numbers YTD 2024
Sales Price and Closed Sales
As of November 2nd, year to date in Wailea and Makena, there have been 22 closed residential transactions with a range of 1.93M for 21 Waikai Street in Wailea Kai to the highest sale of 47 Malukai Lane, a Makena oceanfront masterpiece, for $38.5M. If we remove the three Makena residential sales, the average price for a single family home in Wailea has been $4,937,251 compared to $3,862,326 in 2022.
For condos, a busy sector in Wailea, there have been 139 closed sales with a range of $989,000 for a Grand Champions unit to $22,000,000 for a 4,430 sqft residential condo in Makena Golf and Beach Club. Of the 139 closed sales this year, 56 of the closed sales were for the much anticipated La'i Loa complex that is across the street from Wailea Ekahi. 19 of the closed sales were new development in Makena Golf and Beach Club. Wailea Ekahi was the third busiest condo community with 13 transactions so far on 2024. The average price for a condo in Wailea, excluding the Makena sales, was $2,732,750 compared to $2,325,996 in 2022.
Due to the proposed short term rental ban in the apartment districts on Maui, prices have suffered in the apartment zoned STR complexes in Wailea. This is includes Wailea Ekahi, Wailea Ekolu, Palms at Wailea, and Grand Champions. I'll discuss that further below.
Recent Condo Sales in Wailea
Days on Market
For single family properties, the average days on market for a home in Wailea or Makena has been 154 days, this is up from previous years when in 2022 average days on market was 109 and in 2023 the average DOM was 123.
For the condo data, I excluded La'i Loa and Makena Beach Club as their days on market are going to skew the data since they have been under contract for years before closing, and the average in 2024 has been 120 days on market which is on par with 2023 at 129 DOM and higher than 2022 when the average was 72 DOM.
Wailea Condos For Sale
Factors Driving the Current Market
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The most unusual feature of the market at the moment is certainly the uncertainty surrounding the proposed phase out of short term rentals with apartment zoning. For a full overview and analysis of that situation, you can real my full article on it here. Long story short, the County is attempting to roll back vested property rights of some 7,000 condo owners in a misguided effort to create more housing.
While the planning commission suggested that the County Council consider allowing the resorts districts of Wailea, Ka'anapali, and Kapalua to upzone their short term rental condos to Hotel zoning, the damage has and will be done on price until a resolution has been established. We won't know the direction the County is going to go until January most likely and if they do try to push this ban through, the inevitable legal challenge could take a year or more.
All that being said, in Ekahi, Ekolu, Grand Champions, and the Palms at Wailea sold prices are down significantly. I have represented a several sellers of these units during this time and it has been difficult for everyone to navigate.
We've never seen a time on Maui where anything was really being sold at such a discount and many of the sellers during this time needed to sell for one reason or another and were caused harm to their property value by the Mayor's announcement. Buyers, wanting to hedge their risk, haven't been willing to pay market prices and in many instances the difference in price has been as much as a 30% reduction.
Top Wailea Condo Complexes For 2024
La'i Loa
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La'i Loa has been very much in demand as the hottest and newest luxury residential condo community in Wailea. As the complex was completed over the summer, several resales have already occured in the complex with units selling faster and for more than in other complexes.
Makali'i at Wailea
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Makalii has also been hot. The second newest complex has also been in demand with 4 units closing and 1 unit currently under contract. There are still two units on the market at the time of writing. Buyers have been more cautious with pricing in this market and with 8B selling for 2.5M fully furnished, it looked like prices have steadied.
Ho'olei
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Ho'olei, a hotel zoned short term rentable complex, had a hot start to the year with 4 units closing in the first half, but has been slow ever since with 0 units selling since May. There are currently 5 active units on the market in a range of 5.295m to 6..5M.
Wailea Homes For Sale
Top Wailea Neighborhoods For 2024
Wailea Kialoa
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Wailea Kialoa, particularly the Heleuma Street enclave has seen a lot of activity in 2024 with 5 homes closing on this street alone in the 4M to 6.4M range.
Wailea Golf Estates
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Wailea Golf Estates is always in demand for the luxury buyer looking for the best location in Wailea. There have been 4 homes sales and 2 land sales in the neighborhood with several of homes in the new phase of the luxury neighborhood still on the market along with a few other amazing homes.
In Conclusion
Wailea continues to be a very in demand area of Maui for luxury buyers as it always has been and always will be. With some of Maui's best beaches, hottest new restaurants, and great activities, what's not to love? If you've been considering selling you property in Wailea or you've been considering buying a property in Wailea, I would be more than happy to assist in any way that I can.
Get In Touch With Evan!
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Evan Harlow is an award-winning Realtor on Maui ranking in the top 1% of Coldwell Banker agents worldwide. Evan has the expertise, experience, and work ethic to help you achieve your real estate buying and selling goals. We promise exceptional service and support from the beginning of the process through closing and beyond. See what our clients are saying on Google.
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