Nearly 10 years after shutting down operations at Hawaii's Molokai Ranch, the owners have put the property (35% of the island) on the market for $260 million.  They are looking for a "legacy buyer" not a developer.  *  A ccording to a report by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, some 45% of homes sold on Maui last year went to mainland or foreign buyers .  Oahu had 23% buyers from mainland/overseas, and both Kauai and the Big Island had 37%.

       

On Maui, condominium sales increased to 110 last month, while the median price decreased 4.8% to $400,000 from $420,000 at the same time last year.  Year-to-date condo sales increased 5% to 925, with the median price also increasing 5% to $450,000.  Meanwhile single-family home sales increased to 105 sales last month with a median price of $700,000, a 4.2% increase from $672,063 August 2016.  Year-to-date sales increased 3% to 743 with a median price uptick of 11.1% to $702,000.

            

Now l et's take a look at the  Mahana:

STATUS	UNIT	BD	BA	LIST $	SOLD $	CLOSE
Active	216	1	2	878,500
Active	715	1	2	949,950
Escrow	317	1	1	769,900
Escrow	215	1	2	869,000
Sold	602	0	1	550,000	550,000	06/26/17
Sold	713	0	1	605,000	605,000	03/21/17
Sold	313	0	1	619,000	585,000	05/18/17
Sold	418	1	1	785,000	758,000	08/31/17
Sold	307	1	1	845,000	803,000	04/21/17
Sold	606	1	1	879,000	805,000	06/21/17
Sold	301	2	2	1,450,000	1,350,000	06/20/17
Sold	701	2	2	1,499,000	1,435,000	07/17/17
Sold	609	2	2	1,500,000	1,500,000	07/14/17

Figures from Realtors Association of Maui

There's a new U.S. Customs program that could bring more visitors to Hawaii.  The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a Global Entry pilot program with Japan that will allow up to 1,500 Japanese citizens to receive expedited screening when visiting the U.S.  Japan is the largest international tourism source for Hawaii with nearly 1.5 million Japanese citizen visiting Hawaii last year, and spending over $1 billion in the state's economy while supporting over 26,000 jobs.  *  Could Hawaii benefit from Mexico's travel warning?  The travel warning was issued last month, following an increase in violent crimes in various Mexican states. 

     

The state Office of Consumer Protection is investigating resort fees charged by local hotel operators.   Resort fees at Hawaii hotels typically range between $10 and $40 a night.  They're not included in the standard room rate listed, and some consumers complain that they don't find out about these fees until it's time to check out ... kind of like a "sucker punch".  Well, there's another reason I keep my vacation rentals with  Maui Beachfront Rentals  .  There are no hidden fees.  My guests save money by avoiding all those inflated fees by travel agencies, they're treated like royalty, and they come back year after year. For me, it means no hassles.    No more trying to cover all my bases with a local rental agency here plus extra advertising on sites like VRBO, HomeAway, Flip Key and others to try and get a decent return ... they hit it all and at no additional cost to me! See if you too can get more bang for your buck with  MBR.

United, Delta and Hawaiian Airlines are offering new nonstop service to Maui. Beginning in December United will offer 40 daily flights to the Islands, making it the carrier offering the most flight to Hawaii.  Maui will get daily year-round nonstop service from Denver, as well as the only nonstop flight to Hawaii from Chicago, and an increased number of flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco.  *  Delta will introduce flights to Maui from Salt Lake City in December.  *  Hawaiian Airlines will fly to Maui from Portland beginning in January 2018.  

                                 

Alaska Airlines, the 4th busiest airline serving Hawaii recently unveiled new technology to make your flight better.  They brought on Gogo satellite-based broadband 2Ku service. It has 20 times more bandwidth and you'll be able to stream from services like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Go beginning in 2018.  Alaska has also reached a deal with Singapore Airlines as its newest global partner.  *  Not to be outdone, Hawaiian Airlines is upgrading its nonstop service between Honolulu and Sapporo Japan.  They'll introduce Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with full-flat seating as well as premium economy seating in Feb. 2018.

              

You won't have to fly that far for a more comfortable flight.  Island Air has also brought on new planes - the Q400 - that have roomier seats and faster flight times for your inter-island flights.