According to the real estate research firm CoreLogic, home prices rose nationwide by 6.3 percent in October, compared to the same month last year. The exciting part for Maui home owners is that Hawaii’s home price appreciation was the second highest in the nation.

Hawaii real estate appreciation was up 13.2 percent in October, year over year. Only Arizona’s was higher at 21.3 percent. This is the growth that we’ve been hoping for as we continue to deal in Kaanapali real estate. As we expected, the reduction of inventories, including distressed properties, and improving buyer demand are providing stability and growth in prices. If you read our blog consistently, you’ve heard us talk about these positive changes before.

You may be wondering how distressed properties influenced the numbers. If we remove them from the equation, Hawaii real estate appreciation was 12.2 percent, still second in the nation after Arizona’s 16.6 percent, while the nation’s increased by 5.8 percent.

This is all very big news because October’s growth in prices was the highest increase since June of 2006. CoreLogic expects prices to rise by 7.1 percent nationwide in November, including distressed sales.

These improvements are crucial to maintaining a healthy and stable economy. It also helps settle the question for buyers as to the best time to buy. Some have held out a very long time in the hopes of finding lower priced properties. If you need any assistance with this process, you’ll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo!