Spreckelsville Beachfront Estate - Maui Real Estate at its finest
Kiting lifestyle: you don’t have to spend $16M to get there!!
Author: Kevin Spaise R(S) Hawaii Life Real Estate Services Inc.
My friends Trace and Heather Carlos left Maui Saturday, after a three month visit from Alaska that left them even more smitten with Maui. We looked at quite a bit of real estate while they were on island, and although our particular buying strategy calls for a bit more patience with the market, Trace left more convinced than ever that his imminent plan to buy Maui real estate is a sound, long term lifestyle choice.
Trace was on the water, windsurfing at Kiter’s Beach in North Kihei, at Kanaha, or Hookipa, on 80 of the 90 days he was on island. A blustery day on Maui isn’t enough to keep him home — he surfs and kites during the winter in the waters off Homer, Alaska, and sometimes has to paddle out through chunks of ice.
He flew the Alaska flag on the North Kihei beach known as “Kiter’s Beach,” but now has an adopted home as well.
Kite Beach in North Kihei, a half block from Kihei's entry-level vacation rental property, Kihei Bay Surf ($150-160K)
His 9-year-old was timid and tentative the first day he dipped his toes into the sand at South Kihei’s Cove. By the time he left, Tanner was paddling out to the lineup on his own, and catching wave after wave while his 5-year old brother, Taylor, spent every minute possible on his boogie board.
A growing number of young American, Canadian, and European professionals are following Trace’s model: work hard for nine months, and run your business or do your job via remote control for three, while enjoying Maui’s warm water, fabulous surf, and sail-filling wind. Maui property ownership fits into that model very nicely, especially with so many opportunities available just steps from the sand.
And create a family legacy with Maui real estate.
Particularly when your visit is measured by weeks and not days, condo ownership makes sense in a market this ripe with opportunity. Take the entry-level vacation rental property Kihei Bay Surf, located just two blocks from Kiter’s Beach in North Kihei, has listings in the $150-160K range (MLS341227). Nightly rentals (aka short term or vacation rentals) are allowed at this property, and rates are typically $60-80 per night.
There are a string of other wind-convenient north Kihei condo properties that are vacation rental friendly. Another of my favorites is the Waiohule Beach Hale, a quiet, two-story property with 1- and 2-bedrooms in the $275-400K range (MLS334865).
My friend Trace Carlos, getting ready to kite on Maui Christmas day
Another ocean front sleeper is a half block north of there: the Hale Kai O Kihei, which offers spectacular views and lanais 50 yards to the ocean, at $300-360K (MLS339541).
The really serious wind surfers hang on the North Shore, and they don’t have to spend $16,000,000 in Sprecklesville (MLS338053) to own there. Just past Mama’s Fish Market, beyond Paia, and past the Hookipa lookout, there sits the Kuau Plaza, a stone’s throw from the ocean. This casual, three-story condo property caters to water men and women and draws an international clientele, and vacation rentals are allowed. One-bedrooms are priced in the $300-350K (MLS340284) range.
Kevin Spaise is the author and publisher of The Maui Condo Book (www.TheMauiCondoBook.com), the island-wide condominium reference guide used by most Maui real estate professionals. He lives in South Kihei.
