Hawaii remains hot — both its climate and its real estate — with the Aloha State recording one of its biggest home sales of all-time last week.
An investment banker sold his Maui mansion to Hollywood actress Barret Swatek and her husband, retired hedge fund CEO Adam Weiss, for $45 million. Compass agent Anne Hogan Perry, who represented the buyers, told the Associated Press that it was the second-priciest home sale in state history, after the $46 million sale of a residence on Kauai in 2018.
The oceanfront property comes with eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, two half bathrooms, a pool and a jacuzzi. The property sits on less than an acre of land, making the sales price even more eye-popping. In contrast, the $46 million home sale on Kauai included 15.3 acres of land.
The median price of a home in Maui was over $1.1 million in June.
Maui’s big sale last week is not the only recent massive Hawaiian home purchase. Just four days before that sale closed, Paul Allen’s estate on the Big Island was sold for $43 million. A beachfront home in Oahu was sold for over $24 million in recent weeks as well.
Hawaii became an attractive place for people to plant roots during the pandemic, when working remotely gave employees more flexibility. As employers slowly bring office workers back — Delta variant pending — the effects on the Hawaii real estate market may be pronounced.
There are also concerns from affordable housing advocates who believe the surge in high home prices is leaving Native Hawaiians out in the cold.
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[AP] — Holden Walter-Warner