Aloha, friends!
If you've lived on Maui for more than five minutes, you know how fast the coconut wireless moves. Someone hears about a new food truck, a hidden beach access, or a house that's about to come up, and by the time it's "official," half the island already knows. Real estate works a lot the same way. The people who hear first usually have the best shot.
That's why I'm genuinely excited about something new from Compass, the brokerage I'm proud to be part of.
So what's new?
Compass just rolled out See It First™, part of the biggest refresh Compass.com has had in about a decade. The whole idea is simple: help buyers find homes earlier.
You'll now spot the See It First label right on the homepage, in your search results and on individual listing pages. It flags homes you can find on Compass.com before they show up on the other big real estate sites, including Coming Soon homes from across the Compass family of brands.
When I first read the note about it from our founder, my honest reaction was: finally, the website works the way Maui works. Local knowledge, a little earlier than everyone else.
And this isn't some small corner of the internet. Compass.com is now the #1 most visited brokerage website in the country, with more than 7.9 million visitors a month. Over the past year its traffic grew 68%, while the top five big portals actually slipped.*
If you're buying
Inventory on Maui is tight, whether you're dreaming of upcountry views in Kula, a beach walk in Kīhei, or something with room to breathe out in Haʻikū. A few extra days can make a real difference.
And no, this isn't about rushing anyone. It's about having time to actually do your homework:
Drive by at different times of day (trust me, traffic on Haleakalā Highway at 7am is a whole different story)
Get a feel for the neighborhood and talk story with me about what's changing nearby
Line up your financing so you're ready when it's the one
My insider tip: set up a saved search on Compass.com. More than 1.3 million buyers already have one, and you'll get an alert the moment a home matches what you're looking for. Send it to me too, and I'll keep an ear out for you.
More information, sooner. That's the whole point.
If you're selling
Here's where it gets really fun. See It First is how Compass puts its 3-phase launch strategy to work, so your home builds momentum before it's widely available:
Private Exclusive: validate your price. We quietly test pricing with Compass's network of 340,000 agents, without putting your home's value at risk.
Compass Coming Soon: generate early demand. Your home gets in front of active buyers with the See It First badge before it's openly listed.
Broader market: sell better. By the time you hit the open market, you've got feedback, buzz and real data behind your price, so we launch strong.
And the numbers back it up. Compass's own data shows homes that were pre-marketed this way sold for 4.6% more, went under contract 34% faster, and were 29% less likely to drop in price than homes that went straight to the MLS.*
While your home is in See It First, Compass.com works hard for it:
Instant buyer alerts go out to the 1.3 million+ buyers whose saved searches match your home
Top of the search results on Compass.com
A spot on the homepage See It First carousel, in front of 7.9 million monthly visitors
The See It First badge, which tells buyers they're getting an early look
And when it's time to go wide, Compass's partnership with Redfin can put your listing in front of 60 million more homebuyers. You always decide how and when your home is shared, and I'll walk you through every phase.
Let's talk story
Curious what's coming up on Maui before it hits the big search sites? Save a search on Compass.com, or just shoot me a text. I'm always happy to share what I'm hearing, whether it's a new listing or a new plate lunch spot.
Mahalo for reading, and I'll see you out there!
*Website rankings and traffic based on Similarweb year-over-year data, 9/1/2025–9/30/2026, for traditional brokerages and against Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Redfin and Trulia. Sale price finding based on an analysis of 70,809 closed Compass residential sell-side transactions; time to contract and price drop findings compare pre-marketed Compass listings to Compass listings that went straight to the MLS, 12 months ending March 31, 2026. Results may vary. See It First™ is a service mark of Compass, Inc. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws.
