Aloha, this is David and today we're going to be covering condo complexes here on the island of Oahu and I'm appropriately wearing my Kahala Aloha Shirt designed by Dale Hope, a good friend and mentor regarding Aloha Shirts in Hawaii because he is "the authority". In any event, we're going to start at The Kahala Beach Apartments, which are direct oceanfront condos here in Kahala.

Kahala Beach Apartments

Kahala Beach Apartments

As a Realtor, I've been asked more about this condo complex than any other condo projects on Oahu and the reason why is these things are leasehold, meaning you don't own the land beneath the building. There's only 3 years left on the land lease, which is why they're so cheap. So, Kamehameha Schools owns the land beneath these condos as well as beneath The Kahala Hotel and they also own the land beneath Waialae Country Club. For a little bit of trivia on the Kahala Beach Apartments, although it's called the Kahala Beach Apartments, technically from an MLS standpoint, it falls under Waialae Golf Course. So, technically, it's the only condo complex that falls under Waialae Golf Course. 

It's really sad, because if these condos were fee simple, they would be worth millions and millions of dollars a piece. Especially, when comparing to something down on the Gold Coast. Our office is right down the road from here. Our house is right down the road from here and I've had 20+ years in the business to buy one of these. There's a reason why I haven't bought one. It's because this imminent land lease is going to be expiring in 3 years. So, if that's not your cup of tea and you don't want to throw down that money, once you do, the carrying cost on the 2 bedrooms are going to be like $4500/month for lease rent to Kamehameha Schools, property taxes and maintenance fees. Then, these direct oceanfront 3 bedrooms are going to run more like $8,000-$10,000/month after you pay cash, because banks won't finance them. So, that's the reason why they're so cheap and they won't tell you than on Zillow or Realtor.com. 

So, if you're interested in other condos here in Kahala, lets continue this tour here today because we're going to cover all the options. The rest of them going forward should be fee simple.

Kahala Pacifica

We just left the beach at Kahala and now we're going to talk about Kahala Pacifica, which is directly inland from Kahala. Although it has a Kahala name, it technically falls under the neighborhood of Kalani Iki. What's really cool about Kahala Pacifica is it is a gated community. The gate is open now as there must be a party going on as it's a weekend. 

Kahala Pacifica

What's unique about these is technically we call them condos because technically they are. However, they're kind of like detached single family homes. They're very spacious. They're 3 stories and they range from 2,000-3,000 sq. feet under roof. They have relatively affordable maintenance fees, which is really nice. There's also a common area swimming pool if you drive up the street and hook a right. That's one of the perks for the people that do live in Kahala Pacifica. 

Regarding the pros and cons, the pros would obviously be the living area and square footage. To have something relatively easy to maintain right here in Kahala, you're just a stone's throw away to Kahala. That's what's awesome about it. It's also close to H-1 highway and easy access to everything. However, the 2 potential downsides would be for those of you that don't want to do stairs, this is not a project for you because there's a lot of stairs. These are multi-level units. The second thing is it's morning now, so we're getting some of the east sun coming. But, what happens in the afternoons is these are butted up against the mountain here, so you will get some of the hotter afternoon sun hitting these homes in the afternoons with sunsets. I know this from a first hand experience. My grandma used to have a place here towards the very end here in the back.

Once again, these are very spacious and a good value to be here in Kahala. The downsides would be the stairs and the hot afternoon sun. Our next project will be a town home project, which is Kahala View Estate.

Kahala View Estate

We just left Kahala Pacifica, which is directly behind me. Adjacent to it here is Kahala View Estate. This is off Hiikala Place here. What's nice about this one as well is it is a gated community. There's several levels, similar to Kahala Pacifica. However, what's nice about this one is in addition to having a swimming pool, you have a tennis court. So, that's another perk of the amenities here at Kahala View Estate.

Kahala View Estate

What's different about these compared to Kahala Pacifica is that they're going to have carports vs. fully enclosed garages. So, if you need an enclosed garage, maybe you're looking at Kahala Pacifica. If you're ok with a carport, perhaps Kahala View Estate might be the way to go. What's nice about these is they're set a little further back in the valley, so they can be a little bit cooler. But, you will still get some of that afternoon sun that comes off the ridge to the west here. So, that summarizes Kahala View Estate and now we're going to head back down the valley and we're going to cover some of the town homes as well as Kahala Towers.

Waialae Gardens

The next complex we're covering is Waialae Gardens. What's very unique about this one is it's the only condo complex in Kahala that has both a mix of town homes and a high rise, which consists of all 1 bedroom condos.

Now, in these town homes, this is going to be 1 of 3 projects we're going to cover today in Kahala (we're at Waialae Gardens right now), but we're going to cover Tropic Gardens and Tropicana Village. Here, at Waialae Gardens, at the 2 following properties you are going to notice as you come across these in MLS, the 2 story units in the middle are 2 bedroom, 2 baths with roughly 1,000 sq. ft.  Then, these units that are single level. They're roughly the same size, but it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom in product. So, take note of this architecture at Waialae Gardens on these town homes. As we come to the other 2 projects, you'll notice they have the same architectural style. They just have different HOA's. Another thing about these (in general) is they come with 1 uncovered parking stall. So, if you're looking for 2 stalls, it's very rare that they show up. So, what most people revert to is street parking here. Then, another thing is these will not come with covered stalls. They're all in an open lot. So, if that's a deal killer for you, maybe you want to consider one of the high rises or something that does have covered parking. But, it's a great affordable condo option here in Kahala.

Tropic Gardens

We just covered Waialae Gardens across the street. Now, if you come directly across the street, you have our 2nd complex that's very similar to Waialae Gardens is Tropic Gardens. As you see, they're a similar architectural style in that they have single level units on the end as well as 2 story units in the middle. Out the back, that's going to be the common area swimming pool. Here, you've got the same architectural style here at Tropic Gardens.

Now, for those of you that are shopping real estate online is you might come across at some of these condo complexes such as Tropic Gardens or Waialae Gardens is once in a blue moon, you see something that's really cheap or inexpensive or "too good to be true" is because it's leasehold. These were all like Kahala Beach Apartments on land that was owned by Kamehameha Schools. So, I'd say north of 90% of these now are all fee simple. However, when you do come across those leasehold ones, I'd take them with a grain of salt because the people that own the land interest now have really no interest in selling them. They just want to ride out the storm and take over the units. So, I'd stick to the fee simple ones as a little bit of advice.

If you have any questions about Tropic Gardens, feel free to give me a call. What we'll do next is we're going to cover the 3rd kind of "sister" of these 3 projects which is going to be Tropicana Village.

Tropicana Village

We're now just a little further down the road. We were just further up here at Hunakai St. in Kahala. All 3 of these projects you can see from Hunakai St. You'll notice it starts to get a little bit noisier here as we start to get closer to H-1 Highway behind me here. However, what I want to point out here is Tropicana Village. This is going to be the 3rd of 3 sister condo complexes in Kahala. First we hit Waialae Gardens, then Tropic Gardens, now Tropicana Village.

There's a similar architectural style. Once again, you've got the 2 story units in the middle with the 3 bedrooms on either end. Both are about 1,000 square feet and they typically come with 1 uncovered parking stall.

We have several condo complexes left. What you can see out the back is Kahala Towers, which is one of several high rises in Kahala. But, we have 1 more town home project we're going to cover before we cover Kahala Towers, which is right down the street here on Hunakai and it's called Kahala Gardens.

Kahala Gardens

The next one we're going to cover is Kahala Gardens, which is a sleeper project. It's right across Hunakai St. That's where we came from (near H-1). What's unique about these is they have a combo of 2 story and single level units that range anywhere between this 1250 (Hunakai) address to a 1220 address, which we're going to walk up to. 

If you could bare with me as we walk along Hunakai St., which is a main thoroughfare in Kahala. What's nice is directly across the street you have the movie theaters at Kahala Mall. As we walk further up, this is all considered Kahala Gardens. Once again, as we started this segment I said this is a sleeper of a project. The reason why is you almost never see these come on the market. Unlike the 3 projects we covered across the street with Waialae Gardens, Tropic Gardens and Tropicana Village, all 3 of them throughout the year you'll see available listings hit the market.

This is a very quaint project. Much smaller than the previous 3 like I said. The 1220-1250 (Hunakai St.) address range will cover Kahala Gardens. Next, we're going to cover Kahala Towers, which is behind me here.

Kahala Towers

Directly behind me now, we've got Kahala Towers. As you can see, there are 2 towers. Hence, we call it Kahala Towers. There's "A" and "B". One is taller than the other. There, you have a mix of 2 and 3 bedroom condos. You'll have mix of parking. Typically, they'll come with 1 parking stall. Some will be covered and some will be uncovered. There's a nice swimming pool right at the base off Waialae Ave. here. 

The building itself went through a lot of capital improvement recently. The owners were coughing up a bunch of money to fix things that needed to get repaired. But, anyone that steps in now is looking better. It's a great, convenient location. The only downside (which obviously you can't change) is it's right next to H-1 highway. So, that's why you hear that noise behind me here. It's not too bad now as it is a Sunday.

Those that live there will have nice views over Kahala towards the ocean, which is nice. We've come full circle. Directly behind Kahala Towers in the distance you'll see Kahala Pacifica and behind that Kahala View Estate, which we covered earlier. Now, we're going to be on to the final condo complex we're going to cover today, which is my favorite, having lived in the building before, which is Regency at Kahala. We'll cover that one. Then, we'll wrap up our tour here of Kahala Condos.

Regency at Kahala

Here we are now at the final condo project here in Kahala, which is Regency at Kahala. This is the only one that has a true Kahala address for MLS. Most of the others are going to fall under either Waialae Golf Course, like Kahala Beach Apartments or they're going to fall under Kalani Iki, which are going to be the condos back behind me there. So, Kahala Regency, right adjacent to Kahala Mall is going to be the only condo project in Kahala that's technically in Kahala from an MLS neighborhood standpoint. However, with that said, we refer to all of these as Kahala condos that we're covering today. 

I hope you enjoyed our segment here on Kahala condos. Our office is right across the street here above Subway. If you need any help for condos in Kahala, feel free to reach out and give us a shout at 808-371-3509. Mahalo!

A Striking Residence Nestled Next to the Historic Castle High School in Kaneohe A coveted opportunity to join the Kaneohe community has just permeated the market.

View of Castle High School Track from Kaneohe Home (MLS # 202418966)

Castle High School - Olympic Gold Medalist's Alma Mater

Highly prized for its prominent position next to the esteemed Castle High School, this exceptional dwelling presents a golden opportunity to reside where Olympic gold medalist, Bryan Clay, refined his world-class athleticism. Overlooking the same track that bore witness to Clay's nascent triumphs, prospective homeowners are presented with a slice of sporting history. The decathlon champion of the 2008 Olympics, Clay sculpted his transcendent athletic skills right in this backdrop, etching a legacy that propels Castle High School into global recognition.

Pikoiloa Home

A stroll around this house provides panoramic views of the football home field and track where Clay spent his formative athletic days. Beyond this, a picturesque vista featuring the verdant Koolau Mountains unfolds. It's a scenic spectacle that leaves guests enamored and owners absorbed in its unending charm. Augmenting the residence's appeal is a gleaming swimming pool providing welcome respite in the sunny, tropical climate of Kaneohe's Pikoiloa neighborhood. Imagine easing into the pool after a long day, soaking in the astounding scenery with each calming stroke.

Nearby Windward Mall

Positioned just a stone's throw away from the house is the bustling Windward Mall. The mall's vast array of retail outlets, eateries, and entertainment options offer convenient access to all your daily necessities and indulgences. From fashion boutiques to fine dining establishments, every amenity is within easy reach.

Kaneohe Marine Base

Fanning the flames of this listing’s allure is its proximity to the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base. The base’s close-knit community and comprehensive facilities, coupled with the distinguished reputation of Castle High School, ensure a well-rounded, rewarding living experience for families. In this abode, you do not only get a stunning, well-appointed home, you also immerse yourself in the deep-rooted sports culture and rich local heritage that Bryan Clay epitomizes. Bask in the glow of an Olympic champion’s legacy, right from your new home next to Castle High School. Time is of the essence. Opportunities to own a piece of such treasured real estate rarely come along. Reach out today to seize the chance of owning this specially situated Kaneohe home - a testament to an Olympian's journey and a beacon of Hawaii's illustrious sporting tradition. With the track, football field views, and a swimming pool, life in this residence will feel like a constant vacation. Plus, the convenience of proximity to the Kaneohe Marine Base and Windward Mall enhances the appeal. Welcome to your dream home where Olympic spirit permeates your everyday living

Aloha! Today, we're going to give you an update and a walking tour of Ward Village here in Kakaako. It's been awhile since I've done one of these videos.

Victoria Place

Directly behind me we have Victoria Place and the lobby area is being built out right over here. This is the only tower within Ward Village that doesn't have any retail and it's very exclusive. Behind me is Ala Moana Blvd (on the other side of the construction barricade) and they're going to have ocean views that unobstructed.

Koula

Directly behind me now is Koula, which got topped off a little while back. Then, I'm going to flip this camera around to give you a better perspective on this walking tour. Once again, we have Koula, then we have the park or the "great lawn".

The Park at Ward Village

Across from the park, you're going to have The Park at Ward Village, which is going up here. Straight back there (towards the mountains), you have more of the park. Then, if you look (towards the ocean) across the street on the great lawn, there's progress that's already taking place on the pedestrian bridge that's going over Ala Moana Blvd. It's really starting to take shape here.

Pedestrian Bridge Over Ala Moana Blvd

As I continue my walk here, this is going to be more of the park. Here, off to the left, you see some of the landscaping coming in with the trees. Then, off to the left you can see the stairs and the pedestrian walkway to the bridge that's going to cross over Ala Moana Blvd to Kewalo Basin.

West End of Ward Village

This is literally ground zero for all of the new construction going on in Kakaako. This is prime real estate here, all along the front row. Once again (looking back), Victoria Place is going to be there. Then, on this corner, for those of you that grew up here and know the area, this is where Ward Warehouse once used to be.

Kalae

On this corner is going to be Kalae, which is also another high end, front row Ala Moana Blvd location on the corner of Ala Moana and Ward Ave. That's where Ward Warehouse was and Kalae tower is starting to break ground. Directly across the street towards the mountains, we have the back side of The Park at Ward Village. I'm not sure if you remember where Wahoo's Fish Taco used to be and Patagonia? It's all gone. There's lots of changes here in Kakaako. 

Timestamp of September 2024

I know this can be a little boring, however I think it's great to document what's actually happening here. Because, before we know it, this will be one corridor of high rises. Kakaako is really changing.

The Launiu

Across the street at the former Bank of Hawaii building there is going to be The Launiu, which is also a Howard Hughes Ward Village property. 

Alia

Then, the property directly behind that is Alia, another new construction project that's slated for 2026.

Still an Opportunity for New Construction in Kakaako

Back to Victoria Place. That's going to turn over later this year, in November of this year. I've got a client that's getting their keys soon. I do have clients that are under contract at Alia and I'm working on some others for The Launiu, Kalae and The Park at Ward Village. These are 3 projects that still have some units available. Victoria Place is completely sold out. We're starting to see a few resales hit the market, even though it hasn't been turned over to the new owners. 

There's still an opportunity to get in on this new construction in Kakaako. Whether you're looking at Koula, The Park at Ward Village, Victoria Place, The Launiu or Alia, I can help you get under contract on any of these places before they're gone. If you're interested in new construction here in Kakaako, feel free to reach out and give us a shout at 808-371-3509. Mahalo!

Can you believe that condo inventory is up 64% from a year ago? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and today we're going to talk about the market stats for August of 2024. First off, we're going to dive into single family homes and there we saw things relatively flat as well as the condos, which we'll dive into next.

Single Family Home Stats

Regarding single family homes, there was literally only one more transaction than there was the previous year. In August of 2023, we saw 252 homes sell on Oahu and this past month we saw 253. That's 1 house more that's sold than the previous year and that's a .4% change year over year. That was home sales.

Now, regarding the home price on Oahu, it was also relatively flat. A year ago in August of 2023, that median home price was $1,110,000 and this past month it was up $12,000. Now, it's at $1,122,000. That's just a 1.1% increase. So, across the board, it was relatively flat. 

The good sign for sellers on Oahu is that the median days on market has decreased a little bit, going from 18 days to 14 days. Now, keep in mind, this is everything across the board (for homes) at every price point. 18 days dropping to 14 days is a 22% decrease in median days on market.

Meanwhile, active inventory is a trend we've notice picking up. It's up 27.1%. There's more than a quarter more homes for sale than there was a year ago. Historically, it's still relatively low. We did talk about this last month. There's 760 homes for sale this past month. The previous year it was at 598.

Condo Stats

The condo stats on Oahu weren't quite as rosy as the single family homes. We saw a 5% drop in the number of transactions. A year ago we had 422 condo sales on Oahu and this past month it was down to 401. Meanwhile, that median condo price on Oahu a year ago was at $515,000 and this past month, it was at $500,000. That's a 2.9% decrease in the median sales price for a condo.

These are trends we've been covering now for several months and the biggest trend we've been talking about it the amount of active inventory for condos on Oahu, which was up 64%. A year ago there were 1,146 condos for sale and this past month there was 1,879. That delta or difference in condo inventory is almost as much as all the single family home for sale on Oahu. So, that's a significant increase in condo supply on Oahu. This chart below will give you some perspective.

Active Inventory on Oahu

You can see how the condo inventory (in yellow) has been ratcheting up over the past year. It's not all doom and gloom. If you're a buyer in the marketplace, there are some opportunities for condos. I've been getting some clients in some deals as there's not as much competition out there. The rumor out there is interest rates are on their way down. We don't actually know. I can't predict the future, but that's kind of been the word on the streets. So, it might not be a bad opportunity to get into the market with less competition now before election season. I know there's always some uncertainty out there, but if you make a move now, you may come out ahead later. Once again, I can't guaranty that. We can't predict future results. However, right now, in general in this business, the less competition is better for buyers.

Got Real Estate Questions?

If you have specific questions about real estate here on Oahu, feel free to reach out and give us a shout at 808-371-3509. Mahalo! 

Aloha! This is David Buck. I'm a real estate broker here in Honolulu, HI. Here I am in front of Moana Pacific, which is a beautiful high rise condominium here in Kakaako. The reason why we're here today is not necessarily to talk too much about real estate. Even though that's what I do for a living, I've sold multiple units in this complex and I'm very familiar with it. I was featured in an HGTV episode with it.

One of David's HGTV Episodes Where Moana Pacific was Featured

Moana Pacific and Ties to NY Governor

The reason we're here today is there was an article in the Star Advertiser this morning and it talked about how the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul and her ex aide has gotten into some trouble in being an agent of the Chinese government. Her name is Linda Sun and her husband is Chris Su. They apparently took millions upon millions of dollars, allegedly $6 million from the Chinese government to basically spy on the governor of New York.

Once again, there's a story behind why we're here at Moana Pacific. In the article, they said of the $6 million they allegedly took from the Chinese government, they funneled it into 2 properties. One of which was in Long Island, NY and they said the other was in Honolulu. So, being a Realtor, it didn't take much digging this morning to figure out what they own. 

Chris Hu Ownership at Moana Pacific

There's a gentleman by the name of Chris Hu that bought a unit on the 47th floor of Moana Pacific. Specifically, 4703 in 2021. At that time, he paid $1,880,000 in cash. Now, fast forward to today - I'm not sure if they knew the hunt was on them with the feds for taking money from China. This unit is listed today for $2,249,000 with just 19 days on market. So, I'm not sure if Mr. Hu knew the feds were after him, but it's currently for sale.

Moana Pacific #4703 (MLS # 202418134) Listed for $2,249,000

So, if you want to buy a condo in Kakaako at $2.25 million, you can get one here today. Just keep in mind that Mr. Hu paid nearly $400,000 less just a few years ago. So, we'll see if he's able to make that profit. We'll see if this allegation sticks. New York Governor news witnessed first hand here in Hawaii and here we are at Moana Pacific (East Tower).

Bigger Picture: Feds Cracking Down on Foreign $ Laundering

I'm back at the office and have a little summary to wrap this up. There's a lot of irony here because a week ago I did a YouTube video talking about how Janet Yellen and the Biden Administration wanted to crack down on cash transactions for residential sales where foreign corruption was using it to buy real estate here in the United States.

Even though I'm a broker here in Honolulu, HI and I've been doing this for 24 years now, I'm still a little bit naive. I'm learning something every day because I didn't think there was a lot of corruption going on here. However, here we are a week later and this Star Advertiser article about how the ex-aide of the NY Governor was receiving well over $6 million from the Chinese government. It's hitting close to home because this happened right here in Hawaii. 

Back to the video I did last week. There was probably a connection or correlation. They were probably on to this case before that announcement came out. This strikes close to home here in Honolulu, HI. I, myself can sleep good at night. If there's any kind of corruption here, I try to distance myself. I hope you have a great day and contact me if you have any questions about real estate here in Hawaii. Mahalo!

65 Years as the 50th State

I can't believe a week ago, August 16th, 2024 marked 65 years of Hawaii being the 50th State in the United States, which is officially called "Admissions Day". Here we are 65 years later and I thought it would be fun to talk about what kind of homes were being built here on Oahu back in 1959, the year of statehood. I did an article 5 years ago on the 50th Anniversary of Hawaii being a state. However, now that we're in the year 2024 celebrating 65 years, let's talk about 13 listings that are here on Oahu that are available (there are several more that are under contract). They are going to range from a home in Nuuanu for $828,000 all the way up to an oceanfront home in Black Point for just over $6 million. 

Where Homes Were Built in 1959

Active MLS Listings, Homes Under Contract and Sold in MLS Built in 1959

You'll notice homes were built in certain neighborhoods and didn't in others. For instance, if you look at the map here you'll see a lot of that construction congregated around Honolulu (in the main urban core) as well as along the Windward Coast closer to Kaneohe and Kailua. Then, you have some pockets, like one up on the North Shore, one in Ewa Beach. You might have one or two near Wahiawa, however when you think about it, places like Mililani weren't building homes yet. All the new homes you see in Ewa Beach and Kapolei, that wasn't even a thought at the time. That was all Ag land.

13 Oahu Homes For Sale Built in 1959

1. Nuuanu Home (MLS # 202408574) for $828,000

The first home we're going to start with is in Nuuanu on Henry Street. It's $828,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath single family home with 1,272 sq. ft. of living area. It was built in 1959 with a remodel in 1985.

2. Waipio Acres Home (MLS # 202418399) for $875,000

The next home we're going to discuss is in Waipio Acres/Waikalani Woodlands, which is close to Mililani that we talked about earlier, but not technically in Mililani. This 1959 build is a 4 bed, 2 bath with 1,368 sq. ft. of living area and they also had a remodel in 2018. One common theme you'll see as we go through these homes is a lot of the construction back then had open beam ceilings that gave a lot of these homes a mid century modern feel. It was literally the "mid century". We'll also see some plantation homes we'll come to in a bit. 

3. Kapalama Home (MLS # 202415185) for $949,000

The next home is a home in Kapalama in Metro Honolulu. This is a 5 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,896 sq. ft. and this one is on the market for $949,000. That's home #3. 

4.Coconut Grove Home (MLS # 202410861) for $1,125,000

Next up, we have a home in Kailua's Coconut Grove neighborhood. This one is a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom. It's only got 968 square feet of interior living and it's priced at $1,125,000.

5. Liliha Home (MLS # 202410716)  for $1,200,000

The next home we have up is in Liliha in Metro Honolulu and the irony is that this is the exact same square footage and a similar price to the one we just discussed in Kailua. This one is available for $1.2 million and it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath at 968 square feet. Once again, notice this open beam ceiling. My gut feel is this is going to be obviously a different architecture than the one in Kailua, but the irony is that homes of this era have homes under 1,000 square feet. 

6. Lower Waialae Nui Home (MLS # 202412370) for $1,300,000

The next one we have is a home in Lower Waialae Nui, which is also going to have that high pitched ceiling with open beam ceiling and this one is going to have a great view. This one is a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath for $1.3 million. Now, that's a great price in east Honolulu in my opinion. The "catch" which you don't see is there's a bunch of stairs to get to the house. So, that's probably why they priced it accordingly. Once again, great view and a great location in Waialae Nui on the lower part of the hill.

7. Keolu Hills Home (MLS # 202412046) for $1,395,000

The next one we have is back to Kailua in Keolu Hills and for $1,395,000, this is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,817 square feet of living area. Now, that's number 7 of 13 (homes for sale built in 1959).

8. Aiea Heights Home (MLS # 202417499) for $1,425,000

Next up, once again you're going to notice this common theme. We're now in Aiea Heights and this is one that just hit the market. It's $1,425,000 and it's a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with ample living area of 2,8599 sq. ft. under roof. They also did a remodel back in 2020. So, you have great bones of a mid century 1959 styled home. However, you've got some fresh upgrades from just 4 years ago. 

9. Puohala Village Home (MLS # 202406954) for $1,599,000

Next up, we have Puohala Village in Kaneohe. This is a 6 bedroom, 3.5 bath home with 2,742 sq. ft. of living area. This is going to be more of a traditional style vs. the mid century style. This one is priced at $1,599,000. 

10. Ala Moana Home (MLS # 202324282) for $1,750,000

Next up, this one is going to be near Ala Moana and it's a single family home with 3 bedroom, 2 baths and it's got 1,222 sq. ft. of living area. It's priced at $1,750,000. Now, this one has been on the market over 300 days. They started at $2 million. You might ask yourself "wow, why is it so expensive"? It's because of the location, location, location. Because of the zoning here, it's zoned apartment zoning, so you could probably build like a small apartment building on this property. So, that's why it's price accordingly. In my opinion, it probably could have been marketed better. This is the primary photo in MLS. That'll be property 10 of 13. 

11. Kalaheo Hillside Home (MLS # 202415318) for $1,795,000

Next up, we've got one of my favorites on this list. Probably my favorite, or 2nd favorite after the final property. This one is a Kalaheo Hillside mid century single family home with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, with 1,842 of interior living area. This is priced at $1,795,000. They've already come down $30,000. I think this is a good value on Windward Oahu.

12. Enchanted Lake Home (MLS # 202409160) for $1,999,888

While we're on the theme of mid century modern homes and being in Kailua, this is another one in Enchanted Lake. Priced just under $2 million, the current asking price is $1,999,888. They started several hundred thousand dollars higher at $2,220,000. But, this is a generous 7 bedroom, 5 bathroom home with 3,612 of living area. This is a nice mid century remodel. They kept with those nice lines that were done back in 1959, however this one was remodeled in 2022. So, you've got that cool architectural feel, yet have more of that modern lifestyle and living area with your finishes.

13. Black Point Home (MLS # 202302012) for $6,480,000

Last, but not least, this is my favorite. Just because of location, it's on the ocean at Black Point. This is a 3 bedroom, 3 full bath, 2 half bath just under 3,000 sq. ft. of living area, 2,997 sq. ft. to be exact. This one is now priced at $6,480,000. They originally started at $7.2 million and this same property sold for just over $5 million 3 years ago. So, this owner is kind of keen to make a little bit of money here. It's been on the market for over a year, so it's going to be right for the right person. I had a client look at it in the past. It does have some stairs and it's not for everyone, but living on the ocean at Black Point is really hard to beat. Now, that's a recap of the 13 homes that are for sale on Oahu built in 1959.

2 Additional 1959 Housing Topics on Oahu

Now that we're on the topic of 1959, I'm going to throw 2 more things at you. The first of which is I did a video earlier this year on the 65 year anniversary of Hawaii Kai. That was right around the same time as when they announced the development of Hawaii Kai, it was back in 1959. 

Another key point around this era of 1959 is we have a number of what most people refer to as "condos" on the island that were built in 1959. However statehood was in 1959 and the only option for developers at that time were co-ops. So, most of the construction you saw at that time to this day will still be co-ops. When you see them in MLS, a lot of the major mainland websites will refer to them as condos, but technically they're co-ops because condo law in Hawaii did not start until 1961, which was 2 years after statehood. 

I hope you appreciate the recap we have here on statehood and celebrating 65 years as the 50th state. If there's anything we can help with regarding real estate here on Oahu, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!

Can you believe that home sales from Downtown-Nuuaanu were up 125? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and we're here to report on the local market update for July of 2024.

Local Neighborhood Report for Homes

Home sales in Downtown-Nuuanu were up 125%, going from 4 sales in July, 2023 to 9 this past month. Downtown - Nuuanu also saw the largest increase in median sales price, which was up 41%. Last year, the median price was $1,082,500 and this past month it was $1,525,000

Local Neighborhood Report for Condos

Condo Sales in Kalihi Palama saw the largest increase year over year, going from 6 to 11 sales, which was an 83% increase. The Windward Coast of Oahu saw the largest appreciation, which was up 128%. In July of 2023, the median sales price was only $169,000 and this past month it was at $385,000.

As we talk about every time, every market is local and specific. Every market is fluctuating. So, to find out what's happening in your particular neighborhood or condo project for that matter, feel free to reach out and give us a call @ 808-371-3509. Mahalo!

Aloha and Happy Wednesday! Today, we're going to cover another episode of We Need Inventory. This week we're going to be talking about the Anchorage in Hawaii Kai. 

Nothing for Sale in Hawaii Kai's Anchorage

The Anchorage in Hawaii Kai

For those of you that aren't as familiar with Anchorage, it's on the very back of Hawaii Kai Drive on Makaa Street. It runs primarily along the marina. It's a great neighborhood and a quiet street. You have homes both on the marina and off the marina. As of today, in MLS, there's not one home for sale in Anchorage. To be honest, there's only been one sale in the past 6 months. That was a non-waterfront property. Going back an entire year, there's only been one marinafront sale at the Anchorage, which was around $2.6 million, last year. So, there's pretty sparse inventory, which is why we cover these segments on We Need Inventory.

Nothing for Sale at Adjacent Kealakua Kai 

Kealaula Kai in Hawaii Kai

To compound things, with the lack of inventory right now at Anchorage, the sister neighborhood of Kealakua Kai (which is at the very end of Makaa Street - they are adjacent to each other), similarly, Kealaula Kai does not have one home for sale today on the market. Going back over the past year, there's been 4 transactions that took place in Kealaula Kai. 

Here we are and there's not one home for sale today in Anchorage, nor Kealaula Kai. I know there's buyers that are out there shopping for homes on the marina in Hawaii Kai. So, if you know someone that owns a home in Anchorage or Kealaula Kai, feel free to reach out and give us a shout @ 808-371-3509. Mahalo!

Can you believe that active inventory for condos on Oahu is up 61.8% from a year ago? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate. Today, we're going to talk about the housing stats for July of 2024. First off, we're going to start off with some optimistic news on the single family home front. Then, we're going to dive into the condo stats.

Single Family Home Stats

First off in single family homes, we saw an increase in single family homes year over year, which was up 20.1%. A year ago, there were 224 home sales on Oahu in July. This past month we saw 269 (sales). Meanwhile, the median sales price for a single family home on Oahu was actually up 4.6%. A year ago, that was at $1,090,000. This past month, we were at $1,140,000. So, that's a nice step up.

If you're a buyer in this marketplace, one positive sign is active inventory for homes is up 22.2%. Now, keep in mind, there's only 722 homes for sale on Oahu. I think back to over 15 years ago, before the financial crisis. This was back in '06 to '07 when there was little inventory on Oahu. We were talking about when there were only 800 homes for sale. Well, today, there's only 722 homes for sale as of last month. So, it is still a seller's market here on Oahu. However, inventory is up 22.2%. So, there is a lot more to chose from if you're a buyer in the marketplace.

Condo Stats

Ok, now regarding condo sales on Oahu, the sales were actually down 7.8%. That's actually positive news because a month ago, when we reported on June of '24, condo sales were down over 24% from a year prior in June of '23. This is a step in the right direction, even though sales were down over 7%, it's not as bad as the previous month. A year ago, in July of 2023, there were 422 condo sales on Oahu and this past month we saw 389. Once again, that's a 7.8% drop in the number of condo transactions. Now, if you're an optimist and a condo owner, the median sales price was up 1.8%. That's not a whole lot, but it went from $500,000 to $509,000.

Now, we're going to report on that initial stat I reported on in the beginning of this video, where condo inventory on Oahu was up 61.8%. That is a significant jump. In July of '23, there were 1,154 condos for sale on Oahu and this past month we saw 1,867. That's over 700 more condos for sale than there were a year ago. So, if you're a buyer in the marketplace (we talked about this last month), now might not be a bad time to jump into the condo market because there's a lot more inventory.

To put things into perspective, when we talked about the single family home stats earlier in this segment, there were 722 homes for sale. The increase in condo inventory over this past year was just about as much as all of the homes that are for sale on the island of Oahu. Like we talk about every month, every market is different on this island. Later this month, we'll jump into the local neighborhood updates, but if you have specific questions about a neighborhood and what's going on in different parts of the island, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!

Well, I can't believe it's already been a month since the 4th of July. We're now rolling into August, 2024. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and what we're going to do is recap what we've seen over the past year. I diid a YouTube video this past year covering VA loans and PCSing to Hawaii and celebrating the 4th of July. 

4th of July in Hawaii

We've had a really busy summer with home sales and I'm just trying to play catch up now. Please take a look at the video above celebrating the 249th birthday of our nation. We're excited about 250 coming up next year! We're going to talk a little about 4th of July in Hawaii, what it means.

Then, we're going to jump into VA home loans in Hawaii, history of VA loans, going back to COVID (you'll see some charts below) going back to 2020 and through today, 2nd quarter of 2024. Then, we're going to cover the higher value loans for VA, which are basically north of $1 million. Once, again, enjoy the video of our national anthem on the 4th of July in Waikiki. Last year, it was really special as my sister in law and this past month, my daughter got to sing with her. 

National Anthem in Waikiki

MacFarlane Regatta in Waikiki

A tradition in Waikiki is they have the Walter J. MacFarlane Regatta, which is a canoe race in and out through the surf in Waikiki. The first event of the day, which is really cool is an event catered towards our veterans. We have all branches of the armed services there. I've helped participate in this in the past. 

VA Home Loans in Hawaii

Now, let's dive into the meat of the VA home loans here in Hawaii. 

As we look at this first chart, we're going to start off where we left off last year, which was basically the 2nd quarter of '23. As you look at this, we're continuing to see strength in condo sales over single family homes. That's purely because of affordability in this current interest rate environment. Now, what you will see is after the 3rd quarter of '23 sales volumes tapered off into the 4th quarter (which is pretty standard). It did pick back up as we got here into 2024. 

Now, this next chart has to do with high value VA loans over $1 million here on Oahu. 

Like the previous slide, we're tracking from the 2nd quarter of '23 to see what's happened over the past year (which will be more to the right side of this chart). To take you back to a little bit of history, in early 2020, President Donald Trump removed the ceiling for VA home limits in Hawaii and across the nation, as long as you qualify for the loan. So, we've been doing deals north of $1 million and some over $2 million, as long as those buyers can qualify. 

You'll see the bulk of the deals taking place are for single family homes. After the '21-'22 peak of our real estate market here on Oahu, we started tapering off once interest rates started tightening, when we got into '23. What you will see with the blue lines, with the single family homes, sales have started to increase again. However, in the 1st quarter of this year, there were literally zero VA loans on Oahu for condos over $1 million. That got a little bit alarming, but the 2nd quarter we saw 5 condo loans over $1 million for VA loans on Oahu. It's a sign that things are starting to pick back up and this past week we've a little bit of a loosening of rates. So, it'll be interesting to see how we finish out this summer.

Best Deal for Veterans

In the big scheme of things, VA loans are one of the best deals going for our veterans. Not only can you do 100% financing, but the rates are lower than what us as civilians are having to pay. One of the awesome things about veterans buying in Hawaii is our BAH (Basic Allowance of Housing) rates are some of the highest in the nation. 

If you take a look at the link here, you can see what the BAH rates are for Hawaii. 

PCSing to Hawaii

I hope you found that information useful. Now that we've covered VA home loans in Hawaii and what's been happening with them, as well as the high value VA home loans north of $1 million. I hope you enjoyed that special treat of our national anthem and 4th of July in Waikiki. That's what we do for a living. We help our veterans. Whether you're buying or selling here in Hawaii, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!