Can you believe that home sales in Waipahu were up 300%? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate, here to report on the local market update for February of 2024.

Local Neighborhood Update for Homes

In Waipahu, in February of 2023, there were only 3 home sales that took place and this past month we had 12. So, that's a 300% increase. Regarding home appreciation on Oahu, Waialae-Kahala saw the largest increase year over year, from February of 2023 to this past month. It was up 52%. The median sales price a year ago was $2,950,000. This past month, it was at $4,500,000.

It'll be interesting to see as we make our way forward into 2024, because traditionally Waialae-Kahala will lead the overall market on Oahu out of a slump (if you look at historical data). We'll see if that's a tell tale sign of what we can anticipate later in this year.  For now, Waialae-Kahala saw the largest increase year over year for median home price.

Local Neighborhood Update for Condos

Waialae-Kahala also showed a lot of strength regarding condo sales. It tied with the Windward Coast. In both neighborhoods, sales were up 200%, going from 1 transaction to 3 transactions. Once again, Waialae-Kahala has been strong here on Oahu, as is the Windward Coast when it comes to condo sales. 

For our final category of condo appreciation on Oahu, we saw Wahiawa with the largest increase year over year, which was up 246%. That was going from a median sales price of $101,266 a year ago to $350,000 this past month. Most likely the reason for that huge gain was not too often to you see condos around the $100,000 price range, but in Wahiawa, there's a complex called Hidden Valley Estates. There you can have some leasehold condos that are in that lower price point.

Thanks for tuning in for the February local market update here on Oahu. If there's anything we can help you with, feel free to reach out and give us a shout because every market is different. Whether it be every neighborhood, every condo building on Oahu, they're all ebbing and flowing at different rates of returns. So, feel free to reach out to an expert for advice to navigate your next real estate purchase or sale. Mahalo!

A little over a month ago, we noticed a $10 million price drop for a penthouse condo at One Ala Moana.

History of One Ala Moana

For those of you that don’t know, One Ala Moana is a high end luxury condo on the back side of Ala Moana shopping center. It was a joint venture between General Growth (that owned the mall and was later bought out by Brookfield Properties) and MacNaughton and Kobayashi Groups. When they launched sales in 2012, they sold out super fast. One of the equity partners was from Japan and many of the initial buyers were from Japan as the yen was much stronger back then that it is today.

Penthouses 2300 & 2302

Now back to the Penthouse at hand. Penthouses 2300 and 2302 were bought by the same owner during the original sales that closed 9 years ago in early 2015. Unit #2300 sold for $7,350,000 back then and unit #2302 sold for $8,850,000 for a combined $16,200,000. Up until early February they were listed for a combined $22,500,000. When the price dropped $10,000,000, it’s because the 2 Penthouses were listed as a package sale. They needed up splitting the listing back into 2 separate units, with PH 2302 dropping to $10 mil and #2300 being offered at #12,500,000. Since then, there’s actually been another price drop, taking #2302 to $10,000,000 and #2300 to $9,500,000 for a combined $19,500,000. If the Seller were to get that, it would be a $3.3 million or a 20% gain. Considering the holding period has now been over 9 years, that’s only a 2.2% annualized return. When you factor in maintenance fees, property taxes and commissions

Once again, that’s IF the seller can get their asking price. Last year, there was a PH that sold at Park Lane for $27,500,000, which was 5,668 sq. Ft. The combined Penthouses #2300 and #2302 at One Ala Moana are 7,738 sq. Ft., so you never know.. If you’re interested in learning more about this PH offering or learning more about other penthouse condos in the Ala Moana-Kakaako area, feel free to reach out and give me a call @ 808-371-3509.

i've recently listed 2 well priced condos on Oahu, both have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 parking stalls and listed for $500,000. Both have tennis courts and are near military bases for our veterans PCSing to Oahu that love tennis.

1. Colonnade on the Greens in Pearlridge

Colonnade on the Greens Tennis Court

The first one is at Colonnade on the Greens in Pearlridge. It isn't too far from Camp Smith and Pearl Harbor. There are two tennis courts on site and there's a ton of other amenities that include a pool, sauna, racketball court and more..

2. Gardens at Launani Valley in Mililani

Launani Valley Tennis Court

The second listing is at Gardens at Launani Valley in Mililani. This one is close to Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Field. The condo project itself has a swimming pool, however by virtue of owning in the project, it's also part of the Launani Valley community association, where you have a tennis court and other perks such as a basketball court, park and picnic areas.

If you have questions about either property or are looking for a tennis property on Oahu, feel free to contact us for more information.

Here we are at the bottom of Hobron Lane at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor and we're going to be talking about the pros and cons today of the Ilikai vs. the Ilikai Marina. 

The Ilikai at 1777 Ala Moana Blvd

Ilikai Condo Entrance off Ala Moana Blvd

The main entrance to the Ilikai is off Ala Moana Blvd at 1777 Ala Moana Blvd. Unlike the Ilikai Marina, you have 2 access points, both on the mauka (mountain) and the makai (ocean) side of the property. We'll take a walk up through the entrance to give you a feeling of the Ilikai.

Ilikai Whale Statue and Waterfall

As you go through the porte cochere and valet parking, you're greeted by a tranquil waterfall and a beautiful statue of humpback whales. Hearing the natural beauty of the water, you come up the stairs and enter a grand lobby. From there, you have the signage as well as the front desk (to your right), which is currently run by Aqua Hotels. As you walk through the seating area, the bank of elevators will be to your left. As you walk further out, you walk towards the marina, where you have some restaurants and awesome retail establishments.

Ilikai Retail Shops

As I'd mentioned, the Ilikai has entrances on both the mauka and makai sides. Here we are now on the makai side near the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Directly behind me is a ramp up to the Ilikai, to access the amenity deck, where you can see the sunset views.

Ilikai Pool and Amenity Deck

When the Ilikai was first built, the swimming pool used to be off the deck where the Modern Hotel is. When they sold the hotel off in the mid-2000's, that pool went with that building. Now, the swimming pool at the Ilikai is going to be on the amenity deck on the east side of the building. That's one of the perks about the Ilikai is at least you do have an amenity deck. It does have a swimming pool. We're going to get into the Ilikai Marina shortly after this and there is no swimming pool there, but you can rent them short term there. We'll get into some of the pros and cons there in a second.

Ilikai Marina at 1765 Ala Moana Blvd.

Ilikai Marina facing Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Now that we've covered the Ilikai, let's talk about Ilikai Marina. It's also an incredible building here on the border of Waikiki and Ala Moana. What it's got going for it is you can rent these units short term and there's a number of third party property management companies that can handle that. They have both a studio and 1 bedroom product. The units in this building are either going to face the marina or you have mauka facing views from other units within the building. It's a great location on the west side of Waikiki, with Ala Moana and Kakaako directly behind (to the west). 

Ilikai Marina Restaurants

Unlike the main Ilikai, the Ilikai Marina doesn't have a lot of retail shops, but what it does have going for it are two amazing long time restaurant establishments. Both the Chart House, which is owned by Joey Cabell. Joey Cabell is a legendary surfer that owns (and started) the Chart House. There's great food and a great salad bar. They were known all across the country at one point.  You've also got the Harbor Pub, which is a long time establishment for local residents. Especially, for those that are just coming off a long day on the water, with the marina behind us.

Summary

We've come full circle and we're back to the entrance to Hobron Lane to access both the Ilikai and Ilikai Marina. They're both fantastic buildings in their own right. The key takeaways is the Ilikai is a much larger complex. It does have a swimming pool. There's a lot more retail. You're going to have a lot more people going up and down elevators. The Ilikai Marina is going to be more of a boutique building with studios and 1 bedrooms. Whereas, the Ilikai has both 1 and 2 bedroom units. 

Both properties can be rented short term and if you want more information on either the Ilikai or the Ilikai Marina, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!

Can you believe that the median sales price for a home on Oahu was up 8.9% from a year ago? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate, here to report on the home and condo stats on the island of Oahu for February of 2024. 

Home Stats

First off, we're going to dive into the home sales and there we saw a 3.5% increase in transactions from February of '23. There were 173 homes that sold last year and this past month we saw 179 transactions take place. As we talked about in the intro, the median sales price was up 8.9%. It was under $1 million bucks a year ago. It was at $987,000. This past month, we saw it up at $1,075,000.

So, things are starting to gain steam regarding the market here. Median days on market have actually dropped 36.2%. A year ago, it was taking homes 47 days to sell and now they're at 30. Once again, it's a Seller's Market, but for you buyers out there, active inventory is actually up 9.5% from a year ago. So, there is a lot more to look at. That's exciting news for buyers as are the interest rates are probably lower than they were the same time last year.

Condo Stats

Regarding the condo sales on Oahu, they didn't see as much an increase as we did on the homes, but they were still up 2.8%. A year ago, there were 325 condo sales that took place in February and this past month we saw 334. Meanwhile, we also saw an increase in the median sales price for condos, which was up 6.8%. A year ago, that median sales price was $480,000 and this past month it was at $512,500.

However, unlike the single family homes where we saw a drop in median days on market, we saw an increase on the condo front. So, it is taking condos a little bit longer to sell than homes. That was up 39%, going from 28 days a year ago to 39. It's taking things a little bit longer to sell, but it's still technically a Seller's Market for condos as well. 

That's just an overall broad stroke of the island on Oahu for February of '24. Stay tuned later this month as we'll be diving into more of the local market updates and as we talk about every building and every neighborhood is different. If there's something specific to you, feel free to reach out and give us a shout at 808-371-3509. Mahalo!

Aloha! It's another Wednesday and we're going to cover another episode of We Need Inventory. Today, we're going to be discussing Portlock in Hawaii Kai. This past Monday, I did a little market update, which was a short video talking about the stats in Portlock. It was intriguing to find that there was only 1 home for sale in Portlock and it was listed for $8,500,000, which sounds a little bit shocking. However, it shouldn't be too surprising as that market has been heating up in Portlock. There's been 2 sales over the past 6 months that are north of $8 million. There was a also a couple trades on the lower end in the $2-3 million range, but those ($8 million ones) were beautiful homes on the water. 

For those of you that don't know, Portlock is probably one of the higher end sleeper neighborhoods on the island. Often times Lanikai or Beachside in Kailua have gotten all the claim in the last several years. You've got Diamond Head and Kahala as well in town. But, not many people know that the highest residential sale ever on Oahu was here in Portlock back in 1990 at the old Kaiser Estate. 

Portlock's been on the rebound and we're seeing a lot of strength there. For those that don't know (even for locals), when I first got into the business well over 20 years ago I considered everything on the mauka (mountain) side of the ocean up to Koko Head (which is basically the backside of Hanauma Bay) as Portlock. But, Portlock itself is just an enclave of homes along Portlock Road in Hawaii Kai. There are 2 other neighborhoods in that area, which are Triangle and Koko Kai. But, today we're specifically only going to talk about Portlock, in that there's just over 150 parcels along Portlock Road. Today, there's only 1 for sale. So, it is it's own stand alone MLS neighborhood and there's only 1 home for sale.

Portlock Homes in Demand

I can imagine there's a lot of buyers out there that want to be on this desirable street. So, if you have a home in Portlock and you're thinking about selling, now might not be a bad time. Feel free to reach out and give us a shout at 808-371-3509. Mahalo!

Today, we're going to talk about Sans Souci. Is it this Sans Souci?

Sans Souci in Boulder, CO

Or is it this Sans Souci? Sans Souci on the Gold Coast. It's been a hot topic over this past month as the land lease was set to expire this past month, in January of 2024

Sans Souci in Honolulu, HI

What's exciting about that for the owners is the lease has been extended for another 65 years. They did not have to turn over the keys and walk away, which could have been the worse case scenario, when owning leasehold property in Hawaii. What's awesome about Sans Souci now is these owners have a chance to renew their lease for another 65 years. This creates some instant equity, versus not having anything left.

Current Inventory at Sans Souci

Today, there were 4 Brokers Opens - 2 Studios, a 1 Bedroom and a 2 Bedroom. There's actually 8 listings for sale. So, it's going to be interesting to see how these things start trading and setting a new market tone or value with the extended land lease.

Extended Lease Opens Door to Financing

What's awesome about it is they can now be financed. Banks want to see at least 35 years remaining to give you a 30 year mortgage. So, with 65 years remaining, that's an awesome future ahead for those that are looking to live here on the Gold Coast at Diamond Head.

Diamond Head Seen from Sans Souci (10th Floor)

Looking to Make a Move to or from Sans Souci?

If you're thinking about buying at Sans Souci here on the Gold Coast or if you currently own a unit at Sans Souci, feel free to reach out to us. Mahalo!

Aloha! This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and today we're going to talk about the local market update for single family homes and condos on Oahu for the month of January, 2024.

Local Neighborhood Update for Homes

First, we're going to start off with the single family homes and there we saw an increase of 500% from sales year over year. A year ago in Waialae-Kahala, there was only 1 transaction that took place and this past month we saw 6 sales. 

While we're on the neighborhood of Waialae-Kahala, we also saw the 2nd highest increase in median sales price. That was up 58% from a year ago. A year ago, the median sales price in Waialae-Kahala was $1,085,000 and this past month it was all the way up at $1,716,500. However, that was not the #1 neighborhood for increase year over year. Moanalua-Salt Lake was slightly up higher at 60%. A year ago, the median sales price there was $953,888 and this past month it was at $1,525,000.

Local Neighborhood Update for Condos

First off, we're going to talk about condo sales on Oahu and Kalihi-Palama saw the largest increase year over year, which was up 175%. In January of last year there were 4 deals that took place in Kalihi-Palama and this past month there were 11. So, that's 175% increase.

Now we're going to jump into median condo price. There was a tie between 2 of the major neighborhoods on Oahu, which were both up 66% year over year,. Diamond Head-Kapahulu saw an increase from $365,000 a year ago to $607,000 this past month. Meanwhile, Waialae-Kahala (that we were talking about earlier) also saw a 66% increase year over year and that was going from $395,000 to $655,000 this past month.

As we talk about every month, every neighborhood is local and specific and there's always prices going up and prices going down. There's stagnation in some neighborhoods. What we are seeing across the board and have been seeing a lack of inventory and we have a segment called We Need Inventory. In the meantime, I hope you're having a great February of 2024 and had an awesome Valentine's this past week as we head into President's Day Weekend. Mahalo!

I can't believe we're already in February. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and I'm here to report on the market stats for January of 2024 here on Oahu.

Oahu Home Stats

First off, we're going to dive into the single family homes and there the biggest stat that stood out at me was sales for single family homes (year over year) were up 22.7%. In January of '23, we saw an anemic only 150 home sales on Oahu. This past month we saw 184. That's a nice bump up in sales and that's by far the largest outlier for transactions in stats that we've seen, year over year. So, that's promising for the market here on Oahu. Condos weren't as robust, but we'll dive into those after. Meanwhile, while we're covering the single family homes, the median sales price was up 5.3%. A year ago it was at $970,000. This past month, we were at $1,021,016 to be exact for that median sales price.

Median days on market are increasing. They've gone up 20.8% from 24 days a year ago to 29 days. It's taking homes a little bit longer to sell. Months of active inventory is also up 40%. It was 2 months a year ago and now it's 2.8 months, which is good for buyers because there's a little bit more to chose from. 

Oahu Condo Stats

Regarding the condo stats on Oahu, we haven't seen as much an increase in sales year over year as we have the single family homes. However, condo sales were up 6.2% from a year ago. A year ago, we had 275 condo sales in January and this past month we saw 292. We also saw a little tick up in median condo price, which was up 1.5%. That was going from $495,000 to $502,500.

The median days on market are also increasing, going from 24 days to 29 days. That's a 20.8% increase, which is identical to the increase in median days on market for homes. Meanwhile, months of remaining inventory are also up quite a bit, 45.8%, going from 2.4 months to 3.5 months. Once again, that's a good sign for home buyers that are out there. However it is still considered a Seller's Market with the tight inventory that we have, in that anything less than 6 months of remaining inventory is considered a Seller's Market according to the National Association of Realtors.

So, that's it for the overall market stats. I'll be up later later on in the month to cover the local market report here on Oahu and in the meantime, I hope you all have an awesome Valentine's Day this coming week and we'll catch up soon. Aloha!

Aloha! It's another Wednesday and we're going to cover another episode of We Need Inventory. This past week, we started working with a buyer that's specifically looking for a home in Ewa Gentry Cypress Point. In doing a little bit of research, this is a neighborhood where nobody wants to sell. Because, going back over the past 2 years, there only been 1 sale and that was for $1,835,000, and that took place in March of 2023.

It's a tight neighborhood. This was a quality product done by Gentry. This is the very end of Kuanoo Street in Ewa Beach, for those that aren't familiar. Some of the homes do back up to the golf course there in Ewa Beach. It's a hot product, however nobody at this point is looking to sell. But, if you know anyone that does own at Ewa Gentry Cypress Point, we are working with a buyer. We'd love to help get you a nice price for your home as well. 

You can contact us at 808-371-3509 and this is another episode of We Need Inventory, here on Oahu. Mahalo!