Aloha! I can't believe it's been 5 years now since Ae'o was released in late 2018 and early 2019 when owners were handed over the keys. Behind me is Ae'o and Whole Foods. It's the flagship Whole Foods store in Honolulu. It's 60,000 sq. ft. interior. It was 5 years ago that owners got their keys to their units at Ae'o and what I'd like to do is a quick report on what has happened to prices over the past 5 years.

Ae'o Pricing Over the Past 5 Years

I broke out every single category - for studios, 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms for sales on average for each year. There, you'll be able to see what's been taking place with prices. Where do you think prices have gone? Have they gone up? Have they gone down? 

Well, for instance on the studios, the average sales price was $625,000 at the end of 2019 and fast forward to this past year (2023) and now it's at $605,000. So, actually over the course of the past 5 years, prices have gone down on the studios. On 1 bedrooms, they've gone from $910,800 on average to $847,000 (also down).

Now, the 2 bedrooms are a completely different story. They 2 bedrooms are actually the one category that have gone up in value here at Ae'o over the last 5 years. The average price in 2019 was $1,280,000. Now, it's at $1,321,143 at the end of 2023. The 3 bedrooms have also gone down. They spiked up a little bit in 2021. However, in 2019 it was at $1,975,000 for the average sales price of a 3 bedroom unit at Ae'o and now they're down to $1,963,500. So, it's down around $12,000 over the course of 5 years. 

Options Going Forward

There's several ways to look at this. One of which is (I'm always an optimist) you can buy in Ae'o today and have this Whole Foods right behind me. You can come right down the elevator and you can go to Whole Foods and you can buy today for cheaper than you could 5 years ago from the developer. 

That's a great thing to keep in mind. Because, I'm going to do a segment later (in the future) of when to time the market on these new construction condos and it's honestly hit and miss. There's been some big home runs and there's been some where people did not come out ahead. Some buildings for instance - Waiea around the corner here, there's still some owners that are not able to sell their units for what they paid originally back in 2016.

Benefits of Owning Newer Construction

It's always a gamble when investing in new construction. But, one good thing about owning in a place like Ae'o with a 2018-2019 build is that is not suffering through the major issues of the older condos in town. With those, first off, cast iron plumbing is going bad with a lot of those built in the 60's and 70's. The 2nd of which is insurance on some of these older buildings because most of these newer buildings (like Ae'o) were not under insured like the some of the older buildings. Last, but not least, is these newer buildings have fire protection. They have the latest bells and whistles and they're obviously sprinklered. So, if life and safety is a concern of yours (as it is most people) it's not a bad product to consider getting into. Ae'o's got some incredible amenities as well. So, if you're in the market, I'll report on what's available here at Ae'o.

Ae'o Inventory Today

Regarding the current inventory at Ae'o in Kakaako, there are 13 listings for sale today. Starting with a studio for $610,000 and that's right around where things have been selling for over the past 5 years. From there, prices run up to a 3 bedroom listed north of $2 million. However, there's one there on the 13th floor. #1301 is available for $1,780,000. That's a pretty good deal, considering the average sales price near $1.9 in general for those 3 bedrooms.

There are some opportunities. There are 13 units for sale in the building. However, in the big scheme of things, there's 466 units. So, that's just a fraction of the available inventory. Even through there's 13 listings, there's not really a lot for sale (considering how many could be available). If you want to get an Ae'o condo, there's existing inventory.

Buying or Selling Ae'o or Another Kakaako Building?

If you're interested in any other buildings in Kakaako or you own a unit at Ae'o or another building in Kakaako and need some help selling it for top dollar, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!

Aloha! It's another Wednesday and here we are going to talk about another episode of We Need Inventory. What we're talking about today is Discovery Bay, here in Waikiki. We have 2 different buyers looking for a 2 bedroom condo here. 

Supply vs. Demand at Discovery Bay

For better or worse, what's been happening at Discovery Bay is now the fee is becoming available. Because of that, demand has shot up and there's a lack of inventory because owners just don't want to sell. For perspective, in the last 6 months, there's only been 1 sale and it took place 3 months ago. It went for $600,000 and it was an '11 stack unit. For instance, if you go back 2 years, there have been 16 sales of 2 bedroom units at Discovery Bay between both towers. It just shows how sales have tapered off.

Once again, demand is increasing because nobody wants to sell because everyone knows things are going to be worth more once that fee is purchased. For perspective, a couple of years back, some of the 2 bedrooms units there would only be going in that $400,000 range. Now, that last one traded at $600,000. In any event, if you know anyone looking to sell a unit at Discovery Bay, in particular a 2 bedroom unit, we do have a couple of buyers. One in particular is looking for an '04 stack. The other one is basically lookinig for an ocean view.  It's the '04s, '11s and '14 off the top of my head that are 2 bedrooms. There's 135 (2 bedroom) units total in both towers. 

As of today, there's nothing for sale, so We Need Inventory! Mahalo.

Can you believe home sales between Diamond Head and Kapahulu were up 78% this past month? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to report on the local market update for December of 2023. 

Local Market Update for Homes

First off, Diamond Head-Kapahulu saw the largest increase in sales year over year and that was going from 9 transactions in December of 2022 to 16 transactions this past month. Meanwhile, of the 21 major neighborhoods that the Honolulu Board of Realtors reports on, Diamond Head-Kapahulu was only 1 of 6 neighborhoods that saw an increase in sales. 4 of those neighborhoods saw no change whatsoever and meanwhile, 11 neighborhoods were down regarding sales, year over year.

Regarding appreciation on Oahu, Aina Haina-Kuliouou saw the largest increase year over year for single family homes. It was up a whopping 205%! Now, let me explain things here for a second. There were only 3 sales that took place and that median sales price was actually $3,770,000. That was up from the previous year of $1,235,000. The reason for such a huge increase was there were only 3 transactions that took place. The middle of the 3 (which would be the median price) took place on Hawaii Loa Ridge and there was one lower (priced at $1.2 million) and there was actually a sale at $5.5 million that took place on the eastern flank of Waialae Iki. That is by far the highest record sale on Waialae Iki. 

Local Market Update for Condos

Regarding condo sales on Oahu, Wahiawa saw the largest increase. That was up 200%, going from 2 transactions in December of 2022 to 6 transactions this past month. Regarding the rest of the market - of the 21 major neighborhoods on Oahu, they were down in 14. So, 14 of the 21 major neighborhoods on Oahu saw a decrease in condo sales. This doesn't really surprise me because when I reported on the overall market on Oahu earlier this month, condo sales were down 24.4%.

Regarding our final category, we're going to talk about condo appreciation on Oahu. There, we saw the largest appreciation for median sales price take place in Hawaii Kai, which was up 35%. That was going from $900,000 in December of '22 to $1,218,000 this past month.

That's a wrap regarding the local market update for December of '23 and as we all know, every market is different, so if there's something specific to you, feel free to reach out and give us a shout. Mahalo!

We've been really blessed to have some beautiful weather here in Hawaii over the past 2 weeks for 2 of the PGA's tournaments that take place on Maui and Oahu.

Sentry Open in Maui

2024 Sentry Open in Kapalua

This past week over on Maui we had the Sentry PGA Championship there in Kapalua at the Plantation Course. Our very own Michelle Belch on our team volunteered at the event for the 4th year in a row.

Michelle L. Belch, Realtor-Associate Volunteering Kapalua

Once again, Maui was showcased across National Television. The weather was beautiful and traditionally every year that later rolls into the Sony Open here on Oahu. Although we've had gloomy weather earlier in the week, it's really shaped up to be a beautiful week here on Oahu for the Sony on Waialae Golf Course.

Sony Open on Oahu

2024 Sony Open on Waialae Golf Course

Today is Saturday and spectators were all over the place. Just getting off the off ramp into Kahala the traffic was backed up and it's a gorgeous day here on Oahu. However, I am in real estate, so let's jump into the real estate here on Oahu along golf courses and in particular on Waialae Golf Course. Unfortunately, there was just nothing for sale this year, which was an anomaly. Typically, there's always several homes for sale.

I've been reporting on golf course homes on Waialae for well over 10 years in my blog and if you want to see some of those articles, feel free to click on the links below. With that said, there is nothing for sale this year. Last year, there was only 1 home for sale asking $3,250,000 and it ended up selling at $3 million. So, everyone that owns along that golf course doesn't' want to give up their properties. They are trophy properties (no pun intended with the tournament).

With that said, there are other opportunities on Oahu. As of today, there are 8 single family homes that front golf courses on Oahu and they range in price from $860,000 for a home in Ocean Pointe in Ewa Beach and they'll go as high as $7.88 million for a home out in Makaha in Maunaolu Estates.

Maunaolu Estates Golf Course Home (MLS # 202324314)

That is a lofty price for that home and if they get anywhere near there, that will be the highest sale ever in that community. It is a beautiful estate that's on the market. With that said, there's also a couple of other homes listed for sale in Hoakalei, also in Ewa Beach fronting the Ernie Els golf course there. I did a report on that this past summer. There are some golf course opportunities and we'll have the link below.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend so far and you're enjoying the rest of the PGA tournament this weekend here on Oahu. Last, but not least, we do sell real estate here. So, whether you're looking for a golf course frontage home or a home within "walking distance" to golf courses, feel free to give us a shout. We'd love to help. Mahalo!

Golf Course Articles and Oahu Golf Homes for Sale

All Golf Course and Sony Open Articles

Current Golf Course Homes for Sale on Oahu

Aloha! I hope you're having a great 2024 so far and we're going to recap on the sales that finished off in December of 2023. As the stats came out recently from the Honolulu Board of Realtors and we just want to report on what's been happening. 

Single Family Home Stats

First off, we're going to dive into single family homes and there we saw for the 23rd straight month in a row a drop in sales. Sales were actually down from the previous December of '22 down 9.9%. So, we had 182 home sales this past month compared to 202 sales a year prior. In addition to that, the median sales price for a single family home was down 5.1%. That was going from $1,049,500 a year ago to $996,500 this past month. 

It is taking home a little bit quicker to sell, which is a silver lining. Median days on market have dropped 28%. A year ago, there were 25 days on market. Now, it's just 18. In addition to that, pending sales are up 8.3% year over year. In December of '22 there were 168 pending sales and now we're at 182. So, things are picking up a little bit. We'll see if we continue on that slide of more than 23 months regarding sales. Maybe things will pick up in January and February, which the traditionally do. But, year over year comparison, we're seeing that slide in sales volume.

Condo Stats

Meanwhile, condos have also experienced a similar slide regarding sales volume being down. Now, for the 19th month in a row and it actually took more of a drastic year over year decrease in sales. Condo sales were down 24.4% from a year ago. A year ago, there were 360 condo sales on Oahu in December and now we had 272 this past month. Meanwhile, the median condo price didn't take as much a dip as the single family homes. As a matter of fact, they were actually up 1.5%. A year ago, that median condo price was $502,500 and now it's at $510,000. So, that's a step in the right direction for condos.

The median days on market are up 23.8%, so it's actually taking condos longer to sell. Whereas, the homes were contracting regarding days on market. A year ago, that median days on market was 21 days. It's now 26 days on Oahu, which is still considered a seller's market. I saw some stats recently from one of our agents over on Maui and it's taking over 200 days on average for a condo to sell on Maui! So, it's still a seller's market for condos (on Oahu). It's just that volume, having to do with that inventory. Pending sales are relatively flat year over year for condos.

In any event, if you want to find out what's going on in your particular neighborhood, whether it be homes, condos or anything else here on Oahu, we're always here to help. We're at 808-777-4880. Mahalo!

Can you guess which neighborhoods or areas saw the largest residential sales on Oahu in 2023? 

Highest Oahu Sales

The largest home sale on Oahu took place on Kahala Avenue. It was an oceanfront estate for $15 million. 

4505 Kahala Ave. Sold for $15 Million

However it was surpassed by far with the largest residential sale on Oahu. It was actually a penthouse condo at Park Lane that went for $27.5 million.

Penthouse #3800 @ Park Lane Sold for $27.5 Million

That was almost double the sales price of the highest home sale on Oahu, which was $15 million. That's phenomenal in my opinion because growing up on Oahu (back when i was in high school) there were home sales taking place all along this strip in Kahala Beach in the $20 million range. That would have been around 1990 at the peak of the Japanese Bubble. Fast forward 33 years and we still have sales trading under what they were back then.

In my opinion, Honolulu is still a good value. Especially if you're looking for trophy properties oceanfront homes in the sense that the highest sale on Oahu was actually a condo, not even a house. Furthermore, I'm going to talk a little more about what's going on across the country.

Largest Home Sales in the U.S.

Outside of of Hawaii, Inman News reported on the 31 largest single family home sales across the country in 2023. Just to make that list of 31, you had to be north of $50 million. It's kind of funny, because if you were to break down those 31 sales, they basically fall in general into 7 major cities or areas.

First off, let's start with the West Coast. You've got Malibu, which was the highest sale. Jay Z and Beyonce paid almost $200 million for a single family home. That took the cake for the highest sale of the year. Then, there were a handful in Beverly Hills. Then, working your way west, there were at least 3-4 in Aspen, CO, a ski town and a beautiful place. I've spent a lot of time there.

Then, working back east, there were several in Florida, both in Palm Beach, which has been in the news with Mar a Lago. There were big trades that took place in Palm Beach as well as Miami. Then, you hump up to Manhattan with a number of high end condo sales there. The last was the Hamptons with a number of sales. That's basically 7 cities or neighborhoods across the country where all these wealthy people are gravitating towards to pay these high end values for homes. 

Oahu is a Bargain

Once again, this is making our island look like a discount. There were some larger trades on the neighbor islands. However, once again Kahala is still a bargain with $15 million being the biggest sale of the year for a house. Just in the last few years, we had several trades in Lanikai in the $20 million range or over in Beachside in the past.

Beachside, Kailua Home Listed for $50 Million (MLS # 202327941)

With that magic number of $50 million number in mind (to make the national list), there is a current listing for sale in Beachside for $50 million and that will be by far the largest sale in Hawaii. The highest sale we've seen on Oahu was north of $40 million for the old Kaiser Estate (in Portlock). Once again, that was back in 1990.

Once again, Hawaii is on discount if you're in that high end multi-million dollar budget. We're also still a bargain when it comes to owner occupants. We've got one of the lowest property tax rates throughout the country. So, if you're in the market for a luxury home or if you need some help selling your trophy property on Oahu, we'd be glad to help. Mahalo!

I can't believe it's been roughly 5 months since the Lahaina fires in early August of 2023 and everyone is still just trying to take it in. There's been just so much devastation and loss. I talked about this awhile back. There were some silver linings with Maria Lanakila Church in the last message I did, which is beautiful. 

Wood Frame vs. Concrete Construction

Today, I'm going to talk about something that's a little bit close to home. This is reminder of things that can stand over time, which is construction. You hear about the story of the "Big Bad Wolf" and the different construction materials. A lot of Lahaina Town was built with wood framed construction. There's not a lot that has survived. Some of the oceanfront condos such as Lahaina Shores (and Lahaina Roads) that were concrete made it.

Noah's Ark on Front Street

However, one thing I want to talk about today is back in the early 80's when I first moved to Maui. My Grandma and her husband at the time, Peter Knight built a spec house along Front Street. We always joked about it. We used to call it "Noah's Ark" because it literally looked like Noah's Ark. We also had another nickname for it, which was "The James Bond House" because it was really cool at the time and we were little kids. We weren't used to seeing anything like this. It had surveillance cameras, a wine cellar and a home cinema/movie theater. It was just really cool and something different.

"Noah's Ark" Seen from Front Street

It was definitely "out of the box" for its time. It was a funky house. It wasn't for everyone, but it was built out of concrete. Everything I'm sure is toasted on the interior, but the shell of it still remains. The irony here is us calling it Noah's Ark over all those years ago. You know, Noah surviving the flood (in the Bible) and now this structure here on Front Street survived the Lahaina fires.

Once again, there's not a real good takeaway. From a memory standpoint, most of what I knew as a kid in Lahaina is gone and it's nice to see one thing that is still standing. My sister was able to get into Lahaina with a friend, who has property there and got a few photos.

Our Old Home after Fire

Puamana Nui after Lahaina Fire

Remnants of 221 Puapihi St. and Tennis Court Next Door

Our old house in Puamana Nui is completely gone. The tennis courts are still there, but all throughout front street it just looks like a war zone. I'm sure everyone has been seeing it over the news the last 5 months now. A lot of commercial property is completely gone. 505 Front Street was a waterfront commercial property with a lot of great restaurants and memories in that place. Huey Lewis had a restaurant there back in the day as well. 

There's a lot of history in Lahaina and I know everyone is working to rebuild and it's going to be a long haul ahead. My heart goes out to all the fire fighters. I've got friends that are firefighters there on the island and I just couldn't imagine what they went through... Wishing everyone an awesome 2024!

If you're a property owner on Oahu, I've got great news for you! I'm not sure if you've been paying attention to the news over the holidays, however on December 21st, a federal judge stepped in and issued a summary judgement stopping the city's draconian law, which was ordinance 22-7, which wanted to take the minimum rental period on Oahu from 30 days to 90 days. That was in complete contrast to the landlord tenant code, which deals with month to month rentals.

Forever, since I've been in the business (now, I'm dating myself, 23 years), it's always been a 30 day minimum for rentals on Oahu. Now, obviously there are areas on the island where you can rent for shorter terms. Some are in Waikiki, however they have to have the specific zoning or be grandfathered in to do something less than 30 days. There's been a big fight over the last several years with Airbnb's, VRBO's and short term rentals on the island. 

I've always been non-biased. When I do represent a client, I do let them know the minimum rental period in general is 30 days outside of specific areas. There's a few outside of Waikiki. We can get into those later. Feel free to send me a message or we can cover that on another meeting here. However, since I've been in the business, I've always said it's a 30 day minimum. I never took sides. I never tried to push the envelope less than 30 days. i thought that was fair. I get it when people live in a residential neighborhood and you see people "turning and burning" every couple of days or weeks. That's not what those particular neighborhoods were zoned for. But, I think the 30 days is fair and I'm glad we're getting back to some kind of sanity here on Oahu because it did take away people's property rights and what they want to do with their places. I've never had skin in that game. I've had clients that have done 30 day rentals and it was going to effect them severely financially. 

Meanwhile, the lobbyists behind that bill (41, which became ordinance 22-7) were everyone in the hotel industry. The hotels right now have been flush since they were able to open back up after COVID. There's really no need to take it from 30 to 90 days, so I'm glad a federal judge with some sense stepped in and now it's back to business as usual on Oahu.

If you're looking to purchase a place on Oahu, where you can do something short term, feel free to reach out. I've been doing this long enough where I know the places where you can and can't do it. In the meantime, I hope you're having a great 2024 so far. We're almost a week into it here and I look forward to you this coming year. Mahalo!

Aloha! It's a gloomy day here in December, but I'm here to talk about the local market update for November of 2023. First off, we're going to start off with the single family homes.

Local Market Update for Homes

Waimanalo to Kailua saw the largest increase in sales transactions year over year and that went from 17 sales in November of '22 to 28 sales this past month. So, that's a 65% increase in sales year over year. In the single family home market, it was 50/50 in neighborhoods that were up in transactions as well as down in transactions. The condo market is going to be a little bit different, which we will jump into shortly. Next, we're going to talk about the appreciation for single family homes on Oahu.

Meanwhile, regarding the median home price here on Oahu. Waialae-Kahala saw the largest increase in median sales price year over year and that was going from $1,627,500 to $2,900,000. That is a 78% increase. So, we'll see if this is a sign of things to come, but normally Waialae-Kahala leads coming out of a slow market.

Local Market Update for Condos

Regarding condo sales here on Oahu in November, the North Shore saw the largest increase. It was actually up 200%. That was going from 1 sale in November of '22 to 3 sales. This is the Ocean Villas at Turtle Bay behind me. I just happened to be up here on the North Shore because I've gotta drop a sign at a listing I've got in Kawela Mauka, which is a beautiful home built in 2016 on 2.7 acres. Sorry to go off on a tangent. Back to condos... Outside of the North Shore, 2/3 of the major neighborhoods on Oahu were down this past month. That would be 14 of the 21 major neighborhoods for the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Not everything is rosy for condo sales on Oahu, but the North Shore is definitely a place that continues to see some demand.

Regarding the median condo price on Oahu, Waialae-Kahala also saw the largest increase. I've got Kahala Regency behind me and it was up 289% year over year. That was going from $168,500 to $655,000. Most likely what happened is more sales took place at Kahala Beach Apartments, which are Leasehold condos. That's why things were probably so low last year. Hence, the heavy appreciation. $655,000 is that median price now and that's probably going to take place over near Waialae Gardens, Tropicana Village and Tropic Gardens, which is directly behind me (near Kahala Towers). Those are low level town houses they're a great value to be in the 'hood' here in Kahala.

If you have any questions about real estate here on Oahu, feel free to give us a call at 808-777-4880. In the meantime, wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

140 Waikoloa Road (MLS # 399950) in Hana, Maui

Did you know you can still get a beachfront home on Maui for under $2.5 million? Don't worry, that ship hasn't sailed yet. There's one available in Hana today listed for $2,495,000 on a beautiful black sand beach. Built in 1982, this home features high pitched ceilings, has 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and over 2,500 square feet of living area on .69 acres.

Imagine living in one of the price spots in Hana Maui for a fraction of some condo prices in other parts of the island. If you're looking to have a place in the same zip code where Oprah Winfrey lives (let alone on the ocean), now may be your chance. With the lack of inbound traffic to Maui since the Lahaina fires a few months back, timing could be right to own a trophy beachfront location on the Valley Isle.

If you have more questions about this beach front home in Hana or open to explore other Hana, Maui properties, feel free to give us a call for more info. @ 808-777-4880.