Well, you might ask yourself why I'm wearing green today instead of the typical blue I'm always wearing in my presentations? It has nothing to do with Saint Patrick's Day, which happened last month. It has a little more to do with this sea of cash I've got in the backdrop behind me. 

Cash Transactions for Homes on Oahu

What I wanted to do is take a deep dive into the cash transactions that are taking place on Oahu. With the increase in interest rates we've been seeing over the past year or so, I have this hypothesis that a lot more cash transactions must be taking place. That's definitely something I've been seeing a lot more on the higher end. So, I took a deep dive into what's been going on in this first quarter of 2023 for single family homes on Oahu.

During the 1st quarter, there were 631 home sales that took place and of those, 136 of them were cash transactions. Of those cash transactions that took place, roughly half of them took place in east Honolulu (Downtown to Hawaii Kai), If you want to take a guess as to which neighborhoods saw the most cash transactions, it was actually the Diamond Head Region of MLS and that basically encompasses Diamond Head and everything inland all the way down to Kuliouou. 36 of the 136 transactions took place in that region of our MLS. Keep in mind, there's 12 regions on Oahu. 

Cash Transactions by MLS Region on Oahu

1. Diamond Head had 36 Cash Transactions
2. Metro Honolulu had 20 Cash Transactions
3. Hawaii Kai had 13 Cash Transactions
4. Ewa Plain had 12 Cash Transactions
5. Leeward Coast had 11 Cash Transactions
6. Pearl City had 11 Cash Transactions
7. Kailua had 10 Cash Transactions
8. Kaneohe had 6 Cash Transactions
9. North Shore had 6 Cash Transactions
10. Central Oahu had 4 Cash Transactions
11. Waipahu had 4 Cash Transactions
12. Makakilo had 3 Cash Transactions

All 3 of the east Honolulu regions saw the bulk of those cash transactions. Coming in runner up was the Metro (Metro Honolulu) Region. There we had 20 cash deals take place in the 1st quarter. Then, we had Hawaii Kai in 3rd place with 13 cash transactions for single family homes. 

There's a lot of volume taking place on other parts of Oahu, but the lowest cash transactions took place in Makakilo, followed by Waipahu. Makakilo had 3, Waipahu had 4 and the Leeward Plain had 11 (which was surprising) and almost had as many as Ewa Beach, which had 12.

Was There More Cash Deals Than 1st Quarter of 2022?

What I also did was jump back a year to look at the 1st quarter of '22 because that's where we started to see the market really soften. I've been telling friends recently if I were to have a rear view mirror and try to guess where the market peaked, I would have said it would have been March of last year. Saint Patrick's Day, Luck of the Irish, Cash, whatever you want to call it...

If we go back a year, we had a lot more cash transactions taking place. There were 181 cash deals that took place last year compared to 136 (this year I'd mentioned earlier). Now, back to my hypothesis in if there were more cash deals, I was correct, but not significantly more because we're seeing an overall slowing down in volume with home sales on Oahu.

Of the 181 cash deals that took place, there were a lot more sales as well. There was 907 sales last year. That was just under 20%. 19.95% of those deals were cash transactions. In the 1st quarter of this year, there was just over 20% at 21.55%. So, we are seeing an uptick in cash transactions in the marketplace.

1 of 5 Homes Sales on Oahu was Cash

What was fascinating and what I wanted to share with you is it is roughly 1 of every 5 deals for single family homes on Oahu was a cash transaction and the bulk of those deals are taking place in east Oahu. Whereas, the Leeward side of the island, the North Shore, the Windward side, you're seeing a lot more deals that are being financed. 

To find out what's going on in your neighborhood or if there's anything we can help out with, feel free to give us a call. Mahalo.

Something exciting is happening in the condo market here on Oahu. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate, here to give you the market update for March of 2023. First off, we're going to start off with the single family homes and then please stick around. We'll get into that exciting news about the condos at the very end.

Single Family Home Report

On the single family home front, we saw a drop in the numbers of transactions again. This is a trend we've been seeing for many months now. That's down 26.5% regarding the numbers of deals taking place. In March of '22, we had 321 home sales on Oahu and this past month, we saw just 236.

The median sales price is also down for single family homes, which was down 5.8%. That was going from $1,150,000 a year ago to $1,083,750. It's not a drastic change, however it is a chink in the armor. Inventory is picking up for homes on Oahu. It's up over 50% - 50.3% to be precise. The median Days on Market, which is a stat we like to track is up 300%. That's going from 9 Days a year ago to 36 Days now. It's still a seller's market because anything under 60 days is a seller's market, but this is something we want to keep an eye on.

Condo Report

The exciting news I'm going to talk about is we hit a new record price the median sale of a condo on Oahu. That's up 4% from a year ago. A year ago, it was at $515,000 (a record then) and now we're at $536,000! With all the doom and gloom in the news, we hit a new record condo price on Oahu. However, transaction volume is down significantly at 33.9%. In March of '22, we had 672 condo sales on Oahu and just this past month we only 444.

Similar to the single family home market, the median Days on Market was up as well, going from 9 to 24 days. It is taking condos a little bit quicker to sell. Inventory for existing condo listings is pickup up and is up 25.4%. So, not a 50% increase like the homes, but there's a lot more competition out there. It is taking things longer to sell, but every market is different. We just sold a high end oceanfront (supposed to close next week) condo on the Gold Coast and we had multiple offers, all cash buyers. So, it's a real spotty market. You have some segments that are slowing and some that are booming. To find out what's happening in your neighborhood, feel free to reach out. Mahalo!

Can you believe at the North Shore of Oahu saw a 60% increase year over year for the numbers of sales? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to report on the Local Market Update for February 2023.

Local Market Update for Homes

As I mentioned, the North Shore saw the largest increase year over year and that was going from five sales a year ago in February of 2022 to 8 sales this year. Makaha - Nanakuli was the only other neighborhood on Oahu that did see an increase and that was up 18%. Four neighborhoods on Oahu saw no change whatsoever in the numbers of sales and the remaining neighborhoods that the Honolulu Board of Realtors tracks were down year over year regarding the numbers of transactions compared to February of 2022. Stay tuned - We’re gonna jump into which neighborhood on Oahu saw the largest appreciation year over year.

The neighborhood that saw the largest increase in the median sales price year over year was a Makiki-Moiliili and that was up 266%. That is somewhat of an outlier because as there were only two transactions that took place last month and one of those was an $8.3 million sale of the old, the Contemporary Museum or us Spalding Estate up in Makiki Heights and that was originally listed for $15,000,000, almost double the price in 2019 until they came down to a price that supported the marketplace. Stay Tuned and we'll jump into the condo market next.

Local Market Update for Condos

Downtown-Nuuanu saw the largest increase in the condo sales year over year and that was going from 30 transactions in February of '22 to 40 transactions this year. That was a 33% increase in the numbers of deals taking place. Now, that was the only neighborhood that saw an increase in sales. Three neighborhoods on Oahu were flat with no change in the numbers of transactions and the remaining neighborhoods on Oahu were down with regarding sales year over year. That's a trend we talked about a little bit earlier in the single-family home front. Stay tuned and we'll be right back up with the last category to report, which is the increase in appreciation for condominiums on Oahu.

The last category I'd mentioned was the appreciation for condominiums on Oahu and the Windward Coast took the cake there with the largest appreciation year over year and that’s going from a median sales price of $220,000 a year ago to $475,000 just this past month in February. There were actually 6 other neighborhoods that saw an increase and that was a little bit promising for condos. Then, the remaining neighborhoods were down regarding median sales price.

Contact a Local Expert

s we talked about every month in these reports, every neighborhood is local (and different). To find out what’s going on in your neighborhood, give us a call to see what’s happening in your hood. Aloha!

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day in 2023, we've decided to scour the MLS to find lucky green colored homes for sale. As of this morning, there were 593 single family homes for sale on Oahu.

Some of the Lucky Green Homes for Sale on Oahu

Only 17 were actually green. Here's what is available for sale if you're looking for that lucky green home on Oahu:

1. Green Colored Home in Makaha (MLS # 202306109) listed for $399,000

2. Green Home in Maili (MLS # 202303293) listed for $500,000

3. Green Home in Maili (MLS # 202300064) listed for $595,000

4. Green Home in Makaha (MLS # 202302019) listed for $630,000

5. Green Home in Ewa Beach (MLS # 202302690) for $885,000

6. Green Home in Mililani Mauka (MLS # 202225760) listed for $919,000

7. Green Home in Mililani Mauka (MLS # 202300514) for $980,000

8. Green (Trimmed) Home in Lower Makakilo (MLS # 202303322) listed for $1,095,000

9. Green Home in Mililani Mauka (MLS # 202303519) listed for $1,200,000

10. Green Home in Wahiawa (MLS # 202306025) listed for $1,250,000

11. Green Home in Punaluu (MLS # 202223949) listed for $1,500,000

12. Green Home in Coconut Grove (MLS # 202300982) listed for $1,699,000

13. Green Home in Aikahi Park (MLS # 202302862) listed for $1,850,000

14. Green Home in Waialua (MLS # 202221024) listed for $2,300,000

15. Green Home in Waialua (MLS # 202214461) listed for $2,999,999

16. Green Home in Lanikai (MLS # 202306075) listed for $3,587,000

17. Green Home in Makaha (MLS # 202300871) listed for $4,199,000

Now, what are the odds of that? Having 17 homes listed on March 17th that are green? The luck of the Irish must be with us!

Have a great Saint Patrick's Day and let us know if you need help with any real estate on Oahu :)

This past week, Kaanapali has been making headlines with several milestones for this resort community in West Maui.

Kaanapali Beach seen from The Royal Lahaina Hotel

Kaanapali Named Best Beach in United States

There was a recent article in Tripadvisor that ranked Kaanapali Beach as the #1 beach in the United States based upon the traveler's choice.  The article also ranked Kaanapali Beach as the #10 beach in the world. There were several other Hawaii beaches that made the list such as Hanalei on Kauai ranking #4, Ho'okipa on Maui #5, Lanikai on Oahu #15, Poipu on Kauai #16, Napili on Maui #17, Kailua on Oahu #21 and Hapuna on the Big Island #24. 

There is a reason why Kaanapali was Hawaii's first planned resort. The white sandy beaches are something developers had the foresight and vision to make this such a unique place to be. In addition to Kaanapali Beach being ranked #1 in the US, there was also an oceanfront home that fetched over $20 million this past week.

Kaanapali Home Sold Over $20 Million

20 Kai Ala Drive Sold for $20,750,000 on March 8th

This was definitely a trophy property, which was situated on just under an acre and was zoned hotel, which allowed for short term rental. Although a large price tag, the home grossed $1 million a year in rental income. Just north of Kaanapali Villas, this section of beach is where the old Kaanapali Airport used to be back in the day and typically isn't as crowded as the beach south of Black Rock. 

Although Kaanapali resort has been around for decades, the appreciation for its beauty is timeless and continues to be appreciated from travelers from all over.

Last month, we listed Castle Surf #61, which is the highly coveted oceanfront penthouse of this Gold Coast condo building at Diamond Head.

Castle Surf #61 - Oceanfront Penthouse

Word on the "coconut wireless" within the building got out before we hit the market and we got a cash offer that was "too good to refuse". Unfortunately, that buyer got cold feet and backed out. We then paused the listing and moved forward with our original plan of staging and getting professional photography. Shortly thereafter, we were able to put this beauty right back into escrow. You might ask yourself why something like this is so hot in such a cooling market? Here's some reasons why:

245 Square Foot Lanai with Panoramic Views

Panoramic Ocean Views from the Gold Coast to Waikiki

Castle Surf has some unique architecture. where the direct oceanfront units and the ones facing the park (the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units) have a hemisphere shape that allows for 180 degree views. Here, on this side of the building you not only get the gorgeous ocean views but you also get views along the Gold Coast to the east and towards Waikiki to the west. In addition to the sound of the ocean and enjoying the trade-winds and palm trees, you can also see the city lights in the eve and both sun and moon rises and sets.

Exotic Hardwoods and Travertine Throughout

Travertine Flooring along with Koa and Mango Wood Finishes

Throughout this luxurious unit, you have large travertine tiling, which makes it easy to clean up and maintain after a day at the beach (more on that later). In addition to the recessed ceiling, you have both Koa and Mango wood paneling and builtins through the living area. Although Castle Surf was built in 1960, the previous owner did a major remodel in 2012, prepping this unit for the next 50 years of living in luxury...

Beach Fronting the Castle Surf on the Gold Coast

Oceanfront Deck at the Castle Surf Overlooking the Beach

The Castle Surf is one of the few buildings along the Gold Coast that actually has a small sandy beach in front. Most of the buildings along the sea wall don't really have any sand. What's also nice is there's a private gate for residents to access the beach. There's also no swimming pool at the Castle Surf, which helps keep the maintenance fees lower. Why would you need one though when you have the beautiful Pacific Ocean right out the back?

Additional Perks of Owning this Unit

This penthouse unit also comes with 2 covered parking stalls, which is hard to come by on the Gold Coast. In addition, Castle Surf is a condo. Whereas the majority of the buildings on the Gold Coast are still co-ops. Condos are easier to convey, you can 1031 exchange into or out of them (unlike many co-ops) and condos are easier to finance (although most of our interest was from cash buyers).

Although we've had a ton of interest on this unit, as in all real estate dealings, it's not over until it is over. If you're looking for the right place on the Gold Coast feel free to contact David Buck or Mark Buck for more info. or if you own a Gold Coast condos and are looking to capitalize on the cash buyers in the marketplace, feel free to contact us for more information.

It's becoming more and more of a buyer's market here on Oahu. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and I'm here to report the sales stats of February of 2023 and if you want to stick around, I'll give you some pointers on how to navigate this market. If you are a buyer, or even for sellers to help get those properties under contract.

Single Family Home Stats

First off, we're going to dive into the single family home stats.We're once again seeing a trend we've noticed for well over 6 months in that sales volume or numbers of transactions are down from a year ago. To be specific, they are down over 28.2%. In February of last year, there were 241 single family home sales on Oahu and now this year, there's just 173. 

We've also seen for the 2nd month in a row, the median sales price for homes dipped below $1 million. That's creating more opportunities for buyers. However, it's the largest year over year dip we've seen since back during the start of COVID. That median sales price now for a home on Oahu is $987,000. A year ago, in February of '22, it was $1,125,000. So, that's a 12.3% decrease in median sales price. 

We're also seeing a bump up in Median Days on Market, which is another indicator of how long it is taking homes to sell. A year ago, it was taking just 13 Days to sell a house on Oahu. That is now up over 261% to 47 Days. Now, keep in mind the National Association of Realtors says that 60 Days on Market or less is still a seller's market, so we're not there yet to technically call it a "buyer's market", however we're trending that direction. 

Condo Stats

As we jump into the condo stats, the condo market hasn't slowed quite as bad as the single family home market. That might have to do with affordability. Keep in mind, several years back condos were trailing homes and now it's taking them a little bit longer to correct. The number of transactions for condos were down as well. They were down 33.1%. A year ago, in February there were 486 condo sales on Oahu. This past month we only saw 325.

The median sales price is down just slightly, by 3.4%. That was going from $497,000 a year ago to $480,000 this year. We also saw an uptick in Median Days on Market, but not as severe as the single family homes. It was up 100%. That was going from 14 Days on Market to 28 Days on Market. 

Tools to Help Get Your Property Sold

Now, to jump into that trend I talked about in the beginning, it's becoming more and more of a buyer's market. If you're a buyer in the market, there's way more to chose from. It is taking things a little bit longer to sell. For sellers, it's taking longer for reality to set in, however they also have to realize it's going to take things longer to sell. 

One tool we've been seeing in some parts of the market is actually offering some seller credits to help buy down the interest rate of the buyer. So, that becomes a "win win" where the buyer can get into a property without a bidding war (hopefully). From the seller's standpoint, it's another tool to help them get their property sold. 

Another tool we have to help get your property sold is something that only Harcourts can offer and that's our non-distressed auction platform.

If you want to check out HarcourtsAuctions.com you can find out more info. there as well. Thanks for tuning in for February's stats and we'll be up again later this month for the local market update. Mahalo!

Well, there's one section of east Honolulu that took the cake for January. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to give you the local market update for January of 2023.

Local Neighborhood Report for Homes

There, we saw Aina Haina-Kuliouou with an increase by 20% in the number of sales year over year. That was going from 5 sales to 6 sales. Every neighborhood on Oahu, besides 3 was down regarding the numbers of transactions. That's a trend we've seen across the board. There were 3 neighborhoods that were flat or zero change. But, otherwise outside of that section of Aina Haina-Kuliouou, every other neighborhood took a dip in sales. 

That same zone actually saw the largest increase in median sales price. So, Aina Haina-Kuliouou, which includes Niu Valley (behind me in video) saw that median sales price up by 70%. That was going from $1,350,000 to $2,294,000. As expected, when you see that bump up year over year in that zone, Hawaii Loa Ridge normally has more transactions, which was the case. Of the 6 sales that took place last month in that zone, 3 were on Hawaii Loa Riidge, 2 were in Niu Valley and the highest sale last month in that Aina-Haina-Kuliouou zone was actually in Niu Beach for $3.4 million. That was not a waterfront property either. It was on the interior of the circle. So, it was kind of interesting to see non-oceanfront in that zone trading higher than the sales up on Hawaii Loa Ridge. If you stay tuned, I'll talk more about the condos.

Local Neighborhood Report for Condos

Waimanalo-Kaliua saw the largest increase in sales year over year. That was going from 6 sales to 7 sales. That's a 17% increase year over year. 2 of the neighborhoods on Oahu saw zero change and the rest were down. It's kind of interesting to see the condo market following the single family home market in that just 1 neighborhood was up for transactions. As we talked about earlier in the month, sales for condos were down over 50%, as were homes in January. So, it's no surprise to see very little neighborhoods saw an uptick in the number of sales. 

Regarding the median condo price on Oahu, surprisingly 1/3 of the neighborhoods saw an increase in median sales price (year over year). This was an encouraging sign, seeing as the median sales price across the board on Oahu was down just several percent. Of those neighborhoods that were up in January, Wahiawa saw the largest increase, which was up 91% going from $132,000 to $252,000 year over year. Now, keep in mind there were a number of trades that took place last year in January at a project called Hidden Valley Estates, where there's a number of leasehold condos. The land lease there expires in 2040. Normally, when you see a big shift like that, there's normally and explanation and hence that's the explanation. 

I hope you enjoyed the report and to find out what's going on in your particular neighborhood, because every one is different, feel free to contact us for more information. Mahalo!

The Marco Polo on Kapiolani Blvd or the Ilikai Apartments in Waikiki?

Which one do you like better? It's so funny, today I got a call from a buyer off my website and they were originally asking about the Marco Polo. I'm obviously familiar with the building and I just thought it was ironic that she was first asking about the Marco Polo, then later the Ilikai. 

Family History with Both Buildings

For a little family history, my grandfather used to own some penthouse condos at the Marco Polo when it was first built. Then, regarding the Ilikai, that's what brought my (Mom's side) family to Hawaii back in the 60's, before my time. My Mom's stepfather was going to originally build that building in Marina Del Rey, California.

Pros and Cons of Both Buildings

In essence, I want to jump into the pros and cons of both buildings, because they are completely different, but they both have a lot of history.

The Ilikai in Waikiki

First off, with the Ilikai, it was built in the 60's and it's primarily know as a condotel building. It's zoned resort and you can rent it out short term. From a price point, they start at around a half million dollars for a 500 square foot 1 bedroom, which over the years, most of the partitions have been removed, making them essentially studios. That's the Ilikai and they don't come with parking.

For that same amount of money, you can jump across the canal and get into the Marco Polo. That is on the mauka (mountain) side of the Ala Wai Canal.

The Marco Polo Across the Ala Wai

There at the Marco Polo, you can get a 2 bedroom, 2 bath fee simple condo for that same price point. In both buildings, the prices go up from there. In both buildings you've got both mauka and makai views, so that's going to make a big difference on the price. 

Past Turmoil at Both Buildings

Both buildings have been through some turmoil I've blogged about in the past. At the Ilikai, during the last downturn in the market, there was litigation going on at the Ilikai back in that '08 and '09 period. Buyers that bought then could only pay cash. Then, as the market picked up, there was no longer litigation on the building and financing came back into play and prices went through the roof there at the Ilikai.

Marco Polo Fire Burn Mark on the Building

The Marco Polo had some of its own turmoil as well in that there was a fire several years back and it was all over the news. First there was a fire, then later came litigation. Similar to the Ilikai, prices just cratered as none of the buyers could get financing. I predicted it, I blogged about this as well, that once the litigation was over and lenders started lending again, the prices rebounded. That is something to keep an eye out for in the market, outside of these two buildings. If you have a property that can't get financing and you're a cash buyer with some patience, over time once lenders come back into play, that could be a good play.

To find out more about the Ilikai or the Marco Polo, feel free to contact us for more information. Mahalo!

Both home and condo sales on Oahu were down over 50% this past month. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to give you the monthly market update for January of 2023.

Single Family Home Sales

First we're going to start off with the single family homes and there we saw a 54% decrease in the number of sales year over year. A year ago we had 326 single family home sales and now we're down to just 150. So, there's less deals taking place. Unlike the last 4, 5 or maybe even 6 months we've been watching this trend of downward pressure on sales, but prices have been holding. 

This is going to be the first month in awhile where the median home price is down. It's down 7.6%. That's going from $1,050,000 to $970,000. So, we're now under a million bucks for the median sales price on Oahu. We're starting to see more opportunities out there for Buyers. The median Days on Market are picking up. They've doubled from 12 Days in January of '22 to 24 Days this year. 

We're starting to see an increase in inventory, which is up 77.2%. A year ago there were only 311 homes for sale and now there's 551, which is still relatively low. Prior to the last market cycle, back in '07 people thought inventory was low when we got under 800 homes. Now we only have 551 homes for sale on Oahu. That's something we're going to keep an eye on. Check out this infographic below and then we'll jump into the condo stats.

Condo Stats

Similar to the single family home front, condo transaction volume has actually been dropping down over 50% as well - dropping 50.2%. A year ago in January of 2022 we had 552 condo sales on Oahu and now we're down to just 275. Once again, there's less deals going around. this is a trend that's been in the 30-40% range drop over the last 4, 5 and 6 months. Now, we're seeing over a 50% decrease from January of last year. 

As far as median condo price goes, it was down just slightly at 2.9%. A year ago the median sales price was at $510,000. Now, we're at $495,000. It's not a real significant difference. Keep in mind, that deals closing January were most likely starting in December, so traditionally, that can always be a slow month if you look historically. if you look at the graphs of home sales on Oahu. Because, people aren't thinking much about buying or selling during the holidays.

We'll see how things trend as we go forward. We're now into February. The median Days on Market was also up for condos, going from 14 to 24 Days. There's definitely some bidding wars going on in the marketplace. I've heard of some bidding wars on a house in Kahala. Both myself and one of our agents just got outbid on offers we were writing. So, there's still buyers in the marketplace, however pricing is very sensitive.

I am a little bit late getting the report out this month. Today is February 13th. I'm wishing you all a wonderful Valentine's Day tomorrow and I'll be up later this month with the local market update. Mahalo!