As we're just over mid way through July, many of our active duty military families have been PCSing to and from Oahu. With the rise in mortgage rates we've seen over the past 6-7 months, the buying power isn't what it was in the summer of 2021. However, the good news is VA mortgage rates are still significantly less than those getting conventional financing.
Less Competition and More Inventory
With more buyers tapping out of the market, that creates more opportunities for those that are actively looking to purchase during PCS Season. In addition, single family home inventory was up 39% in June compared to June of 2021.To see if you think buying makes more sense than renting in 2022, Here's the current BAH Calculator.
PCSing Away from Oahu?
If you're rounding up your stay in Hawaii, currently own and not sure if you should sell or lease your place out, feel free to contact us to run out some scenarios of what would make sense.
Well, we have a new record price for condominiums here on Oahu. We're going to jump into that shortly, but this is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate and I'm here to give you the monthly stat report for June of 2022.
Single Family Home Stats
First we'll dive into the single family product and there we didn't hit a record, but it was a healthy gain from a year ago. We were up 12.4% as far as the median price goes. In June of 2021, that median price was $979,000 and we're now at $1,100,000. So, that's a pretty good year over year jump in appreciation at 12.4%. However, with that said transaction volume is down significantly at 20.8% as far as the numbers of sales go. We had 357 sales this past June, whereas the previous year we had 451. So, that's just over a 20% drop in the numbers of transaction, but prices are still up there.
Days on Market are ratcheting up just slightly, up 25% going from 8 Days to 10 Days. The big thing to keep an eye on is the inventory. We've been talking about for many, many years that there's no inventory. Well, for the single family product, inventory was actually up 39% year over year. That was going from 377 active listings to over 500 (527) this past month. That's healthy for more buyers coming into the marketplace and summer is typically a big transitional and moving time of year. So, it's actually a good thing we're seeing more inventory as it will be more of a traditional market.
Condo Stats
We're here to talk about that record condo price on Oahu, which was up 16.1% from June of '21 and now the new record on barometer on Oahu is $534,000 for the median sales price. Like I said, that's a 16.1% increase, up from $460,000 just a year ago. Transaction volume or sales were down, similar to the single family market, however not as much. We were down 14.2%. Whereas earlier when we were talking about the single family product was down over 20% for sales volume.
The Days on Market were basically flat. with 11 Days on Market last year as well as this year. So, it's still very healthy for sellers. Unlike the single family housing market, active inventory was actually down 2.6%. Remember we talked about it being up 39% for homes? Well, it's down 2.6% for condos. We're following a similar trend we talked about in the May stats where the condo market is trying to catch up. This is because the single family market was on fire all through COVID and the lockdowns, where people were getting out of condos and into houses. Now, it's an affordability thing where people are priced out of houses and can't afford them as much.
The condo market is gaining steam as is the inbound traffic in buyers from both domestic and overseas. Hawaiian Airlines just announced that they added their New Zealand bound flight again. So, we're going to start seeing some more Kiwis coming to town. We love our Kiwis as that's where Harcourts was founded back in 1888. To find out more about what's going on in the market and specific to you, feel free to reach out and we'd love to help. Mahalo
Aloha, this is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate. I'm here to give you the local market update for May of 2022. Let's start off with the single family product and there we saw Wahiawa (which we have Lake Wilson in the background) have the largest increase year over year for sales, which were up 67%. That was at 6 sales/trades just a year ago and we saw 10 just this past month.
What we're starting to see in the single family home market is the velocity or numbers of sales are definitely slowing down. In 14 of the 23 major neighborhoods that the Honolulu Board of Realtors tracks, were actually down from May of last year to May of 2022 in regards to the numbers of sales. In 2 of those 23 neighborhoods saw no change whatsoever. So, that's just 7 neighborhoods that saw an uptick in transaction volume. That is something we want to keep an eye on and something that is quite contrary to what you'll see here shortly in the condo market.
Ala Moana-Kakaako saw the largest increase in median sales price, which was up 71%, year over year. That was going from $841,000 to $1,437,500. Now, you might not think Ala Moana-Kakaako has detached single family homes, but believe or not there are. We've talked about it in previous market updates. You can see in the backdrop behind me that the bulk of that product in those neighborhoods are going to be condominiums. You will some single family product as well as multi-family product in that neighborhood.
Jumping into overall appreciation across the board, the good news is (even though transaction volume was down), the median sales price was up in every single neighborhood on Oahu except for Hawaii Kai, which was down 3%. If you can think back, even though the market feels like it is softening in the last couple of months, it's still relatively strong compared to a year ago.
Local Market Update for Condos
As far as sales go, the North Shore saw the largest increase in sales year over year, which was up 300%. Keep in mind, there was only 1 trade a year ago, now we've had 4 this past month. So, that's a 300% increase. Quite contrary to the single family home market, which I mentioned earlier where there were 16 neighborhoods that were either flat or down. There were only 4 neighborhoods where transaction volume was down for condos.
If we think back a year or two ago, the condo market was in the pits and the single family home product was on fire. Now, you're seeing that single family home market tapering off a little bit. It's still strong as far as prices go, but as far as volume, there aren't as many buyers in the marketplace. The condo market is relatively quite strong and we've only seen 4 neighborhoods on Oahu that were down.
As far as the median price goes, the North Shore almost took out that top spot as well. They were up 251% for median price. That was going from $410,000 a year ago to $1,440,000. Now, keep in mind there's a broad array of condo products on the North Shore, which probably accounts for that major triple digit swing.
It was actually the Windward Coast of Oahu that saw the largest year over year increase for median price. It was up 319% and we've talked about this in previous sessions where that data can get skewed because there's a product on the Windward Coast called Hanohano Hale in Punaluu and you can get condos there close to $100,000. They are fee simple on the ocean, but they have higher maintenance fees. Regarding he 319% increase, keep in mind a year ago, that median price was only $97,500. So, that's factoring in the Hanohano Hale product. Then, it jumped all the way up to $408,450 just this past month.
Summary
In summary, rural condos have on fire this past month and it's kind of spread across the board as far as the single family product. Seeing Wahiawa, which is considered rural and then Ala-Moana-Kakaako, which is Metro were both seeing some strength. I hope you're having a great summer! We're just about toward the end of June and I'm glad I could finally get you caught up on May's report. We'll probably be just a week or two out catching up on the initial data from June. Aloha!
I can't believe it! We hit another record median price for both homes and condos on Oahu, in the month of May. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to give you the latest stats from this past month.
Single Family Home Stats
First off, we're going to cover the single family homes and there we saw sales that were actually down 15.1%. There were 344 trades, which was down from 405 the previous year. Regarding the median sales price, which is the big stat we are going to talk about today, it was up 17.9%, going from $978,000 in May of '21 to $1,153,500. So that's a whopping (nearly 20%) 17.9% increase year over year.
Days on Market have increased slightly, up 25% for homes, going from 8 Days on Market to 10 Days on Market, which is still a great environment to be in for (Sellers of) single family housing on Oahu. inventory has also been picking up. There's 39.8% more inventory than there was a year ago. There's 471 homes for sale. Whereas a year ago, there was 337.
Condo Stats
While the numbers of transactions were dropping for single family homes that were down 15.1%, condo transactions were actually up 15%, going from 598 sales in May of 2021 to 688 sales this year. That's on top of another record month, which is now at $516,500 for the median sales price of a condo on Oahu. That's up 12.8% from a year ago, which at that point in time was $457,750.
Median Days on Market is actually dropping for condos, going from 12 Days to 10. That's a 16.7% drop. Next, we're going to jump into the inventory of condos. New listings are just up slightly going from 683 new listings coming online a year ago. Now, we're at 687. But, active inventory is down just slightly 4.5% from a year ago. Unlike the bump we've seen in single family stock, the condo market is actually taking a little drop, going from 983 active listings a year ago to 939 listings in May of this year.
To learn more about what's happening in your market, feel free to reach out. We can be reached at 808-777-4880. Mahalo and hope you're having a great summer thus far. Aloha!
We recently listed some more condos on Oahu that have tennis courts. One is in town and the other in the country (beach in Makaha to be more specific). Although completely different buildings and prices, they're both great tennis properties to consider this Tuesday.
1. One Waterfront Towers #3702 (MLS # 202210103) listed for $1,100,000
The first is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo at One Waterfront Towers in Kakaako. It has over 1700 sq. feet of living area and in addition to two tennis courts, there's an indoor and outdoor gym, swimming pool and sauna. It's a great location on the western end of Kakaako adjacent to Restaurant Row and Downtown Honolulu.
The second listing is a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom at The Hawaiian Princess in Makaha. This is an oceanfront unit/building overlooking a gorgeous white sandy beach in Makaha. In addition to the tennis court, there's a swimming pool, BBQ area, ping pong set up and more...
I've recently listed two Penthouse condos at Pats at Punaluu. Both are the size of many single family homes on Oahu and either can be yours for under $1 million.
Pats at Punaluu Penthouse #4 (MLS # 202206807) is listed at $995,000
Penthouse 4 is a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom 2 story unit. It has 1900 sq. ft. of interior living area, several outdoor lanais and comes with 2 covered parking stalls. What's also nice about condo living is it's really easy to lock up and leave when traveling. On site amenities include a swimming pool, BBQ and fitness center.
Pats at Punaluu Penthouse #8 (MLS # 202206803) is also listed at $995,000
Penthouse 8 is a little smaller and has lower maintenance fees. However it has 3 full bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and comes with 1 covered parking stall. It also has several mountain and ocean facing outdoor lanais. Both units also have a washer/dryer in the unit (not all condos do).
When you think about oceanfront fee simple ownership on Oahu, the ship for single family home ownership under $1 million has sailed awhile ago... There's only so much oceanfront available on Oahu and this might be one of the last great options. Homes in Honolulu on the ocean start at about $6-7 million and homes along this coast are just over $1 million, however they are typically tear down single wall construction builds. To get a "Beachfront Bargain" on Oahu, I'd recommend checking out these two great offerings.
Can you believe home sales in Waipahu are up 47% from last year? This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to give you the local market report for April of 2022. Well, last year in April of '21 there were only 17 home sales in Waipahu and now there are 25 this year. Here I am in Waipahu and from what you can see here is it stretches all the way from Pearl Harbor to crossing H-1 to Waikele. Waipahu saw the largest increase year over year from April of 2021 to April of 2022.
Kawaikui Beach Park Between Aina Haina and Kuliouou
Can you hear that ocean in the background? I'm here at Kawaikui Beach Park at the base of Hawaii Loa Ridge. The reason I'm here is Aina Haina-Kuliouou saw the largest increase in median sales price from April of last year to this past April. It was at $1,241,000 to just over $2 million ($2,086,111) for the median sales price, which was a 68% increase. The reason being is we probably saw a lot more trades in Kulioouou vs. some more recent trades up on Hawaii Loa Ridge, which are going to be in that multi-million dollar range. That's directly behind me in a gated community.
It's not a bad day today. We were forecasted to have thunder showers yesterday, today and tomorrow. But, check this out! It's not a bad set up (sunny day at Kawaikui Beach Park). I'll be up shortly to give you the local condo report.
Local Neighborhood Update for Condos
OK. We are here to talk about the condo market on Oahu. What you can see in the background here is we're not on the North Shore of Oahu. We're actually on the South Shore. I didn't have time to make it out to the North Shore, but the North Shore had the largest increase in condo sales year over year going from 4 sales to 7 sales. So, that's up 75%. Since we're on the South Shore heading into summer I wanted to show you the backdrop here. There. are high surf warnings. The flags are up here on the Gold Coast in Waikiki, in front of the Sans Souci and some of the oceanfront buildings on the South Shore of Oahu behind me. We've got a summer swell that's coming in from some of that storm surf. We were expected to have thunder showers all day today, but we actually got some semi-sunny skies.
Ala Moana-Kakaako saw the largest increase year over year from April of last year to April of this year for median sales price. It was up 63%, going from $450,000 a year ago to $732,000. Well, you might think to yourself that might not get you much for that price, because in Kakaako it's hard to get something decent under $1 million these days to be honest. But, believe it or not some of the older construction around here in Ala Moana you can get in that $400-500,000 range, and it also takes you back inland of Ala Moana as well. I have a condo listed right behind me at Atkinson Plaza (MLS # 202209156). It's a great value at $500,000. So, you can definitely get in this neighborhood with walking distance to Ala Moana Beach Park as well as Ala Moana (Shopping Center) itself on the west side of Waikiki here for just around half a million dollars.
If you want to hear more about what's happening in your market, give me a call. Mahalo.
I receive several calls a week on the Kahala Beach Apartments. For most people that see something that "looks too good to be true", it normally is...
Oceanfront Living at The Kahala Beach Apartments
Too Good to Be True?
Most people initially see the Kahala Beach condos on Realtor.com or Zillow and think to themselves, "Wow! I can buy an oceanfront condo in Kahala under $100,000". I don't blame them. Everyone is looking for a deal. When oceanfront homes in Kahala start around $7 Million or more, if these units were fee simple, they'd be at least $2-3 million apiece, like the oceanfront condos on Diamond Head's Gold Coast.
Kahala Beach Swimming Pool
Unfortunately, the Kahala Beach condos are Leasehold and the land lease only has 5 years left (expires in 2027). I've also heard that Kamehameha Schools, the Lessor (land owner) has been taking back units already where the owners have walked away.
Russian Roulette
Can the land owner really kick you out once the land lease expires? The answer is yes. A case study is some old apartment building condos in Kailua that were owned by Kaneohe Ranch. As the land lease was coming up for expiration, speculators came in and started buying them up at $20,0000-$30,000 a piece. Low and behold, when the land lease expired, they were all evicted. The buildings were then leveled, the land was sold to DR Horton and they built Ka Malanai on the site of the old leasehold condos.
I hate to say it, however I've used the analogy of owning at Kahala Beach is like playing Russian Roulette. You may not want to be the last one holding it.
$100k Down and $4k/Month
If someone were to buy a unit at Kahala Beach today, you'd be looking on average to put $100,000 down and have carrying costs for $4,000 per month for the remainder of the land lease, maintenance fees and property taxes. What if you were to apply that same math of $100,000 down and $4,000/month and buy something fee simple for, say $800,000. It might not be oceanfront, however perhaps a condo on the marina in Hawaii Kai or a place like Kukilakila on Enchanted Lake in Kailua?
I've been in real estate now for over 21 years now and live just a few miles down the road from the Kahala Beach. The reason why I have never bought one personally is that I'd rather purchase something that is fee simple and would go up in value over time (not down). If however, money is not an issue for you, perhaps the Kahala Beach makes sense for strictly a lifestyle play? It's hard to beat oceanfront living in Kahala, however if something is "too good to be true"...
We've been hearing about a nationwide shortage of housing inventory, however all of the sudden there are only just 10 homes for sale in Diamond Head.
Homes at the Base of Diamond Head
Over the past 15-20 years since I've been tracking inventory in Diamond Head 20 active listings was considered very low. We typically cary about 30 homes for sale in Diamond Head in MLS. With this lack of inventory, prices have been on the rise. Of the 10 homes available for sale in Diamond Head, the average and median price are both over $7 million. The lowest price is $3,350,000 and the highest is $10,850,000. There are only 3 homes on the market now under $5 million.
4121 Black Point Road (MLS # 202205862) is the Lowest Priced Home in Diamond Head
3047 Kalakaua Ave. (MLS #202203111) is the Highest Priced Home in Diamond Head
What's really a tell tale sign of this low inventory is we've seen 25 single family home sales in Diamond Head over the past 6 months with a median price of $4,700,000. The average sales price is just over $1400/sq. ft. and the average asking price is just over $2100/sq. ft. If you're looking for a great value in Diamond Head, I have a listing coming soon priced under $1000/sq. ft.
Coming Soon Listing in Diamond Head under $1000/sq. ft.
To learn more about this home or buying or selling in Diamond Head, feel free to contact me for more information.
Well, guess what? We DID NOT hit a record for home sales this month. This is David Buck with Harcourts Island Real Estate here to give you the market update for April of 2022. We've had such a phenomenal ride... We've hit a record for so many months we've talked about over the past 6 months to a year. However, the median sales price in March of $1,150,000 we've dropped off a bit from that. But, we are still up 19.1% from a year ago, where homes were trading at just $928,000. Now they are at $1,105,000, which is $45,000 shy of the record we saw in March, but still a great market for home sellers on Oahu.
We did see a slight slow down in sales, which were down 2.7%, going from 375 sales the previous year to 365 sales this year. Days on Market are also just creeping up a little bit, going from 9 Days to 10 Days. We're also seeing a slight increase in inventory, which is up 3.7% from a year ago. So, I don't know if that's an indication of interest rates just yet, but we're just seeing a little bit of a softening here in the market. Stay tuned as I'll be up shortly with the condo report. Mahalo.
Condo Update
OK. As we jump into the condo stats, the prices were up as well. They were up 13.3% going from a median price in April of last year going from $450,000 to $510,000. That's also going to be shy of March's record of $515,500. However, $510,000 is still a healthy number for the median price for condos here on Oahu.
Sales were actually up 4.2%, going from 645 sales last year to 672 sales this year. Days on Market dropped slightly from 13 Days to just 12 Days. Inventory, contrary to the single family home market (that bumped up a little bit) inventory for condos was down over 19% from a year ago. So, it's a little more slim pickings on the condo front in that particular price point and what people are looking for.
To find out more about what's happening in the market, feel free to contact us for more information. Mahalo!
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