This past week one of our agents had a question. His client is under contract on a re-sale condo purchase in town. The client was asking him of all the condo docs he's reviewing, what would be considered the most important to review? Well, first off - Here's a spoiler alert - THEY ARE ALL IMPORTANT. I wouldn't discount any one of them.

On a typical resale here in Hawaii, the standard Hawaii Association of Realtors Purchase Contract there's a paragraph M-1. That's where it says the Seller is going to provide all the available condo documents for the property. That includes the last 3 months of board meeting minutes, the annual report, house rules, articles of incorporation and so on... 

Like I said, all of them are important. However, I would have to say probably the 2 most important would be the ones that your lender considers important. Whenever you're in a resale purchase and your getting financing the 2 documents your lender wants to see are:

1. Certificate (Summary) of Insurance. When you think about it, they are the first lien holder on your property outside of your property taxes, so they want to make sure their investment is well insured.

2. The rr105c or often referred to as a "Property Information Form" which is filed out by the property manager for the building. It's kind of like a disclosure statement in a sense and it says how many units are in the building*, how many units are arrears in their maintenance fees, how many are in foreclosure and if there's any litigation in the building. Reading that document will typically provide the lender with enough information to move forward with the purchase and give the buyer the loan.

To recap here, when reading all your condo docs here in Hawaii, they are all important.  The two above would probably be considered the most important. Mahalo

* The term "building" was loosely used in this presentation to refer to a condominium association. Not all are a "building" per se.  You can have horizontal condo properties sprawled out over multiple buildings and/or structures within the same association.

Single Family Home Stats

We finished off the month with another strong showing with a record sales price of $880,000. That's a 13.3% increase from just a year ago, where we were sitting at $770,000. The median days on market saw a huge drop. They're down 69% from 29 days last year (which was phenomenal) to just 9 days this year. 

New listings are not really making it to market and that's what's really driving this - is the lack of inventory. New listings are seeing 18% less homes coming to market than we were a year ago. However, pending sales are up 38.3%. So, once again it's super strong for home owners if you price your home well.

On average homes are getting 100% of asking price of those that are selling. The number of homes on the market, which is what Buyers have to choose from is down significantly. It's down 39% from a year ago. If you're a home seller and you're thinking about selling and price your home right, now can be the time.

Another exciting thing I wanted to share with you is the lack of the economy being open here with COVID has primarily being driven by local buyers and working class housing. We might see an uptick with the luxury market. That'd be my prediction because a lot of the buyers that would like to purchase here for a 2nd home haven't come because they've had to quarantine for 2 weeks. Well, that's going to go away come tomorrow. On October 15th, you will no longer have to quarantine for 2 weeks if you text negative for COVID ahead of time.

I just got back from the mainland a few weeks ago and just coming out of quarantine (hence the beard) and I'm excited to get out there and get some real estate sold. I've got a few exciting listings I'm planning to launch this coming week for Harcourts Auctions, so stay tuned... Mahalo.

Condo Stats

Are you ready for some good news for a change? You may recall that condo sales have been lagging behind single family home sales for the past 6 months. This spring and summer while the single family homes market has continued to post strong sales numbers and substantial increases in median sales prices, the number of condo sales in each of the past 6 months has been running 20-30% to even 50% behind the numbers of sales in the same months pre COVID-19.

Well, the month of September may signal a strengthening in the condo market. The number of sales in September of 2020 at 456 was just 2% below the number of sales in September of last year. Another bit of good news is the median sales price was unchanged from last September at $445,000 after bobbing below last years monthly median prices in 4 of the past 6 months.

These trends may continue as we look ahead to the 4th quarter. With new condo listings down by almost 10% compared from this time last year, we may see a bit more heat in the condo market as we wrap up 2020. Each market is different and every home is unique. If you'd like to talk about opportunities we see in our current markets, please contact us. In the meantime, be well, take care of each other and keep washing your hands :) Aloha.

Happy Aloha Friday, I wanted to share with you a special offering that recently came back to market by the Howard Hughes Corporation in Kakaako’s Ward Village:

Anaha Grand Penthouse #3801 (MLS # 202023448) Great Room

Anaha Penthouse #3801 is now priced at $15 million, which is a $2.5 million dollar reduction since it was listed last year!

Anaha Penthouse #3801 Private Swimming Pool

With 5 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, this 2 story penthouse has its very own swimming pool and boasts an additional 915 sq. ft. of outdoor lanais. This is something truly amazing that can be found nowhere else on Oahu. Sit back and enjoy the rest of the video and feel free to contact me for any questions. Mahalo!

Single Family Home Local Neighborhood Update

Hawaii Kai and Moanalua-Salt Lake had the largest increase in sales. Both neighborhoods were up 50% from August of 2019. Surprisingly Mililani saw the largest drop in the number of sales, which was down 44%. Military families are still PCSing here during COVID, so not really sure what is happening there?

The largest gain in median sales price was on the North Shore, where prices jumped 58% from $798,000 a year ago to $1,262,500 in August of this year.

Condo Local Neighborhood Update

As we've reported for the last few months, the condo market on Oahu is recovering from the initial shock of the first statewide COVID lockdown. The rate of recovery is slow when compared to the single family home market. When we focus on neighborhood level market activity, there are a few places on the island with noteworthy sales. 

From January-August, Waialae-Kahala had 33 sales this year, 10% more sales than the number of sales through August in 2019. Kaneohe had 136 sales, which was an increase of 11% compared with last year and there were 83 sales in Kailua-Waimanalo, 4% more than through August of 2019. However, median sales prices in all 3 markets were down. Waialae-Kahala posted a median price of $515,000, which was 7% below the median price for the same neighborhood last year. The median price in Kaneohe at $555,000 is down by 4% compared with last year and the median price in Kailua-Waimanalo at $639,000 is 2% below the 2019 median price for the neighborhood.

Waikiki continues to post sluggish sales. There were 432 closed sales in Waikiki year to date, 36% fewer than the number of closed sales in 2019. The median price at $390,000 is down by 2% compared with last year. Inventory was down in August in 13 of the 21 neighborhoods we follow.

Interest rates remain historically low. So, this may be a good time to explore your options if you're thinking of buying or selling a condominium. Take care of each other, be well and don't forget to keep washing your hands. Aloha!

Omar DeLeon recently purchased a condo in Ko Olina from Yolanda M. Recinos. Here's a nice testimonial they were kind enough to share:

Omar DeLeon, Kapolei, HI

I DEFINITELY recommend Yolanda Recinos and the Harcourts Island real estate team! My wife and I are both in the military, and although we have purchased properties in the past, neither of us had ever been to Oahu, and COVID restrictions forced us to buy the property without first being able to visit. Despite these challenges, Yolanda was terrific to work with during the entire process. She was knowledgeable of the area, listened to our concerns, and found an ideal location for us to explore, which ended up being one that we would never have considered without her suggesting it to us.

Even before settling on this home, which we LOVE, Yolanda was always responsive to our calls and e-mails and never made us feel like we were bothering her. Always friendly and professional, and most importantly, never suggested we go outside our budget as I’ve experienced with other realtors. We highly recommend Yolanda!

Single Family Home Stats

We finished off the month with a record high of $839,000. That's up 6.2% from $790,000 in August of 2019. We're reporting from our new office in Kahala. It's our first forecast from the office after we got out of Kapahulu last week. Outside of the record median sales price, Days on Market were down 44.4% which is another great sign for Sellers. That went from 27 days in August of last year to just 15 days this year.

New listings were down 20% from last year, pending sales were up 24.2% and active listings were down 34.9%. There's just way less homes on the market to sell right now. Last year at this time there were 1568 homes for sale. This year there were only 1021. That's crazy and that's the COVID environment we're dealing with. Last, but not least, Sellers were getting 98.7% of their asking price, which is phenomenal.

Condos Stats

Compared with the single family home market, the condo market is struggling to recover from the 5 months of COVID-19 restrictions. There were 409 closed condo sales in August - 20% fewer than August of last year and 4% fewer than the number of sales last month in July. August is usually one of the most active months in the summer, our selling season. But, this year the number of sales failed to reach 2019 levels and the month to month trend does not show signs of strengthening, like we're seeing in the single family homes market.

The number of new listings is down by 7.6% and the median number of Days on Market is steady at 23 days. The bright spot for Sellers is the median price for condos in August at $430,000 is up by 2.5% compared with August last year. Limited inventory and very low interest rates make this a great time to sell. 

If you'd like to talk to us about your options, we're working from our new office at the Kahala Professional Center and virtually by way of Zoom. Be well, take care of each other and keep washing your hands. Aloha!

Single Family Home Neighborhood Update

The strongest sales were in Pearl City-Aiea with a 64% increase in the number of sales. On the flip side of that, Waialae-Kahala saw the largest dip in sales which were down 47% from July of 2019. The median sales price really showed signs of what's been happening on Oahu as well as the rest of the country with COVID where the suburbs are showing strength and the urban areas not showing so much strength.

The Windward Coast showed the largest bump up in median sales price by 46%. The median sales price there was $600,000 in July of last year and it bumped up to $875,000 this year. So, it really appears people are looking to social distance and have a little more privacy and space. On the flip side of that, Downtown-Nuuanu showed the sharpest decrease in the median sales price which was down 26% from last year. Last year, we saw a median sales price of $1,130,000 in July to this year $835,500.

Like I said, we're kind of mirroring the rest of the country. People are getting out of the urban areas and heading more towards suburban areas for a little more space. That's kind of like the macro trend and local trend. We'll if that continues...

Be sure to read to the end here as this may be our last forecast from the office here on Kapahulu. One thing that's constant is change and we may have a new office come this time next month. Mahalo for reading and for your support!

Condo Neighborhood Update

Which neighborhoods do you think had the largest number of sales in the month of July? Of the 21 neighborhoods we follow, it's no surprise to discover that Waikiki posted the largest number of sales with 53 closed sales in July. However that's 36% below the number of closed sales in Waikiki in July of 2019. Like the condo market island wide, the Waikiki neighborhood is showing signs of improving. Sales in July were up 40%, compared with the number of sales in June. The largest increase in closed sales occurred in Kailua-Waimanalo where there were 18 sales in July, which is 156% more sales than the previous July. 

Which neighborhood had the highest median sales price? Surprisingly, Ala Moana-Kakaako recorded the highest median price - $700,000, up by 7% compared to July of last year. Ala Moana-Kakaako and Waikiki are the two neighborhoods with the largest inventory of units for sale. With 728 units for sale and a median price in July of $430,000, Waikiki remains the neighborhood with the largest number of condo listings. Each neighborhood is different and there are opportunities everywhere.

Is it time for you to take advantage of the low interest rates to purchase a condo on Oahu? If you'd like to know more about what's going on in your neighborhood, get in touch with us. In the meantime, be well, take care of each other and keep washing your hands. Aloha!

Harcourts Office on the Move

We're in the process of moving and there's one thing in life is that change is always constant. It was just over 3 years ago we moved into our space in Kapahulu. It's served us well, we've done a great job, but it's time to move on. Our landlord has found a new tenant during COVID. Even though we're having a thriving business, it seems an urgent care business seems to do a little bit better in this COVID environment. We're moving on to a different location, so stay tuned... 

It's been fun at Kapahulu on the outskirts of Waikiki, but we've got something exciting in store coming up and look forward to the next adventure. Aloha!

Single Family Home Stats

We finished off the month with a median sales price of $815,000. That was down just 2.4% from last year. Given the COVID environment we're in, that's actually not that bad. Most of the months over the past several years we were trailing that high $700,000 range. So, to finish at $815,000 or north of $800,000 is showing some great strength.

The number of sales were down about 3% with 361 sales on the island. Once again, considering quarantine and the lockdown here on Oahu, we're fairing quite well. To cap that off, the median days on market was only just 13 days for single family homes vs. 17 a year ago. That's a 23.5% drop. Also showing signs of strength for Sellers in particular is the inventory. There were 1136 homes on the market in July compared to the year before where there was 1621 homes for sale. That's a drop of 29.9%.

Sellers are apprehensive about putting their homes on the market, however those that are are achieving great results because the average price received compared to list price for last month was 98.8%. Whereas July a year ago was only 96.1%. It's a great time to be a Seller. It's also a great time to be a Buyer as interest rates are super low. It is a little competitive out there, especially in that "bread and butter" single family price range.

Condo Stats

Do you think the Corona Virus has had a larger impact on the single family home market or the condo market so far this year? The number of single family homes that sold in January-July of this year was down by just 4.5% compared with the same period in 2019. Condo sales have not faired as well. Through the end of July 2020 the number of condo sales is down by more than 21% compared with the first 7 months of last year. But, it looks like the condo market is improving. In the month of July, condo sales were down just 17% compared to July of 2019. As bad as this sounds, it's an improvement from June when condo sales were down 34% and from May when sales were down by more than 50% compared with the same months in 2020. 

It looks like the market is strengthening. The pace of sales is brisk with a median of just 26 days on the market, the same median as in July of last year. Year to date condo prices are stable compared to last year with a median condo price of $430,000 through July, 2020. Demand continues to be strong and prices are holding. This could be a great time to get in touch with us if you've considered selling a condo in Honolulu.

Contact us with any questions you have about real estate. Be well, take care of each other and keep washing your hands. Aloha!

Single Family Home Neighborhood Report

The North Shore finished very strong with a sales volume up 100% from the previous year. There were 10 sales this year vs. 5 in 2019. In the median sales price, Wahiawa showed some strength, just like last month where the median sales price was the strongest increase by 16%. Across the board, some neighborhoods were up and some were down, just not as skewed as the previous month in May. Wahiawa ended up with a median sales price of $665,000, up from $575,000 in 2019.

Condo Neighborhood Report

Did any neighborhoods on Oahu have more sales in June this year than June last year? Of the 3 neighborhoods we follow, only 3 closed more sales in June of 2020. Condo sales this June were stronger in Kaneohe, Kapahulu-Diamond Head and Wahiawa. The median price for condos in Kaneohe was $521,500, which was 9% below the median price in June of 2019. The median price in Wahiawa was $245,000, which was 13% higher than the median price in Wahiawa of June last year. 

In 6 of the 21 neighborhoods we follow there were more listings at the end of June, 2020 than there were in June of 2019. Listing volume is up in the Ewa Plain, Kailua-Waimanalo, Makaha-Nanakuli, the North Shore, Pearl City-Aiea and Waipahu. June marks the 3rd month since the start of the Corona Virus in Hawaii and although our inventory is down a bit, low interest rates have kept the market active. If you're thinking of Selling a condo in Hawaii, this may present some good opportunities.

Contact us with any questions about real estate. In the meantime, be well, take care of each other and keep washing your hands. Aloha!

12 Week Auction Results During Corona Virus

There's been 169 total auctions and of those there were 153 properties that sold. With 239 registered bidders, that's a clearance rate during COVID of 90.5%, which is just phenomenal! Sellers are actually getting their property sold and not just "testing the market". We're having a great clearance rate.

In auction listings that are either currently in escrow or booked/active throughout Harcourts Pacific (including Hawaii and the mainland), we have 174 listings in the pipe. So, it's really exciting times. If you'd like to know more about Harcourts Auctions, give a ring. Aloha!