Ryan Oda

Oahu's housing market is still on fire. Many homes are selling for top dollar and there is still a lack of inventory. I know I must sound like a broken record. Buyers who decided to wait on the sideline have only hurt themselves. According to the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the median price for a single-family home and condo in May 2021 were $978,000 and $457,750 respectively. The same time last year, the median price were $797,000 (22.7% gain) and $399,000 (14.7% gain). Who

Here is February's housing update.

One question often being posed is, "Are foreigners and out of state buyers purchasing real estate on Oahu?" This is a totally fair and legitimate question to ask. According to Title Guaranty's January - September 2020 Buyer Statistic report, the top three foreign buyers on Oahu come from Japan (100, $102.3 M) , Canada (44, $50.9 M), and Korea (9, $6.3 M). The Japanese has consistently invested in Hawaii real estate. Matter of fact, in 2019, I helped a client purchase a luxury

Aloha family and friends. I hope you are doing well. Wow, 2020 was a year to remember! I am happy we all can turn the page and move forward. Although the vaccine is being distributed, experts are predicting that it will take time for our economy to recover. Although the state has reopened, tourism is still lagging. Due to that, businesses are struggling and closing and people are being laid off or furloughed. According to the University of Hawaii's Public Policy Center, a sur

2020 was a year of learning and growth. Even though COVID numbers still remain high, there is light at the end of the tunnel since the vaccine is being distributed. As the year comes to an end, I have reflected on the following things... Finances There was a time when unemployment was over 30% in Hawaii. When the state got shutdown, I took a walk to Kapiolani Park. It was a strange sight to see since Waikiki was a ghost town. You could literally walk down the middle of Kalaka

When I was growing up, I would help out at my Uncle's real estate company. Uncle Sonny's speciality was association property management. In addition, he also did residential property management and sales too. Uncle Sonny had a team of people who specialized in niche tasks. One person who always fascinated me was the employee who sat at the front desk. At the beginning of every month, people would be lined up outside the front door to drop off their maintenance fee or rent pay

Did you know you can defer capital gains tax on the sale of your investment property? It’s called a 1031 Exchange. When used properly, a 1031 Exchange can allow a buyer to fully leverage his/her money. There can be a lot of misinformation about 1031 Exchanges. Let’s debunk a few misconceptions... Like Kind Property Let’s say you are selling an apartment building. Does that mean your replacement property has to be an apartment building? No, it does not. The IRS 1031 Exchange r

Does anyone have a Dolorean? I would like to go back in time and buy single-family homes in Ewa Beach. Despite our COVID economy, single-family homes sales are doing very well in certain neighborhoods on Oahu. Homeowners might be leaving high rise condos to go back to back the suburbs. The Honolulu Board of Realtors recently released October's housing statistics. The median single family home price in Ewa Beach was $760,000 in October 2020; this was a 12% increase from the s

If you are a seller, the goal is to sell. If you are a buyer, the goal is to buy. Being in escrow can be an emotional process. Sellers want top dollar and buyers want a deal. Regardless if you are a buyer or seller, both parties have to finish the transaction at the same time. Every transaction is different — you might have to give or take. However, here are few things that can ruin a deal... Being Unrealistic If you are a seller, you have to price your home accordingly. It’

Facebook recently reminded me that I have been a homeowner for two years. It seemed like yesterday when my wife and I were signing our closing documents! Here are a few things that I learned... Mortgage Rates When we were looking at properties, mortgage rates were almost at 5%. When our offer was accepted, our mortgage lender informed us that rates went down. Rather than taking a gamble, we decided to lock in 4.65% at half a point. Around 6 months later, mortgage rates droppe

Here is November's housing updates.

Greg, Robin, and I closed three buyer transactions last week. One was an off market, new development, single family home in Windward Oahu. The second was a single-family home in town; our clients bought it below list price. The third was a vacant, residential land on the outer island. Our residential real estate market has held up well during the pandemic. Why? Mortgage rates are historically low. No one knows how long mortgage rates will stay in the 2-3% range. The clients w

Here are September housing updates.

Working at Forward Realty taught me the importance of being full service Realtor.

How can you make your offer standout?

The economy is reopening, but many people are still financially struggling. According to a recent report, the Honolulu Board of Realtors (HBR) noted that 38% of tenants were unable to pay rent in June. To further get a deeper look at our economy, Hawaii's Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has issued more than $1.7 billion in unemployment insurance benefits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to unemployment, more than one out of five people in H

Since the start of the pandemic, I have been receiving calls from clients about our real estate market. Recent data has shown that prices are increasing, while closed sales have declined by double digits. There are still a lot of unknowns since COVID-19 is still a major concern in Hawaii. Every person's situation is different and unique. However, it could be a good time to... Buy Inventory has been low for decades. Due to COVID-19, it seems there are even less listings. If yo

In 2008, I was in college during the subprime mortgage crisis. I recall being in class and my professor telling us there might be budget cuts and that our economy was going to have a significant negative impact. I was on tract to graduate on time, but suddenly became worried that I might not get my classes for the upcoming semester. Sometimes ignornance is bliss. I was too old to be naive, but also too young to fully comprehend what was really occurring. However, I knew the s

Here is June's housing updates.

Know what is important. Our housing market has been resilient.