During a recent conversation, a person mentioned that Oahu's housing market is stable. I would have to disagree.
Greg, Robin, and I have represented a bunch of buyers this year. Many of them have seen upwards of 15+ properties. When we take our clients to an open house, it is common for the line to be snaked onto the sidewalk. Plus, when you finally get an opportunity to see the home, you barely have 10 minutes.
We recently listed a single-family home property in Pearl City. In just a few days of being on the market, we had over 40 showings! Since inventory is extremely low, we were not surprised to have received over 10+ above asking price offers.
What is driving our housing market? Is it foreign buyers? Title Guaranty recently reported that sales volume and transactions both dropped over 60% from Q4 2020 compared to Q4 2019. If it is not out of state buyers, what is it?
As strange as this may sound, COVID-19 has created Oahu’s home buying frenzy. As politicians were figuring out how revamp the economy, mortgage rates dropped to 3% or less; the goal was to get people to buy homes. In addition, to flatten the curve, employers were allowing their employees to work from home.
Remote work has been a game changer for the real estate industry. Since the pandemic started, I have helped numerous buyers purchase homes on Oahu. With some employers allowing their employees to work permanently from home, I can see more people relocating to Hawaii.
Even with the vaccine being rolled out, I still foresee our housing market being very active. The demand to own real estate is much larger than our actual housing supply. Our chronic housing shortage is a result or Hawaii’s slow entitlement and permitting process. This was confirmed by local economist, Paul Brewbaker, in a recent Pacific Business News article.
According to Brewbaker’s findings, “In 2019, there were fewer new housing units authorized a building permit on Oahu than in 1928.” How is this possible?
Well, when you think about it, this should not surprise you. Koa Ridge took decades to launch. I wonder what our housing situation would be like if Koa Ridge was developed years ago.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what the month of April brings us.
JUST SOLD
I recently helped a client purchase a unit at Wailuna. We did the showing via FaceTime and submitted an offer that night.
Like many listings in West Oahu, we knew this would be a competitive situation. We came in strong with an above asking price offer. Thankfully, the seller decided to work with us.
Despite purchasing remotely, we did not have any hiccups. My client was able to thoroughly review all this due diligence as if he was on island. To make things better, we were able to close in less than 45 days too!
RAMBLINGS
The Park
Nan Shin, owner of Nan, Inc., recently announced that he will be developing a new residential condo in Keamoku. The project will be known as, "The Park." The Park will consists of two towers totaling 927 units. There will be studio to 3-bedroom units. According to the developer, the projected price point should cost $1,000 per living SF.
-Roda
Comments