THE CONVERSATION
Hawaii has a housing crisis and it needs to be addressed now. The problem is worsening due to the not in my backyard (NIMBY) movement.
On Maui, a 28 unit affordable housing project in Kihei was recently proposed. Interestingly, there has been a lot of pushback from the community. Opponents said it would cause more traffic and "affect the neighborhood's way of life." Most importantly, the project was disapproved with a 6-3 vote.
Pulling data from the Maui Board of Realtors, the median single-family home sales price in October 2022 was $1,056,000. This was a 13.5% increase from the same time last year. More so, the median condo sales price in October 2022 was $800,000. This was a 19% increased from October 2021.
In 2020, a 73 unit affordable housing rental project in Kailua received strong criticism. According to a Civil Beat article, "95% of the apartments would be for local working families earning less than $72,300 per year. Monthly rents would be based on household income, starting at $521 for 1-bedroom apartments and $598 for 2-bedroom apartments." This project was truly for the working class local person/family. Sadly, the project was not approved too.
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said in a 2016 report that the state of Hawaii needs 64,700 affordable housing units to meet the demand by 2025. Oahu would need 21,000 affordable housing units.
What's eyeopening is Honolulu’s Charter Question No. 1 on our recent election ballots was rejected by Oahu voters. According to the question, the City & County of Honolulu's Affordable Housing Fund would get 1% of the total of the property taxes generated on Oahu. Currently, the Affordable Housing Fund gets .5%. Perhaps the Honolulu City Council should revise this topic since the vote was very close.
If NIMBY continues, I doubt our housing crisis will ever be solved.
JUST LISTED
Terra and I recently listed a 1-bedroom/1-bathroom/1-parking leasehold unit at Admiral Thomas Apartments. The unit features beautiful city views. This spacious space is being sold fully furnished. Admiral Thomas Apartments is centrally located near downtown Honolulu, Chinatown, Ala Moana, and Kakaako. You are near entertainment, shopping, and dining. Amenities include large recreation area with pool, whirlpool and tennis court. Lots of guest parking- great for entertaining. The monthly maintenance fee covers all utilities including cable tv, electricity, and central air-conditioning. Please contact us if you have any questions.
TIDBIT
What is the difference between fee simple and leasehold? Let's think of this in terms of acquiring a car. Fee simple is like buying a car and leasehold is like leasing a car. When it comes to purchasing residential real estate, you probably want to own a fee simple property.
Did you know that many homes on Oahu were leasehold? Although this was decades ago, Bishop Estate and other landowners owned the fee to thousands of residential properties throughout the island. Due to a Supreme Court ruling, these landowners were forced to sell the fee to the lessees. If a lessee purchases the fee to their property, the property became fee simple.
NOVEMBER STATS
Here is November's historic median sales price trend. The data pulled by the MLS.
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
November | $799,000 | $785,000 | $870,000 | $1,050,000 | ? |
With mortgage rates in the 7% range, I am interested to what November 2022's median price will be.
HOME MAINTENANCE
A fresh coat of paint can really brighten up your home. Although some people think painting is an easy DIY project, there is actually a lot of preparation involved. Here are some common reasons why paint will blister or peel:
Moisture and Heat
Poor surface preparation -- Don't forget to scrape, sand, patch, dust, and prime!
The paint is not compatible with the substrate
Applying too many coats of paint too quickly -- Let the paint dry, sand, and add another coat.
OPPORTUNITIES
Photo Credit: Honolulu Civil Beat
Crosspointe is a popular condo in Halawa, Oahu. At the time of writing this blog, there is one active 2-bedroom/1-bathroom/1-parking unit for sale; this property is listed by Lifetime Properties LLC. The subject property caught my eye for the following reasons:
Price
Two comparable units have sold this year. Unit 45T sold for $545,500. This was $30,500 above the original list price. Unit 45U sold for $642,000 and the original list price was $599,000. The subject property was originally priced at $540,000, but the seller did a price reduction to $530,000 this past September.
Size
The subject property consists of 813 living SF and a 190 SF lanai. Both comparable units have less living and lanai SF. Unit 45T is 717 living SF with a 72 SF lanai and Unit 45U is 716 living SF with a 52 SF lanai.
Give me a call if you are interested in this unit.
Stay safe and healthy.
-Ryan