I am constantly trying to get a better pulse on our housing market. Despite the unknowns that our COVID-economy has presented us, I have been fortunate to be on many successful transactions this year.
No one has a crystal ball on what our housing market will do next. In addition to studying mortgage rates, housing market reports, and local and national news, I also read up on the stock market.
For a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there are a handful of publicly traded real estate companies doing business in our community. Two of these companies are Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX) and The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC).
What are these companies doing?
A&B, one of the largest private landowners in Hawaii, recently reported its Q2 earnings. Specializing in commercial real estate (CRE), A&B reported CRE revenue decreased $5.1 million, or 13.0%, to $34.0 million, as compared to $39.1 million in the same quarter of 2019.
Despite A&B suspending their quarterly dividend and seeing revenue decrease, it appears A&B is still planning to redevelop Aikahi Park Shopping Center. Since projects like this take time to plan, I wonder what A&B will do since COVID is forcing people are hunkered down at home.
On the residential side, Howard Hughes continues to plant their roots in Ward Village. Despite losing $34.1 million in Q2, Howard Hughes said that 88% of all units at seven towers in Ward Village are sold.
More so, Howard Hughes recently filed their building permits for Victoria Place recently. In addition, Howard Hughes is currently building Analii and Koula.
Housing prices have remained relatively steady on Oahu since the pandemic started. People are looking for deals, but my recent closings were at list price or higher. Maybe the deals are buying real estate related stocks?
-Roda