Blog

Posted

In 2018 the housing market on Oahu continues to break median sales price records on a monthly basis with overall prices still increasing unabated compared to last year (June was the only anomaly) for both homes and condos – so far (the notable exception would be the luxury home market). However, from May thru Nov of 2018 we have seen the actual numbers of sales for homes decrease – compared to the same months in 2017 – for 7 months in a row.

Posted

Canary in a Real Estate CycleKnowledge is Wealth!So would be a canary in a real estate cycle. The proverbial canary in a coal mine was used to portend levels…

Posted

Knowledge is Wealth! So would be luxury homes on elastic rubber bands that actually fell in price in economic downturns (bust cycle) and snapped back upwards during economic upturns (boom cycles such as we are in now). After all, this is how the normal world works in free and fair markets. The same rules would also apply to almost all real estate EXCEPT luxury homes which is a market that seems to exist in a parallel universe encumbered with different laws of market physics.

Posted

Welcome to the Fall 2018 edition of our Great Value Hawaii Luxury Real Estate where feature both Homes & Condos which we think offer especially great value for potential Buyers. Presently most of the luxury home and condo neighborhoods on Oahu are experiencing Buyers’ Markets. The first property we showcase is a Spanish-Mediterranean luxury home on Hawaii Loa Ridge at Moaniala Place. The second property showcased here is a Castle-in-the-Sky Penthouse unit in Downtown Honolulu's prestigious Harbor Court building situated right on Honolulu Harbor.

Posted

In 2018 the housing market on Oahu continues to break median sales price records on a monthly basis with overall prices still increasing unabated compared to last year (June was the only anomaly) for both homes and condos - so far (the notable exception would be the luxury home market). However, from Feb thru Jul of 2018 (last 6 months) we have seen the actual numbers of sales for homes decrease - compared to the same month in 2017 - for 5 out of 6 months. Conversely, for condos during the same 6 month period we have seen an overall increase of sales compared to last year. This is partly due to some buyers being priced out of the home market and choosing a condo as the only viable alternative.

Posted

Knowledge is Wealth! So would be a time machine that takes you back to 1980 to see your grandparents. In an imaginative journey you take 5 X one ounce gold eagle coins with you, exchange them for 1980 $s and then proceed to buy 225 shares of Apple stock for $22 each (total investment of $4,950) and then have your grandparents create an irrevocable trust fund with you as the sole beneficiary with the plan to let the whole 225 shares ride for 38 years!

Posted

Why is this such an enigmatically difficult thing to do? How does a Seller know he/she is not underselling or overselling at a wildly under/unattainable price? How does a Buyer know he/she is not simply overpaying? At the end of the day, it really has everything to do with statistics and the laws of supply and demand. Assuming freedom & transparency of information - when there is a large enough supply of something accompanied by an equally large demand of the same thing - the free market does a good job of equaliberlizing the supply-demand fair price. However, when something such as Penthouse are very few in number...

Posted

In 2018 the housing market on Oahu continues to break median sales price records at a steady pace with overall prices increasing unabated - so far. However, from January thru May of 2018 we have seen the actual number of sales for both condos and homes decrease - compared to the same month in 2017 - for 3 out of 5 of the last months. DOMs (Days on Market) for condos jumped by 20% in April and by 35.7% in May. One more month and this upward trend of DOMs (and inventories) becomes statistically significant. Just after a long term real estate cycle peaks the first indicator is a decrease in sales followed by an increase in inventories. Once that continues prices inevitably flatten. We will will be watching the trend closely to see if it is just an anomaly.

Posted

Welcome to the July 2018 edition of our Great Value Hawaii Luxury Real Estate! We feature both Homes & Condos which we think offer especially great value for potential Buyers. The first building we showcase is the Koolani with a median sold price of $1.025M over the last 12 months, features beautiful ocean views and amenities second to none. The second building showcased here is in the Hokua building where units have sold at a median price of $2.45M in the last 12 months. This building also located in Kakaako - South East Corner, sits with a front row seat to Ala Moana Beach Park and the clear blue ocean beyond.

Posted

At average yearly appreciation rates of 4.5% for condos (4.6% for homes) on Oahu in the last 30 years that $250K condo back in 2003 would be worth almost double that amount now. In this month's Hawaii Damon Newsletter we will look at several East Oahu neighborhoods (both condos and homes) while giving a general overview of the market status in the rest of Oahu. Depending on your real estate goals you can then strategize accordingly. This is required reading for anyone looking to buy or sell property in Hawaii!