Chinese investor to build home on Oahu North Shore property by Waimea Bay

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A Chinese investor who purchased nearly half of the lots in a 25-lot residential subdivision on Oahu’s North Shore overlooking famed Waimea Bay now has plans to build a new home on one of those properties, according to public records.

The 11 lots, on a little more than two acres, at The Bluffs at Waimea were sold to Dhara LLC by the Burger family for $6 million last year, as first reported by PBN.

Dhara was formed a little more than a year ago, and lists Shaoxiong Huang as its manager.

The company was recently issued a $515,000 building permit for a new single-family home with a retaining wall at the rear of the property, according to the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting.

Lancor Architects Inc. and Kingdom Builders are listed as the architect and general contractor, respectively, for the project.

The Bluffs at Waimea Bay is located on a hillside between Waimea Bay and Haleiwa town. The 23 lots being sold range from 7,500 square feet to 15,630 square feet, and homes have already been built on five of the lots.

Chinese investors are expected to spend more than $175 billion during the next few years acquiring real estate around the world, including Hawaii.

Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News

 

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Luxury_Oahu_Estates_$8M – 10M
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Oahu luxury home sales soar by 54% in April,

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The number of luxury homes and condominiums that sold for at least $1 million on Oahu rose by 54 percent last month compared to the same time last year, according to a monthly analysis.

In all, 83 luxury homes, defined as those that sold for $1 million or more, changed hands in April — a jump from 54 in April 2014.

The median sales price for those luxury properties dropped to $1.31 million last month compared to $1.4 million in 2014.

“Year-to-date sales of single-family homes over $1 million indicate a strong performance compared to the same period a year ago,”. “Specifically, sales in the $1-million to $2-million price range are up 40 percent while the $2-million to $6-million price range are down by 45 percent.”

In all, a total of 72 homes were sold in the $1 million to $2 million price range. Nine more, meanwhile, were sold in the $2 million to $4 million price range. Only two Oahu properties were sold last month for at least $4 million.

Kakaako led the island in luxury property sales last month with eight closed sales, followed by Diamond Head with five closed sales, and Lanikai and Waikiki with four closed sales for each neighborhood.

“Based on the current rate of sale, we only have four months of inventory remaining for single-family homes in this segment — a balanced market is six months of inventory,” Nakagawa said. “Meanwhile, the higher price ranges in the luxury market have not been selling as briskly. The units in escrow (or forward sales) for single-family homes show that this trend will keep going.”

More luxury properties in $1 to $2 million price range, she explained, would have to be put up for sale to balance out the market and keep up with the “very, very high demand for these properties.”

Though she has seen more of those homes come on the market over the past few months, the number of those selling for at least $4 million has been building over time as fewer sales for those properties take place, Nakagawa said.

The most expensive home sale recording by Multiple Listing Service data last month was a six-bedroom, four-bath, 3,055-square-foot home in Kailua for $10.5 million.

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Luxury_Oahu_Estates_$8M – 10M

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Oahu home prices drop in February after months of gains

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Construction cranes are signs of economic prosperity in Honolulu.

Construction cranes are signs of economic prosperity in Honolulu.

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu fell in February to $648,000, while the median price of a condominium dropped 9 percent, after months of increasing prices, the Honolulu Board of Realtors said Saturday.

The median price of a condo on Oahu last month was $326,000, a 9.3 percent drop from $359,450 in February 2014. The median condo price had hit a new record of $381,500 in January after hitting another record in December.

Sales of condos were also sluggish in February, with 290 units sold, 2 percent fewer than the 296 units that were sold in February 2014.

Sales of single-family homes, however, rose 5.8 percent to 201 homes sold last month, compared to 190 homes sold in February 2014. The median price of $648,000 for a single-family home in February was 4.6 percent lower than the ,edian price of $679,000 in February 2014.

“February is traditionally one of the slowest months of the year for real estate sales,” Jack Legal, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “Of particular interest in this report is the growth of inventory over last year, especially the number of condos that have come onto the market.”

Legal noted that the condo inventory on Oahu grew by 14 percent when compared with February 2014, and the inventory of single-family homes grew 6.4 percent.

“With the increased inventory, as well as continued record low mortgage rates, we encourage potential homebuyers who have been on the fence to look at the various options now available,” he said.

Janis L. Magin Managing Editor – Pacific Business News

Japanese lead foreign investors in buying Hawaii real estate

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Japanese residents were the top foreign buyers of Hawaii real estate in 2014 with 291 purchases for a total of $278 million, according to Title Guaranty.

Mike Imanaka, senior vice president of data services for the Honolulu-based title services company, told PBN that the Japanese continue to value Hawaii real estate, especially in Waikiki, with its proximity to the beach and shopping.

The Japanese also are interested in Kakaako, Imanaka said.

“When the ONE Ala Moana [luxury condominium] was developed, it provided the perfect opportunity for continued value-based investment and proximity to shopping,” he said. “Japanese investment will likely continue in the Kakaako area.”

Rounding out the top five purchases by foreign investors last year were Canada (213 purchases, $165 million); Singapore (15 purchases, $57 million); China (15 purchases, $25 million); and Hong Kong (13 purchases, $14 million).

Korea, Australia, Germany, Guam and New Zealand rounded out the top 10 among foreign investors, Title Guaranty said.

Investors from Canada topped the list for buying property on Maui (94 purchases, $84 million); the Big Island (55 purchases, $52 million); and Kauai (12 purchases, $7 million). The Japanese were the biggest foreign buyers of property on Oahu (260 purchases, $254 million).

Despite the interest by foreign investors, domestic investors dominate the market. Title Guaranty reported 13,457 purchases by Hawaii investors for a total of $7.2 billion last year. They were followed by California (1,462 purchases, $1.2 billion); Texas (313 purchases, $205 million); Washington state (306 purchases, $227 million); and Colorado (156 purchases, $144 million).

Duane Shimogawa Reporter – Pacific Business News

Oahu condo prices hit another new record in January

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Home prices on Oahu soared in January, a traditionally slow month for sales, as the median price of a condominium hit a record $381,500, according to statistics released Saturday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The median Oahu condo price was 19.2 percent higher than the median price set in January 2014, which was $320,000, and was 5.6 percent higher than the previous record median price of $361,250, set in December.

The median price of a single-family home rose to $675,000, a 7.2 percent increase from $629,500 in January 2014.

Sales of single-family homes, however, fell 14.6 percent ot 210 homes sold in January, from 246 homes sold in January 2014. Sales of condos fell 7.7 percent to 286 units sold, from 310 units sold in January 2014.

“This is traditionally one of the slowest months of the year, so the sluggish sales of single-family homes and, to a lesser extent, condos, is not too surprising,” Jack Legal, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “However, what’s notable is the jump in median sales price, including a new record set for condominiums.

“This indicates demand for housing is still very high, and the one factor that is putting a damper on the market is, as usual, the lack of inventory, especially for single-family homes,” Legal said.

There were 1,077 active listings for single-family homes in January, a 7.1 percent decrease from 1,159 listings in January 2014. Condo listings totalled 1,630 in January, a 4.2 percent increase from 1,564 listings during the same month a year ago.

The months of inventory remaining for single-family homes — the time it would take to sell every home on the market — fell 7.1 percent in January to 2.6 months, from 2.8 months in January 2014. The inventory for condos, however, rose 3.4 percent to three months of inventory, from 2.9 months in January 2014.

Homes also spent more time on the market before selling in January. Single-family homes were on the market for a median of 26 days in January, compared to a median of 22 days in January 2014, an increase of 18.22 percent. The median days on market for condos rose 28.6 percent to 27 days, from 21 days a year ago.

Janis L. Magin Managing Editor – Pacific Business News

Condominium prices on Oahu hit new record in December

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decThe median price of a condominium on Oahu reached a record $361,250 in December, a 9.5 percent increase from the same month a year ago, according to figures released Tuesday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The December median price for condos tops a previous record set in June, when the median price of a condominium hit $360,000.The median price of a condo in December 2013 was $330,000.

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu in December rose just 0.7 percent to $690,000, from $685,000 in December 2013. In November, the median price of a single-family home set a new record of $719,500.

Sales of single-family homes remained flat in December at 284 sales, compared to 283 home sales in December 2013.

Sales of condos were flat, with 290 units sold in both December 2014 and December 2013.

“This month’s sales figures basically stuck to historical norms except for one aspect,” Jack Legal, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement, referring to the record median price for condos. “One positive is that the inventory of condos was up in December as compared to the previous year.”

Bill Cresenzo Reporter – Pacific Business News

Honolulu’s home price appreciation among nation’s highest

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Honolulu has one of the highest home price appreciation rates in the country, real estate data tracking service RealtyTrac said.

The median price of a home, which includes condominiums, was $480,000 in October, giving Honolulu an annual Home Price Appreciation rate of 10 percent, RealtyTrac says.

The top market for HPA is the Toledo, Ohio market, where the median price of a home is $100,000 and the HPA rate is 33 percent.

Nationally, the median price of a home was $193,000 in October, an increase of 16 percent over October 2013.

HONOLULU HOME SALES, PRICES DIP SLIGHTLY IN AUGUST, BUT HOUSING

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HONOLULU HOME SALES, PRICES DIP SLIGHTLY IN AUGUST, BUT HOUSING INVENTORY UP, ACCORDING TO HONOLULU BOARD OF REALTORS®

HONOLULU HOME SALES, PRICES DIP SLIGHTLY IN AUGUST, BUT HOUSING
INVENTORY UP, ACCORDING TO HONOLULU BOARD OF REALTORS®

HONOLULU HOME SALES, PRICES DIP SLIGHTLY IN AUGUST, BUT HOUSING

INVENTORY UP, ACCORDING TO HONOLULU BOARD OF REALTORS®

HONOLULU — The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® released resale figures today for the month of

August 2014. According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics are:

During August, sales of single-family homes decreased by 11.7 percent, while condominium sales decreased by 3.5 percent from August 2013. The median price paid for single-family homes in Augustdecreased slightly by 2.3 percent from the same month last year to $650,000. The median price for condominiums remained the same as that of August 2013 at $350,000. According to the Days on Marketindicator, single-family homes were on the market for an average of only 15 days, while condominiums were on the market for an average of 23 days.

“August was an interesting month for the Oahu housing market,” said Julie Meier, president of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. “While on the surface it may look like this past August was not on par with last August for sales of single-family homes, the truth is that August 2013 was a banner month – the high point of sales for the year. It would have been very difficult to duplicate that this year. Still, this remains a very healthy market, as evidenced by the fact that the average single-family home was on the block for only 15 days before being sold. Also noteworthy is the fact that inventory of both single-family homes and condos is climbing, which will help the market meet demand.”

Oahu Real Estate Market Update

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August_2014The median price of a single-family home on Oahu fell last month, two months after hitting a new record price, as sales in August dropped by 12 percent when compared to last year, according to statistics released Sunday by the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

The median price of a single-family home in August was $650,000, which was 2.3 percent below the median price of $665,000 in August 2013. The median price in June set at record at $700,000.

Sales of single-family homes on Oahu fell 11.7 percent to 323 homes sold, from 366 homes sold in August 2013.

Condominium sales in August declined by 3.5 percent to 444 units sold, from 460 units sold during the same month last year. The median price of a condo on Oahu was unchanged at $350,000.

“August was an interesting month for the Oahu housing market, Julie Meier, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said in a statement. “While on the surface it may look like this past August was not on par with last August for sales of single-family homes, the truth is that August 2013 was a banner month – the high point of sales for the year. It would have been very difficult to duplicate that this year.”

The number of sales in August 2013 was 25 percent higher than August 2012, when 293 homes sold. Last month’s sales were 10 percent higher than the 2012 level. The median price a year ago was 9 percent higher than the median price set in August 2012, which was $609,000. Last month’s median price of $650,000 was nearly 7 percent higher than the price from two years ago.

“Still, this remains a very healthy market, as evidenced by the fact that the average single-family home was on the block for only 15 days before being sold,” Meier noted. “Also noteworthy is the fact that inventory of both single-family homes and condos is climbing, which will help the market meet demand.”

Staff Pacific Business News