It's January, and you are in a hammock stretched between two palm trees, a book in your lap. It's not a dream; it's your life on the beach in Hawaii. The big questions are: Can you afford to live on the ocean, and if so, is it right for you? And where are the best oceanfront locations?
Beachfront Home Values
Oceanfront properties on the island of Oahu vary greatly and tend to be somewhat eclectic. Most are in suburban or rural settings, not tourist spots. Clearly, these are the ultimate luxury homes for those who can live wherever they choose. If you have vision and means to achieve this, you will want to make your property very personal. You may select a high rise condo or a townhome, but most properties are freestanding single-family homes. It could be on a sandy beach, a marina with boat docks, or a rocky cliff - the ocean is your backyard.
What Oceanfront Costs
Single family homes on the ocean start at about $600,000 for less desirable waterfront locations, but the median price for homes currently on the market is about $3,000,000. Twenty-eight oceanfront houses sold in the past six months, with the median sale price at $2,000,000. Prices have remained stable for the most part, but a lower number of sales are taking place. This means that motivated sellers will need to offer attractive prices based on past sales, not pie-in-the-sky hopes. There is a smaller pool of buyers so negotiating opportunities exist. Beach houses can be found in these areas, starting with the areas that are generally most expensive: Diamond Head, Kahala, Kailua, Waialae to Hawaii Kai, Waimanalo, North Shore, Windward Coast, Makaha, Ewa Beach.
Oceanfront property is a rare and priceless treasure to enjoy and experience for a few years or a lifetime. Are you one of the fortunate few who will choose to live the dream? For more details on Hawaii homes on the ocean, just email me at stephanieg@remax.net.
The latest report measuring market conditions in the Honolulu area has just been released as of Dec. 14, 2008. According to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM), "buyers market" conditions prevail around the nation. As expected, Honolulu shows more stability than the country as a whole. The Market Action Index (MAI) has risen, which indicates that the supply and demand are slightly balanced towards sellers, making Honolulu one of just four other metro areas that are still bucking the downward trend. Boston, Orlando, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco are also in this elite group.
Still, some indexes show a less than strong market. The days on market has gone from 80 to 120 since July. Lower sales numbers means that statistics can be skewed - for this reason it is crucial for Realtors to be familiar with the properties themselves.
Honolulu real estate prices in the luxury category were also analyzed by the Institute. These statistics show a slight price decline from a high of $1.22 million to the current $1.12 million, and stabilizing. This includes the island of Oahu, with neighborhoods featuring oceanfront estates, beach homes, gated communities, ocean view homes, and luxury condos.
Stephanie is a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist and a member of the Million Dollar Guild.
*90 day rolling average price for homes identified by the LHMI as being among the 10 highest-priced zip codes.
We are in a vastly different real estate market this fall. The financial shakedown has hit Hawaii. Oahu home prices are in a cyclical downturn in all areas, yet the facts are not as drastic as elsewhere.
Sale Prices: Year-to-date sale prices as of October 1, 2008 have decreased 3.5% for single family homes (to $624,000) and show 0% change for condos ($325,000), compared to one year ago. A closer look at the details shows that September prices- when examined alone- were significantly lower than a year ago for houses (down 9%) and condos (down 11.6%).
Number of Sales: Total house sale numbers are down 26% and condo sales down 27%. Homes take longer to sell, but as always, the best-looking and best-priced ones sell.
Weird Facts: Honolulu metro house prices are statistically up 3.5% and Downtown-Nuuanu condo prices up 17.9%. This is likely to be a statistical fluke due to more luxury properties selling. Because of the lower number of sales, the data may be skewed depending on what sold. Most neighborhoods have less than 20 sales per month!
The median prices increased in October after declining in September, a good sign for both home sellers and buyers of the strength of the Oahu housing market. Sales have continued to slow, but at a lower rate than in the past few months. The median prices paid for Oahu properties in the first ten months of 2008 were $625,000 and $325,000 respectively, a decrease of 3.7 percent for single family homes from the same time period in 2007 and no change for condos. Hawaii has become an even more attractive place to purchase investment condos, retirement properties, or vacation homes.
To learn more and search for properties, go to hawaiihomehelp.com.
Local real estate prices have softened in practically all of the neighborhoods throughout the state and nation. Sellers in today's market are faced with a timing dilemma. Should they wait out the soft market or bite the bullet and accept what they can get now? The answer to this burning question depends on the seller's long term goals.
It helps to analyze the options and ask the tough questions: Is waiting months or years for prices to go up an option? What will the monthly costs of holding the property be during this wait? Once these questions are answered, it's possible to come up with an informed plan the meets the short term reality as well as long term goals.
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