The March 2020 real estate sales market remained primarily unchanged Year over Year for Hawaii Island for March 2019 vs. March 2020. This is primarily because sales were booked in January and February as the coved-19 pandemic was developing. April 2020 sales reflect the COVID-19 effect clearly as these stats reflect Buyer’s actions in February and March 2020 as flights were cancelled and quarantine mandates were implemented which diminished visitors to the island. I will continue to monitor the effects and report on the number of units in escrow and closed sales as we go forward and update June 1. It’s too early to tell how these declines will effect values at this point as new listings are few, indicating sellers are reluctant to list, which is positive for values as few listings keep our available inventory low. As restrictions on Short Term Vacation Rentals, 14-Day Mandatory Quarantine for new arrivals and flights to Hawaii are restored-sales should continue. Let’s hope this happens sooner than later. The chart b...

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Welcome to my year end 2019 summary of real estate news and trends for my December blog and newsletter readers. The good news is...it’s all good news! Properties in all categories are selling well along the Kohala Coast especially condominiums. The least expensive condominium units with the most bedrooms are the “hot ticket” in all resorts. Land and developed lots continue to be great buys if you have the time and patience for the building process. Single family homes are the next best bargain per square foot but an overall more expensive option to condominiums mainly because of their larger size. Most of my comments and analysis concern the Kohala Coast Resorts and not the north Kona Resorts and communities such as Kohanaiki, Kukio and Hualalai. The Kohala Coast resort market for condominiums +/- $1m is really good with an average days on market of less than 90 days if the unit is priced no higher than a few percentage points beyond the sold price of the last, best comparable unit. Price and condition are “99%�...

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Existing home sales fell 2.8% in December to an annualized rate of 5.49 million units. November’s pace of 5.65 million units was the strongest monthly rate in nearly 10 years. 1 For the year, existing home sales numbered 5.45 million units in 2016, up 3.8% from sales of 5.25 million units in 2015. Last year had the highest level of sales since 6.48 million existing homes were sold in 2006. 1 The number of existing homes on the market in December fell to 1.65 million units, its lowest level since NAR began tabulating housing inventory in 1999. That’s a 6.3% drop from the housing inventory in December 2015, leaving the months’ supply figure at 3.6 months. 1 The median price of existing homes sold in December was $232,200, up 4.0% from December 2015. Over the last three years, the median price has increased at a 5.5% average annual rate. 1 New home sales dropped 10.4% in December to an annual rate of 536,000 units. Sales climbed 12.2% in 2016, to 563,000 units from 501,000 units in 2015. 2 The median price of ...

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