Janis Magin Meierdiercks

In each of those places, prices so far this year are lower than last year.

One Realtor says prices will likely go up fast when interest rates fall, so eager buyers are being encouraged to close on deals now and then try to refinance in a few years at lower rates.

While the number of homes sold in most categories of O‘ahu real estate were flat or down in August, the sales numbers went up for single-family homes priced at $3 million or more and condos starting at $1.5 million.

Oʻahu's percentage drop in refi loans during the second quarter was the second largest in the country, according to a national report.

After the deadly Marco Polo fire of 2017, older Honolulu high rises were required to install sprinkler systems or pass a safety evaluation, but compliance is slow going. Now state legislation asks them to add the costly systems to their reserve studies.

“Our buyer pool is very low, but when I look at the sales, I’d say more than half are cash,” says the president of the Kauaʻi Board of Realtors.

Hawai‘i Island’s overall median price has been relatively steady this year, but the lowest priced deals – including many inexpensive vacant lots – can often be found in Puna.

That’s based on sales of condos and single-family homes during the first quarter of 2023.

Japanese buyers have been mostly absent from the high-end market since the pandemic started, but many mainlanders, and some locals, are showing interest.

The average rent for a studio apartment on O‘ahu last year was up 25% from 2017 and larger rentals were up, too, by at least 17%.

Homeowners are guaranteed a tax break on capital gains up to a fixed amount, while owners of investment properties can defer those gains using a 1031 exchange. But “timing is important” for the strategy to work, says Julie Bratton of Old Republic Exchange Co.

O‘ahu home sales were down in May compared with a year ago, but some areas, like Hawai‘i Kai and Kailua, are starting to see an increase in prices.

Nationwide, homeowners lost equity on average during the first quarter of this year. But in the Islands, homeowners with mortgages gained on average $24,900 in the value of their homes.

But just about everywhere on the island, fewer condos were sold in the first quarter of this year compared to last year – much fewer.

A national report and a local index show that affordability has gotten much worse in the past two years.

That's according to a report from real estate company Redfin, which includes both single-family houses and condos in the assessment.

Last month, single family homes typically took 47 days to sell. In February 2022, it was 13 days, and two years ago it was just nine.

Kailua-Waimānalo’s median price fell only 3% in January, but Pearl City-ʻAiea’s was down 24%.

Report from Hawaiʻi Life details the 2022 market for luxury real estate in the Islands and anticipates strong demand for $3 million-plus homes in 2023.

After two years of rapid growth, Hawai‘i can expect to see a gradual reduction in interest rates, a slowdown in dropping sales, and a leveling off — or maybe even a decline — in prices.

From a first-quarter high of $139,000, equity gains fell to $61,500 in the third quarter, which is still better than every other state except Florida.

A federal agency raises the limit on conforming mortgages in Hawai‘i and other high-cost markets.

More than 50 units in one Kaka‘ako tower are up for sale, just weeks after the owners got possession of units in the newly completed high-rise.