In South Kohala, single family home sale prices range from entry level $200,000 homes to multimillion dollar homes in exclusive resort neighborhoods. I do not usually lump them all together, but because I wanted to look at the past three years, I thought it would be interesting to see the average sale price of all homes.
The question I am asked most often “is this the bottom of the real estate market?” I reply we can only look at the past to try to answer that question. It also helps to pay attention to what economists are saying and what the hopes and fears are about the stock market. In our South Kohala luxury real estate market here on Hawaii Island, the stock market is a big factor in the decision making process as that is where most of the cash comes from.
Not only the wealthy are actively buying West Hawaii real estateWhat got me digging into these records were recent news reports that Mercedes Benz unit sales in the United States recently broke a record; an Italian handbag retailer experienced difficulty keeping its $1,000+ handbags on the shelves; and the top two luxury purchase types by wealthy consumers were either a $1,000+ case of wine or piece of jewelry.
Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtor’s Chief Economist, said last month that homes sales will rise this year. Well, those of us familiar with Kona and Kohala Coast real estate here on the Big Island took this as old news. Real estate isn’t just local, these days it is hyper-local. What’s happening in Puna is completely different than what’s happening in South Kohala. When I talk to mainland residents looking to buy a vacation home, they often incorrectly assume what’s happening in their local market is what’s happening in our market.
Part 1 of 4
I just returned from the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) Resort and Second Home Symposium, held this year at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe, Nevada. As a certified Resort and Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS), the Resort Symposium is an opportunity to meet with other brokers who specialize in resort and vacation home properties. We gather to share ideas and solutions, and to hear the latest from industry experts. The headline speaker June 13 was Dr Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. For the purpose of this discussion, vacation homes and second homes are defined as distinct from investment properties. The later are not intended for use by the owner, and are purchased specifically for return on investment rather than for enjoyment by the owner.