Kauai Real Estate Update- I just sold almost 9 acres of Fee Simple land near the Wailua River for $170,000. It’s not zoned for residential living and has been used for cattle grazing, my client just fell in love with the property and he lives nearby so it was a perfect fit. Fun property to sell.
The property I sold was not the only one that got listed and sold on the same day last week. I counted a total of 5 sales that happened that way , a ton more that went into escrow and 31 closed sales which were mostly residential homes. I expect the condo market to start picking up when the tourist start coming back next month.
For a complete list of all the real estate activity last week click here: Kauai Real Estate Activity March 22 to March 28, 2021
Poipu Beach Real Estate Update- I just listed Hale Ho’o Pono (House of Harmony) in the Kiahuna Golf Village. What I love about this home are the floor to ceiling retractable living room doors that open the living room to the backyard. With working at home being more the norm the dedicated office is perfection and the owner just added AC. Three bedroom home with a large laundry area that could easily be converted to a four bedroom. Contact me for more details.
For a complete list of all the Fee Simple real estate activity in Poipu since January 1 of this year click here: Poipu Beach Current Market Analysis
Kiahuna Plantation Real Estate Update- My Kiahuna Plantation Page has been updated with the real estate activity since Janaury 1 of this year. Click here to access that page: Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis
Half Of Kauai Vaccinated
As of this weekend half of the residents on Kauai have been vaccinated with at least one of their two shots. There are now three kinds of vaccines available: Pfizer and Moderna both require two injections and the third is the single dose Johnson & Johnson.
Currently vaccines are being given to group 1c which is anyone 60 and over or those that are 16 and older that are high risk.
Those in the Hotel and Hospitality industries started getting their vaccines earlier this month.
Visitors Numbers To Hawaii Starting To Climb
In February there were 235,288 visitors to Hawaii compared to 172,000 in January.
Here is the breakdown:
U.S. West Coast 164,900
U.S. East Coast 63,900
Japan 695
Canada 493
Other Markets 5,300
Kauai had 7,349 visitors in February which is a 93% decline from February of 2020. However starting April 5 it’s expected that Kauai’s number will start to climb as well.
Vacation Rental Condos Outpace Hotels
As reported by the Hawaii Tourism Authority vacation rentals statewide in the month of February were 49.8% occupied, compared to 84% occupancy in February of 2020. While this number is way down from one year ago it’s the highest month since the shut down began. It’s also higher than hotel occupancy which was 30.5%.
Kauai vacation rentals had the largest decline in occupancy, down by 63% and hotels are down 57%.
The Big Island of Hawaii had the highest occupancy rate at 60%, Oahu was a close second at 56% occupancy rate.
National Home Sales 2020 vs 2021
The National Home Statistics have been released for the month of February.
For Residential Housing the number of sales in February 2020 vs 2021 is 9.1% higher. The Median Price is $313,000 which is 15.8% higher than this same time last year. Inventory at a national level is at a record low with properties selling in 20 days, another all time low.
Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors chief economist stated “I still expect this year’s sales to be ahead of last year's, and with more COVID-19 vaccinations being distributed and available to larger shares of the population, the nation is on the cusp of returning to a sense of normalcy. Many Americans have been saving money and there's a strong possibility that once the country fully reopens, those reserves will be unleashed on the economy."
He also cautioned that a possible slowdown could come because of rising home prices and mortgage rates. "Home affordability is weakening," Yun said. "Various stimulus packages are expected and they will indeed help, but an increase in inventory is the best way to address surging home costs."
First time home buyers were 31% of the February sales and second home buyers were 17% with most of those being cash buyers. Foreclosures and Short Sales were less than 1% of all sales.
