Poipu Beach Real Estate Update- Real Estate activity in Poipu Beach remains very active and I'm starting to see a lack of inventory in certain price points. I believe we're heading towards a slow down but only because we are running out of places to sell. Last week I Sold a home in Poipu Aina Estates, the list price was $2 million and it sold for $1,950,000. This home had guest house rights and is on a little over 2.5 acres of land. The Sellers are moving on to another chapter of their lives and it was really rewarding to be a part of this experience.
For a complete update on the fee simple market in Poipu Beach click here: Poipu Beach Current Market Analysis
Kiahuna Plantation Real Estate Update- In Escrow! A listing of mine at the Kiahuna, Unit #404 just got an accepted offer. I love the updates that the owners did to this ground floor unit and it has AC! List Price: $134,000 (LH). For a complete update on all the real estate activity at the Kiahuna Plantation for this year click here: Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis
July 8 Transpacific Travel Loosens Up For Hawaii
After July 8 it will be even easier to travel to Kauai. Our Governor lifted the testing requirement for those that have been fully vaccinated anywhere in the U.S. This is based on the prediction that our State will be at 60% fully vaccinated residents by July 8, right now we are at 57% fully vaccinated with 62% that have had at least one shot.
You would still need to create a Safe Travels account and upload your vaccine card to your account, it’s also advised to carry your copy with you.
Beginning July 8 here are some other changes:
- Indoor social gatherings will be permitted to increase to 25, up from 10
- Outdoor social gatherings will be increased to 75, up from 25
- Restaurants will be allowed to seat up to 75% of their capacity, including maximum group sizes of 25 indoors and 75 outdoors.
At 70% fully vaccinated the state will lift all restrictions, including the Safe Travels Program.
New Roundabout In Poipu
On Sunday I went down and took a video of the new roundabout here in Poipu. This is at the very end of the bypass road near the Kukui’ula Shopping Village. Beginning July 6 there will be a 24 hour closer of this section to connected the roundabout to the bypass road.
For the last several weeks this section of Koloa Road has been reduced to one lane. This will be a great addition to this area.
Alaska Airlines Reports Hawaii Market Has “Stabilized Much Faster”
The vice president of Alaska Airlines is pretty happy with Hawaii right now. He said that the Hawaii leisure travel has “stabilized much faster than the rest of the system” the flights to Hawaii are at an 80% load factor which is similar to pre-pandemic levels.
He stated; “We’re really happy with where our Hawaii capacity is at, and where demand is at, so there isn’t a supply/demand imbalance, things are kind of in equilibrium.” To capitalize on this momentum they are expanding their California to Hawaii service. He said their objective is to have all four hubs; San Diego, LA, San Jose and San Francisco to service all four islands.
Alaska Airlines has made some cuts in other areas to allow them to invest more in the Hawaii market.
May VRBO/Airbnb Direct Rentals At 72%
Vacation rentals, which are condos and homes that are rented out through varies online platforms, outperformed hotels in the month of May. Occupancy for vacation rentals were at 72% statewide compared to hotels at 61.5%. To put this into perspective on how great this news is; in 2019 May vacation rentals were at 71%. So we are back in full swing. I find this to be especially good news because Kauai opened up April 5 which is later than the other islands, so to have this uptick in our States occupancy is really great news.
Kauai vacation rentals had the highest ADR of the counties at $294, although it marks a 36% decline from May 2019. Out of all the islands Kauai had the lowest occupancy rate at 69% however still a good number considering May was the first full month that we were open to trans pacific travel. I expect June to be even better.
Maui had the highest occupancy rate at 75%.
National Real Estate Sales May 2021
The statistics are in for the Year to Date National Real Estate data at the end of May. No surprise we see the the existing home sales are up 44.6% from this same time last year. The Median Sales price is up 23.6% to $350,300.
The inventory, however is way down. Across the United States on average we have 2.5 months of inventory, this is down from 4.6 months of inventory in May of 2020.
On the mainland this is normally the time that people are selling so they can move before school starts. It will be interesting to see how this lack of inventory impacts this (normally) very active real estate buying and selling time of year.
The graph below is from the National Association of Realtors.
