6/7/2024
New short-term rental property tax rate for Transient Vacation units has been approved by the City Council (read details on Civil Beat) -
see buildings that have Transient Vacation units from our Condo Hotel Guide.
1/31/2024
Ultra-luxury Launiu Ward Village sales is about to start. Contact us asap, if you are interested in learning more.
1/23/2024Kalae has broken ground and construction will soon begin.
1/23/2024Victoria Place is expected to be completed this year - November - with 3 bulk closings scheduled: Nov. 6, 13 & 20.
1/16/2024Trump Tower Waikiki was originally to be rebranded as Wakea Waikiki Beach, but the plans changed and the new name - from Feb 7th - will be Ka Lai Waikiki Beach.
1/12/2024
The City of Honolulu lost a lawsuit, in which the City wanted to change the minimum rental period for residential properties, on Oahu, from the current 30 day minimum to 90 days.
12/12/2023
Many condos on Oahu do not have sufficient hurricane insurance coverage and most lenders will not lend on such condos - read more (source: Hawaii Business Magazine).
11/9/2023Trump Tower Waikiki will soon come under new management and is expected - starting February 2024 - to operate under the name of Wakea Waikiki Beach and be part of Hilton's LXR Hotels & Resorts, which is a small group of hand-selected luxury hotels.
11/1/2023
Who pays conveyance tax, how much is it and how does it work? Read here on our Blog.
10/30/2023
Waikiki vacation rental units had an average occupancy of 65.1% Sept 2023 vs 78.6% Sept 2019 - see more data here (source: Dept. of Business, Economic Development & Tourism).
10/30/2023
Honolulu City is working to connect more homes that are currently on cesspool to the City's main sewer system - read more (source: Civil Beat).
10/27/2023
Developers have a hard time selling affordable housing units, due to strict qualification guidelines - read more (source: Civil Beat)
10/19/2023
New condo hotel coming to Kapiolani Blvd - read more here (source: KITV)
10/19/2023Alia is close to 80% sold and construction is expected to commence before year-end.
9/30/2023Sky Ala Moana West (residential tower) has 3 scheduled bulk closing rounds: Oct 12, 18 & 24. Renaissance Residences (Sky Ala Moana East) has all units scheduled to record December 11th and the Renaissance Hotel is scheduled to open January 2024.
9/15/2023Launiu, ultra-luxury condo, coming soon. Register your interest.
9/11/2023
Remaining inventory in Kuilei Place - market rate units - range in price from $671,000 to $1,275,000 across 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. There are also some affordable units available ranging in price from $680,000 to $813,000 across 2 and 3 bedroom units.
9/8/2023Ililani is on track for March 2024 completion and currently 97% of the units are sold.
9/8/2023Alia construction site is under preparation and official ground breaking is expected in the very near future.
8/9/2023
Buyers of Renaissance Residences are scheduled to take ownership December this year.
8/3/2023
DPP's median processing time for a building permit application is close to 200 days. The City has a Bill out, which, if passed, would allow the DPP to increase the use 3rd parties to help review applications to speed up the process (source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser).
7/26/2023
Honolulu's City Council is debating whether owners of 'monster' homes, built without appropriate building permits, should be forced to demolish such homes.
5/15/2023Sky Ala Moana West has 3 scheduled bulk closing dates - Oct 12, Oct 18, Oct 24 - and Renaissance closings expected either Dec 15th or early January.
5/15/2023
The first release of Kanalani at Hoopili homes are now available for sale - 3BR to 4BR floor plans.
4/28/2023
More homeowners, in default on their mortgage, may qualify to modify their 30 year mortgage to a 40 year term in order to reduce the monthly payments and increase the likelihood of being able to stay in their home.
4/27/2023
1BR - 3BR condos are now offered at Nahele at Hoopili for owner-occupants only.
4/7/2023
Progress on Ward Village's Auahi St sidewalk widening project, which will include just 1 car lane in either direction, dedicated bike lanes and inviting green landscaping.
4/7/2023
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has reportedly rejected Hawaii State's $165M proposal to eliminate the possibility of building highrises on land they own, oceanside of Ala Moana Blvd in Kakaako (since 2006 there has been a ban on residential developments on this land).
4/5/2023
Hawaii State has reportedly offered $165M to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to keep highrises from never being built on land they own in Kakaako on the oceanside of Ala Moana Blvd.
3/28/2023
The DPP has, reportedly, hired a collection agency - Aargon - to help crack down on illegal vacation rentals.
3/27/2023Kuilei Place affordable housing application deadline is April 16th.
3/14/2023The Launiu Ward Village is a new luxury project we anticipate will be offered in the near future.
3/10/2023
Only 6 homes left at Hooulu, a neighborhood within Hoopili, starting at $842K for a 3BR home with 1,132 sf.
3/7/2023The Flats at Sky Ala Moana (affordable housing units) now offers some units with reduced restrictions periods and no shared equity.
3/4/2023
Oahu real estate price trends - click here for details.
3/4/2023
Bill 4 proposes that the residentially zoned properties on Oahu that may legally run short-term rentals, e.g. Waikiki Banyan, Waikiki Sunset, and all NUC properties, will pay a higher property tax rate than the current residential rate. The new rate is expected to be less than the Hotel Resort tax rate (currently 1.39% of assessed value), which is the rate for legal short-term rental properties within the Hotel Resort zone, e.g. Ilikai, Waikiki Shore. etc. When the Bill becomes law, it might take effect July 2024 at the earliest.
3/3/2023
The average 30 year US mortgage rate is at 6.65% - a year ago it was 3.76%.
2/24/2023
The Alia owner-occupant round is almost done, which means the remaining inventory becomes unrestricted (anyone can purchase).
2/24/2023
Shoreline setback requirements for oceanfront developments on Oahu are currently 40 ft from the high watermark. Starting July 2024 this will increase to between 60 to 130 ft (Bill 41 & 42), subject to Honolulu's Mayor signing the Bills in to law.
1/27/2023
Kuilei Place, a proposed mixed used project (market rate and restricted income units), obtained permit fee exemptions to built at 2599 Kapiolani Blvd - read more on Civil Beat.
1/27/2023Alia owner-occupant sales starts tomorrow, Jan 28th.
1/23/2023Alia is a new luxury condo coming to Kakaako. Reach out to learn more.
1/5/2023
It appears the City has decided property owners who are allowed to run short-term rentals must register their units here if a building's original permits were for anything but a hotel. If a building's original permits were for a hotel, then no need to register.
10/27/2022
Owner's of legal short-term rentals in the County of Honolulu (Oahu) must register their unit(s) with the City on this website - exceptions are NUC holders, Hotels and Timeshare units. Read more details here.
10/27/2022Kalae owner-occupant sales (165 units) will begin tomorrow, Friday, 9am, and prospects or their agents may start lining up now at the Ward Village sales office.
10/14/2022
A preliminary injunction was granted by a judge, which prevents the City from implementing the ordinance that would change min rental terms, for most Oahu properties, from 30 to 90 days - read more here.
9/26/2022Kalae, a new ultra-luxury Ward Village condo project, sales gallery is now open.
9/21/2022Koula - luxury condo in Ward Village - is completed and the first owners are moving in.
9/13/2022
During the 9.7.2022 court hearing to challenge Bill 41’s 90-day rule, Judge Watson instructed both parties to meet with U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader and work out a resolution by 10.23.2022. - Bill 41 updates here.
9/13/2022
Alia, a new luxury condo to be developed in Kakaako, is expected to start sales Q4 2022.
7/19/2022
Bill 41 has been legally challenged. For now, Bill 41's enforcement date has been pushed back to 4.23.2023. Updates here.
7/14/2022
The State has a plan for developing around the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor - read more here.
6/17/2022Ritz-Carlton Waikiki is planning to remodel all units in the hotel rental program in the fall of 2023.
5/26/2022Bill 41 - An overview of important aspects of this Bill (concerns Oahu short-term renting rules).
5/17/2022Cottages at Mauna Olu is a unique community of single-family homes on Oahu's west coast. Unique in that the project allows for short-term vacation renting.
5/17/2022Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance has reportedly engaged an attorney to initiate legal action against the City & County of Honolulu for changing the minmium legal rental term, required per tenant, from 30 days to 90 days, for most residential properties / neighborhoods.
5/12/2022The Park Ward Village is expected to begin construction in the second half of 2022.
5/11/2022
Oahu's real estate price trends - click here for details.
4/29/2022
An elevated pedestrian walking path above Ala Moana Blvd (between Kamakee and Ward Ave - click here and see page 11) is expected to start construction May 2, 2022 with an anticpated completed late 2023.
4/25/2022
Don't forget the new OTAT tax, levied on rental income for Oahu properties - read more here.
4/22/2022
Construction progress photo: Sky Ala Moana.
4/18/2022
Developer files documents to develop Ala Moana Plaza; a 40 story condo at 451 Piikoi St - read more here.
4/14/2022
Honolulu City Council approves Bill 41, which will increase the minimum rental terms for most properties on Oahu, from their current 30 days to 90 days, if signed into law by Honolulu's mayor - read more here.
4/6/2022
DPP's Director steps away from working on Bill 41 (short-term rental legislation) - read more on Civiil Beat.
4/1/2022
Oahu's real estate price trends - click here for details.
3/23/2022
2 new condos projects - Kahuina and Alia - are expected to be offered in 'Our Kaako' later this year - read more here.
3/1/2022
From today, Japanese nationals traveling back to Japan - from Hawaii - are not subject to any quarantine, if vaccinated with 1 booster shot. Details in Japanese here.
11/9/2021The Park Ward Village was 64% presold by the end of Q3 (Oct 31st) and a total of 316 Ward Village residences went under contract with the developer Q3.
10/28/2021
Ultra-luxury condo Victoria Place is almost sold out - just 2 x 1BR units left.
6/3/2021
Read details about The Park Ward Village and sign up for a virtual tour of this upcoming luxury project.
5/27/2021
Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism projects Hawaii's economy will grow 3.5% this year, 3% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023.
5/26/2021Bill 20 proposes 5 tiers to the Residential A property tax rate.
5/14/2021
In person showings now available for new Ward Village projects at the IBM showroom (virtual showings continue).
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