On October 15, 2020, the State and the Island of Hawaii were officially re-opened to tourism for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The island collectively held its breath, waiting to see what might be coming our way. What has happened in the real estate market since this reopening has been absolutely unprecedented. Sales in every corner of the market here have exploded, as people have reevaluated their lifestyles and shifted their priorities. Hawaii is uniquely situated in this pandemic, both practically and geographically, and our numbers have remained extremely low due to the SafeTravels testing program- making our island very attractive to buyers looking for a better work-life balance.
Here in the Waikoloa Beach Resort, and particularly at Kolea (the jewel of the WBR), sales are exploding. As of 3/3/2021, there are only 27 active listings for sale in the Waikoloa Beach Resort, and there are 34 properties in the Beach Resort in escrow. Hawaii Luxury Listings, and our founder and principal broker, Johnny Mac McElree, continue to lead the way in these sales as they have the last 12 years. In the last 4 months, of the 8 properties sold at Kolea, Johnny has closed 6 of these deals, with sales totaling $14,200,000. This puts Johnny nearly 3 times ahead of his closest competitor in listing and sales volume at Kolea, and around $7 million ahead of his closest competitor in listing and sales volume for the entire Waikoloa Beach Resort.
Since the reopening on 10/15, Johnny has sold $15,060,000 at Kolea, which is close to 3 times his nearest individual competitor. In this same period of time, Hawaii Luxury Listings as a brokerage has closed on $16,777,500 in sales in the Waikoloa Beach Resort, over $7.3 million ahead of the nearest brokerage during this time.
Since 2009, the average number of sales in any given year at Kolea, for all types of properties, has been 10.583. Assuming that all the properties currently in escrow close by the end of March, there will be 11 transactions in the first quarter of 2021. Obviously, if you would project the number of sales for the entire year at the current rate, 44 properties would change hands this year in our development. To further put the current market in historical perspective, the previous record with respect to the number of sales was 18 in 2013. Of these 18 sales, 14 were either short sales or foreclosures. The market conditions in 2021 are the exact opposite of those in 2013.
If you would like to hear more about this current market situation and what is contributing to these amazing numbers, Johnny would be happy to discuss with you what factors he attributes to this climb. If you are a current Hawaii homeowner wondering what your property is now worth, or considering selling, we can help you with that as well. And if you are looking to make some life changes, and Hawaii is on your radar, we have a wide variety of options available to help you make that change… but you better hurry, because things are moving FAST!