New study shows residential rents are decreasing on the Big Island (Hilo: real estate, rentals)

[cynmkolohe]

This article in today's West Hawaii Today may be of interest to anyone considering a move to the Big Island of Hawaii:

Rents going down on the Big Island

Also discovered this today, for anyone who really likes to read about the economics of Hawaii's housing market:

Fluctuating Fortunes and Hawaiian House Prices

Happy holidays all!

[mdand3boys]

I read that article...and laughed.

Rents are not dropping, they are free-falling on windward side! (Hilo/Puna)

One quick look at local newspapers/ads will tell you that rents are dropping rather quickly.

[KonaKat]

We have been able to raise rents by $50 to $100 (in between tenants) for the first time in 3 years in the past few months. We barely have any vacancies at all in our long term rentals. This is in Kailua Kona. I hear the same thing from my colleagues at other realty companies who do property management.

Almost weekly I get calls from companies bringing workers out for a special project needing housing for them. (It always astounds me that this continues almost unabated - this importing of skilled workers, with our unemployment rates still around 9%.......however the "imported" employees actually show up for work every day on time and can pass a drug test and apparently rarely get arrested for DUIs).

[winkosmosis]

That's interesting. They seem to be going up on Maui

[cynmkolohe]

KonaKat and md -- What you see in your individual markets is the perfect example of why it's almost impossible to pin down "what's happening in Big Island real estate" in generalities. And one reason I hate using median or average prices when talking about the Big Island. The extremes are just too great for averages to mean much unless you break it down into districts. Even then.....

[henry1]

Originally Posted by KonaKat

.however the "imported" employees actually show up for work every day on time and can pass a drug test and apparently rarely get arrested for DUIs).

Not to get off the subect That the standard question i asked to about half the people i have met who come from the Hawai'i to get a job with our company who is bought into the company fold by a family member who works for us. Can you pass a drug test and can you pass the stanard background check because of working in the casino's .Most of the people seam to think i'm a p--- when i'm asking them that question when they come to work for us