Cost of Living in Oahu? (Honolulu, Pearl City: sales, real estate, rental)

[MsKapiolani]

I currently live on the mainland and have been offered an opportunity to work in Oahu. I heard that it is very expensive to live in Hawaii but have no idea how expensive it is. I would like to own my own place (house, townhouse or condo) eventually. My goal is to buy place with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 or 2 bathroom (1000 sq ft or more). Is it doable with a budget of $300,000? If yes, which areas should I look into? What areas should I avoid? We do not have kids so school district isn't a major concern. Any info is appreciated!

[newUHprof]

Well, that depends on what the housing market does in the next year or so, doesn't it? Things are just starting to slow down here, so if the downward trend moves west from California, this may be possible.

I'm looking at houses & condos on Oahu right now. We're looking at any kind of housing, though we need pet friendly and 2 bed / 2 bath is much preferred. I've seen a lot of condos about 1000+ sq ft (mostly 2/2, not 3/2). None of them have been anywhere close to 300,000... they are more like bumping up against 500,000.

If you're more flexible in your location, you might have better luck. (There's more affordable stuff in Ewa Beach, for example. But I moved here from LA, and I'm just not willing to do that kind of commute again!)

[MsKapiolani]

newUHprof,

Wow! Are you a new faculty member at UHM? That's really cool! What do you teach?

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with me! My future office is located in central Oahu so it is unlikely that we will be living in Honolulu. I have done some research today and were able to find some decent-looking 3bed/2bath condos & townhouses under or around $300,000 (FS) in towns like Kapolei, Aiea, Mililani, Mililani Town and a few in Pearl City. Though, I am aware that pictures can be deceiving so we definitely won't rush into buying until we get there and can personally check things out. Anyway, we just want to get some ideas so that we can well prepared! Thanks again & have a good Sunday! Mahalo!

[hotzcatz]

Rent for the first year in Hawaii. There are so many different neighborhoods it would be almost impossible to find the one that fits you without having that much time to look around. At the moment, real estate prices are going down, too, so no rush. There are also a huge amount of folks who move to Hawaii and then decide to move back to the mainland within the first several years so if you are just renting it is a lot easier if you choose to return to the mainland. Try finding a furnished rental for the first several months or even the first six months. Then you'll know which of your "stuff" you miss the most and want to ship over. The garage and yard sales around here are really good since a lot of folks ship a container of stuff over here when they move here and then when their employment doesn't pan out like the way they expected they can't afford to ship all the stuff back to the mainland so they sell it at yard sales. Or they ship the contents of a mainland sized house over here and can't fit it all into the smaller houses we have here. Then they sell off the extra stuff. So plan on getting a lot of stuff over here and save on shipping.

[MsKapiolani]

Hotzcats,

Thanks for your advice! Glad to hear that there are garage/yard sales in Oahu. We will likely rent a place first until we are sure that we can afford to buy. Though, renting seems to be quite expensive, too. There doesn't seem to be many options under $1000/month in central Oahu...