Where Can You Maximize Your Budget?
Real Estate Per Square Foot – Where Can You Maximize Your Money?
As of March 2019, the median list price per square foot of Hawaiian residential real estate is $525, and the median home sale price is $602,500. If you recall the term from math class, median is the middle value, meaning so that half of such values fall above this amount and half fall below it. Let’s examine the latter, to see where you can find the most amount of space for the least amount of money.
Residential Zones
Residential zoning in Hawaii often refers to minimum square footage. For example, the R5 zoning designation in the Land Use Ordinance means each lot requires at least 5,000 square feet for building a single-family house. However, if a particular lot is larger, say 7,500 square feet, it is possible to build a duplex. It’s important to take zoning into consideration when looking at properties to buy so you know the type of development you can expect around you.
Ewa Beach
In Ewa Beach, the median price per square foot is $457, considerably lower than the average for the Honolulu metropolitan area. The median home sale price as of March, 2019, is slightly higher than the island overall, at $647,700. However, that still means your dollar goes further, as you can purchase a larger home based on the square footage price. A three-bedroom, one bath home of 1,508 square feet was recently listed for $641,150, which breaks down to $406 per square foot. Another recent sale in Ewa Beach was a 1,174 square foot, three-bedroom, two bath home with a large yard which sold for $580,000, or $497 per square foot.
Kapolei
This planned community, known as Oahu’s Second City, also features more bang for the square footage buck. However, there are restrictions on some home sales, including a certain percentage of native Hawaiian blood. Recent non-restricted properties include a 1,481 square foot three-bedroom, three-bath home with a list price of $488,000 and a large lot. A four-bedroom, three-bath home consisting of 1,947 square feet is also on the market for $550,000, while a three-bedroom, two-bath townhouse at 1,346 square feet is listed for $440,000. These are just a few examples of the way you can stretch your housing dollar and buy a larger home if you are willing to make a longer commute. Of course, more and more people work remotely, so commuting is either not necessary or isn’t something you must do every day. If that’s the case, you can really save on housing costs if a less “convenient” neighborhood is perfectly convenient for your purposes.
Contact Us
If you’re in the market to buy or rent a home, you need a knowledgeable, experienced realtor familiar with all aspects of the Hawaiian real estate market. Contact Island Realty Group LLC at 808-689-7407 or IslandRealtyGroup@irghi.com.
