Oahu real estate continues to be renovated, now has the biggest Safeway in America

Most of the buildings and homes in Oahu were built in the 60's and 70's, which means just about everything in Oahu is ready to be rebuilt. As I view homes with people looking to buy Oahu real estate, the thing that is most obvious is how run down so many of the homes and buildings are.




Believe it or not, that creates a buying opportunity. It's now time in the history of Oahu for everything to be renovated or rebuilt (big difference.) While many homes and buildings are being renovated, some are choosing to rebuild completely.





Safeway is now opening their biggest store in America in Kapahulu, which is an old neighborhood just outside of Waikiki, and just west of Diamond Head. The new Safeway shopping center is beautiful and massive, with the most modern amenities. It gives the entire neighborhood a much better feel. I think most people in the entire Diamond Head area are very pleased because now they have a brand Safeway, and next year they'll have a brand new Whole Foods. Pretty great combo!



As storefronts, buildings, and of course homes, are renovated, it is an opportunity to buy real estate before it appreciates more. People in Hawaii have been buying real estate that wasn't top quality because there was nothing else available, but now people are seeing that there is opportunity for profit in renovation, and it's going on everywhere. In high end homes, in low end condos.

The new Safeway is just a sign of what's happening everywhere. Yesterday I viewed several homes in Hawaii Loa Ridge and Na Pali Haweo in Hawaii Kai, and found that many of the homes, while only about 25 years old, are looking really old and tired. For about $1.5million, you get an old run down house that needs new floors, paint, windows, fixtures, and usually bathrooms and kitchens.

The cost of doing all that may be $200k, but in the end you have a home that is worth way over $2million. So as you can see, the profit potential is huge over about a year's time. People tell me they want a fixer upper in Hawaii Kai or Diamond Head, and the thing is under about $2million almost everything is a fixer upper. It sounds crazy, but hey it's Hawaii and everyone wants to live here.

So thanks Safeway, you're keeping the renovation trend going.

Want to buy real estate in Kailua and run a B&B?

You might be thinking that you want to run a B&B in Hawaii. Well, so do lots of other people, and it may soon get easier to buy real estate in Kailua that allows for a B&B.

The Advertiser reported today that "the controversy over bed-and-breakfast operations on Oahu has resulted in measures that could increase the number of such accommodations but impose new requirements."

The City Planning Commission wants to 1) lift the ban on new bed-and-breakfast homes and 2) limit them to residential neighborhoods and 3) required more information about them in advertisements.

A Kailua resident against the proposal said "The only beneficiaries are the few people who would destroy our residential character and turn it into a resort."

Some Kailua residents don't like B&B's because of problems with parking, too many guests, loud parties, late-night arrivals. But one amendment calls for the repeal of the present B&B law, allowing them in residential neighborhoods under a conditional use permit, and provides an avenue for neighbors to block the operation.

These issues are exactly why a legal bed and breakfast in Hawaii is so valuable. It adds so much dollar value to the property because they hardly ever get listed for sale. I can't even quantify exactly how much value it adds, but a B&B is basically just an income property with massive income. On a really good B&B, you can get triple the monthly income that you would on a long term rental. Awesome.

This new law would allow for a lot more homes to get the conditional use permit, which means that those homes would increase in value as well. While neighbors may not like the new laws, it will certainly help the property value of those B&B's, while potentially it could hurt the neighbors'. Would you want to buy a home next to a tiny hotel with people coming in and out all day and night?

Both Kailua and the North shore have lots of these little bed and breakfast homes, which means these new laws could be pretty impactful. A lot of the B&B's are right on the ocean, with prime locations for getting high rents. If you're thinking of buying one, you better buy a legal one, because an illegal ( or should I say, non-legal) B&B could get shut down by the City at anytime.