Pickings for people seeking rental properties are slim and short-lived in most areas of Oahu.
ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID SWANN / DSWANN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Rise in sales, tight supply
lead to shortage of rentalsBy Erika Engle
eengle@starbulletin.com"The rental market is getting tight, very tight," said Ron Nakatsu, president and principal broker of Century 21 Ron Nakatsu Realty.
He and others cite supply and demand being influenced by numerous factors.
"For the past couple of years investors have not bought any new properties to rent, you know, because of the sliding market from 1990, so investors were keeping away from real estate. The inventory of rentals went down."
With the housing market getting more attractive for investors, Nakatsu feels availability of rentals could improve as more people tire of the stock market and return to real estate.
But so far, the hot housing market is contributing to shrinking rental inventory. One property manager, who did not want to be named, cited the dozens of homes owned by billionaire Gensiro Kawamoto that were removed from the rental pool earlier this year and put up for sale. Others with rental property are doing the same, said real estate professionals.
The short supply and high demand helped Nakatsu lease a 4-bedroom, 2.5 bath home in Ewa Beach for $2,450 in a week's time. He manages 25 units at Makaha Surfside, and "they went really fast," he said.
"There's a lot of single people taking the inventory," Nakatsu said. He has a lot of military personnel renting in the 325 units under his management.
"We get a lot of E-4s and E-5s renting in groups," he said, adding that as a 20-year Army veteran he doesn't blame them for wanting to live outside the barracks.
The military is also a factor in the shortage on the Windward side, according to Mike Stott, broker in charge at Stott Property Management. "When (the Navy) moved the flyers from Barbers Point to Kailua they took up most of the available rentals a year ago last summer," he said, but added, "I don't feel (the shortage) is any more significant than last year except ... prices have gone up."
In Kailua during the summer months there are always multiple applicants for homes, he said. "What's unusual is that rents have gone up a full 10 percent."
Stott believes recent renovations in Kailua by Kaneohe Ranch and the influx of new businesses have made the area more attractive.
Rental vacancies are down and prices are up islandwide, Stott said. His company's 247 rental accounts primarily represent units in family neighborhoods such as Kailua, Kaneohe, Kapolei, Mililani and Makakilo.
"There is a shortage right now, it's supply and demand," said Yvonne Miyabe, principal broker at Ampac Properties Inc. in Aiea.
"It's all over, actually. We're looking for downtown Honolulu, where I'm having a hard time finding rentals," she said.
Eran Kennedy, real estate manager for the Star-Bulletin and MidWeek, sees a rapid rate of return on rental classifieds. "Any time an ad is placed ... the units rent very quickly and there are numerous calls even after the fact," she said. "That leads me to believe there's a shortage."
