Letter: ‘Hawaii way’ could steady home prices

Median home prices on Oahu hit $810,000 in September. That’s up nearly 7 percent from $760,000 a year ago. That scares and angers most of us. How can our kids afford to live here? Is there a way to end this spiral?

Yes. A few years back, people generally drove 40-45 mph in the 25 mph zone at the top of Makakilo. Today most drive between 25 and 32. Extremely few ever go over 35. Our people just saw others driving slower, and decided to do the same. It has become “our Upper Makakilo way.”

Similarly, we could all adopt “the Hawaii way” in home sales, where real estate agents set a price consistent with September 2018 comparables in the area, and owners choose from among the applicants at that price, keeping the price steady and resisting efforts to bid higher.

No one really needs to get more than current prices. Enough is enough. Let’s create a “Hawaii way” of selling homes.

Kioni Dudley

Makakilo

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