What the real estate folks are calling “pandemic pricing” on rents clearly is ending nationally, with prices on the rise. That trend is harder to detect in Honolulu, though: Rents here have increased 0.2%, month over month, compared to a 2.3% increase nationally, according to the ApartmentList.com monthly report. Oahu lags the other counties, as well.

With the eviction moratorium almost up, every bit of good news for tenants helps. Perhaps landlords know a lot of folks are way behind in payments, and that’s holding rents down.

Pride of America prepares to sail

Plans are in the works to relaunch Norwegian Cruise Line’s Honolulu-based Pride of America, which has been inactive since March 2020 because of the pandemic. If the company secures a conditional sailing certificate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the only cruise ship that operates solely in Hawaii waters could resume its cruises in November.

So far, the CDC has approved one ship, from Royal Caribbean, to resume sailing in June. Let’s hope that company prevails — over the objection of Florida’s governor — in its sensible plan to require crew and passengers over age 16 to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination.