We had fantastic turnout for a Honolulu Board of REALTORS® agent forum last week, with nearly 400 members, affiliates and local lawmakers gathering to listen to representatives from five of the most prominent developers in the islands talk about the future of housing on Oahu.
Participating in the forum, which was held at the Ala Moana Hotel Fri., April 1, were:
- Mary Flood, Principal Broker & VP of Sales and Marketing, D.R. Horton-Schuler Homes LLC
- Richard Hobson, Jr., Principal Broker & VP of Sales & Marketing, Gentry Homes Ltd.
- Race Randle, Vice President of Development, The Howard Hughes Corporation
- Kathy Inouye, Chief Operating Officer, Kobayashi Group LLC
- Stanford Carr, President, Stanford Carr Development LLC
The forum opened with remarks by Jason Nishikawa, who articulated the entire problem facing the housing market in a few succinct words: namely, we don’t have enough inventory. But he also acknowledged the difficulty in finding a solution to the problem because of numerous factors, some of our own creation and some not. It was a great way to set the stage for the discussion to follow.
Each developer representative was given a few minutes to speak about the exciting projects his or her companies are currently working on, as well as developments that will play an important role in expanding much-needed inventory of homes on Oahu. These new developments included The Kobayashi Group’s Park Lane complex at Ala Moana, Stanford Carr’s Keauhou Place and D.R. Horton’s Hoopili master plan.
A panel discussion, moderated by 2016 HBR President Kalama Kim, followed. The panelists pointed out that Hawaii has a natural disadvantage in that land is scarce. They also highlighted stringent government regulations and encouraged REALTORS® to take part in the political process to encourage lawmakers to make it easier for projects to be approved.
This forum was just another example of the value that your Honolulu Board of REALTORS® brings to you, and we'll continue to seek opportunities to sponsor similar forums in the future to give you valuable insight and information into the market that can help you in your businesses.
