KAPA‘A — Elite Pacific Properties, a luxury real-estate brokerage specializing in properties throughout the state, has become a franchisee with another high-end brokerage in the state — Corcoran Pacific Properties.
And though the company will still be locally-owned and operated, it will open the door for more worldwide exposure for Hawai‘i properties, company leaders said.
“Franchising with Corcoran allows us to join the best of Elite Pacific, including our agents, our history, our agent-centric tools, support and services, with Madison-Avenue-level marketing support,” said Anton Steenman, president and CEO of Corcoran Pacific Properties.
“We should see an exponential increase from hundreds or thousands of followers to millions of followers, and at a perfect time when, now, more than ever, content is being consumed digitally,” Steenman said.
Steenman said he feels the company should be able to expand the outreach that Elite previously enjoyed.
“After 15 years of continuous improvement and listening to our agents, it became increasingly clear that to keep our brand promise and provide the best service, that we needed to elevate the brand beyond Hawai‘i,” Steenman said. “We need to expand into markets that impact Hawai‘i, like California, the West Coast, the U.S. mainland and beyond.”
Franchising won’t provide additional revenue sources for the company once known as Elite, but it will allow them to revamp their approach, he said.
“While franchising does not add additional revenue streams, its contribution to our overall success does allow us to make room to expand on our own,” Steenman said.
“We recently launched a joint venture with a local design firm to provide interior-design services to our clients. All such opportunities have come together to form a suite of services we can provide our agents and clients.”
As the company adjusts to its new management, the real estate market in Hawai‘i has fluctuated, especially with the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Comparing the first seven months of 2019 and the first seven months of 2020 further explains the narrative of the pandemic’s impact.
The median home sales price on Kaua‘i is $765,000, which is an 18.4% increase from the same time period in 2019, according to hawaiirealtors.com.
During the first seven months of 2020, Kaua‘i home sales are down 38% from the same time last year.
Statewide, real-estate-sales activity is down about 11.5% compared to 2019.
Even though business retracted in April and May, the market rebounded and is currently close to operating at a pace on par with 2019, Steenman said.
Steenman claims they are still on pace to close over $200 million in business this year, which would match 2019’s figure.
Chuck Garrett, vice president of Corcoran Pacific Properties, said the rental market has been especially affected by COVID-19, especially vacation rentals.
“Our vacation rental business on Kaua‘i and statewide was impacted the most,” Garrett said. “The silver lining, if there is one, is that we’ve had a considerable lift in our long-term-rental business, and to the extent that also contributes to the local housing market that’s a good thing.”
The changing trend in the housing market has caused rumors to emerge that many companies from the mainland are coming in and purchasing properties.
“We’ve heard the same story of urban flight in favor of more-remote locations where one can shelter in paradise,” Steenman said. “This remains to be seen what real impact may have in Hawai‘i with our current quarantine regulations, save a few anecdotal incidents and inquiries.”
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
