“Ms. Hoxby’s study found that the charter-school students, who tend to come from poor and disadvantaged families, scored almost as well as students in the affluent Scarsdale school district in the suburbs north of the city. The English test results showed a similar pattern. The study also found students were more likely to earn a state Regents diploma, given to higher-achieving students, the longer they attended charter schools.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE WSJ ARTICLE

I have been told that Oahu has nearly 20% of its school age children attend private schools that cost in the range of $15,000 to $18,000 per year, per child.  Homes that are in school districts with acceptable public schools bring a huge financial incentive for parents to live in that neighborhood.  Not only does a good school solve the problem of sending your child to a poorly rated school, but it gives parents who may like their child to attend a private school an acceptable option if they don’t get into the school of their choice.  Note that Honolulu has very good private schools, however, given the demand for slots at these schools, there is no guarantee that a child will be accepted.  With this scenario, a good public school option not only attracts parents to homes or condo’s in certain school districts, but this additional demand factor increases property values in these given neighborhoods. Below is a list of a few schools that are perceived as good options.

Waialae Elementary School

Voyager A Hawaii Public Charter School

University Lab School

Lanikai Elementary School

Moanalua High School

SEARCH FOR YOUR HONOLULU HOME

If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093.  You can email me at keahi@lava.net.

“Good standing, unconditional – 80 schools, or 29 percent
Good standing, pending – 65 schools, or 23 percent
School improvement, Year 1 – 14 schools, or 5 percent
School improvement, Year 2 – 65 schools, or 23 percent
Corrective action – 2 schools, or 1 percent
Planning for restructuring – 13 schools, or 5 percent
Restructuring – 40 schools, or 14 percent”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST.

Consider using your room and board to buy a condo, instead of sending to the college! Why not use that money to invest in real estate? The FHA has created a loan program for this very purpose. Wells Fargo Home Loan calls it the “Kiddy Condo” loan.

Here is an overview.
•Down payment-2.25% ($2,250 for every $100,000).
•Your son or daughter must live in the apartment.
•The student need not have income or credit.
•Standard FHA rates and terms will apply.
•The unit must be located near a college campus.
•The condo must be FHA approved and have at least 51% owner occupancy.
(This information was taken from a flyer provided by Well Fargo Home Mortgage)

Call me if you would like to find a building that will meet these requirements. I can be reached at 808-737-2093.

Today’s picture is of Aloha Tower Market Place.

1. The pebble on the pond. Kindergarten through 12th grade has an enrollment of 3750 students. Assume that the families of its students would like to be as close as they can to the school and you can see that Punahou creates demand for homes in the Honolulu.
2. Jobs. Punahou is one of the largest private schools in the country. Imagine all of the teachers, support staff and maintenance people necessary to keep this giant running. Another huge supply of demand for homes in the immediate area.
3. Alumni. I am sure somewhere in the world there are alumni more loyal and engaged than Punahou’s. Maybe football fans in the SEC. If there are, I have yet to meet them. Punahou grads want there kids to attend the school. Many work or volunteer on campus and, again, here is another supply of ready buyers.

I find it interesting that Punahou is the oldest school on Oahu and that many other fine schools have chosen to establish their bases within two miles of it. Maryknoll, Mid Pacific Institute, Hana Hauoli School, Our Redeemer Lutheran School, the UH Lab School and Noelani Elementary School to name a few. Combine the demand created by Punahou with that created by these schools and you can understand that there is a supply of tremendous demand for Honolulu housing.

Today’s picture is of the heart and soul of Punahou. Known as Ka Punahou this is the spring that provides much of the water used at the school.

The fact that there are so many good schools in this area is another reason that I see long term values in Honolulu outperforming any other location on the island. As far as I know, none of the major or minor private schools (Punahou, Kamehameha or Iolani) have any plans to move their campuses from their current in town locations. This means that you have a significant number of people who are traveling to this core area every single school day. Many already live in the area and many others are fighting the traffic each morning and evening to get their kids to school. Many children start at private schools in kindergarten, meaning Mom and Dad can spend up to 13 years driving to and from school at least twice a day (wait until the children start playing sports and doing other after school activities). Add another child to the equation and you begin to understand that the driving can go on and on and on. With nearly 20 private schools, 4 Universities and community colleges, it becomes easy to see that this creates another reason for strong demand for real estate in core Honolulu.

The final educational motivational factor is that most of the good public schools on Oahu are located in core Honolulu too (Mae Mae Elementary, Noelani Elementary, Waialae Elementary, Wailupe Elementary, Niu Valley Elementary, Kalani High School and Kaiser High School)! The easiest way to avoid the $16,000 per year for private school is to move into one of these school districts.
If you can’t do that there is the very competitive district exemption available for the lucky few. Saving $16,000 per year is powerful motivation to move into an acceptable public school district!