Worried about being priced out of paradise?
The upcoming Priced into Paradise expo — hosted by Honolulu City Councilmember Andria Tupola and Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama, stars of HGTV's "Renovation Aloha" — aims to flip the adage on its head, connecting potential homebuyers and homeowners with educational opportunities and resources to build their futures here.
Priced into Paradise will span two days: from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Hyatt Place at Ho‘opili, 91-3456 Nana Hope St. in ‘Ewa Beach. Admission is free with registration. Find more information or register at pricedintoparadise.org.
Tupola told Aloha State Daily that the event began after doing a podcast with the Kalamas "about how we wanted to help more local families get the educational tools and resources to own homes and stay in Hawai‘i."
"From our podcast, we decided that we would host an event and bring resources and education and nonprofits, government entities, for-profit businesses together and just help families with wherever they were starting from," she continued.
The first Priced into Paradise event was held at the Blaisdell Center with nearly 90 vendors and three informational sessions "and it was packed," Tupola says. The second year also was held at the Blaisdell with more informational sessions, she told ASD, "because the booths and the resources are great, but a lot of people do come to learn. They want to learn how do they start? How do they fix their credit? How do they get a down payment? What programs are out there? So we're running a lot more educational sessions."
This year, you'll be able to catch three workshops on homebuying, two on home renovations, two on real estate investing, one with WorkHawai‘i and a housing town hall. At the event, you'll also find resources for homebuying and housing; home renovations, construction and property improvements; financing, wealth building and investing; and work and career.
Even for Tupola, chair of the city council's Housing, Homelessness and Parks committee and a homeowner for 18 years, "I have been to Priced into Paradise twice and every time I go, the things that people share [are] so enlightening because when you're a homeowner, you buy a house, but it doesn't come with all the education of insurance and renovations and loans and appreciation and how do you do your equity, so every Priced into Paradise, I, myself, have learned a lot. ... The whole conference is trying to teach local families how you can build your wealth through equity and how you can keep more generations of your family living here."
She encourages people to come and learn.
"There's so much that even people who do own homes could learn that would really help them to increase the value of their home."
Suzanne Young, CEO of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, presenting sponsor of this year's event, said the organization has been focused on "ensuring that the message gets out that you can become a homeowner — homeownership is possible, you do not have to leave the Islands, and while it may not be easy, it is possible."
But you need education, access to resources and to understand where you are in the path.
BOR sponsors homebuyer education programs — including a partnership with the Hawai‘i HomeOwnership Center — but Young notes that Priced into Paradise "fits right in" with BOR's goals of increasing awareness "and that is such a daunting task to get people to truly believe. Our Realtors face it so, so often, where people just can't imagine themselves being a homeowner, so that's why we support the homebuying education."
Young says homeownership can be life-changing because it offers stability.
"If you're renting, you never know if your rent is going to continue to rise," she explains. "Now, if you're in a condo, yes, maintenance fees may go up, but every monthly payment, you are building your own equity and that has long-term benefits for you."
Why should someone check out Priced into Paradise?
Young is quick to answer: the resources.
"And it's in a safe space, where everyone coming is generally in, possibly, the same boat as you," she told ASD. "You can get your questions answered, you can get access to the resources, and hopefully, within a year, you actually can become a homeowner."
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
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