Japanese Purchases, Exchange Rates and Speculation in Residential Real Estate Markets

Several luxury single-family home markets in Hawaii have experienced significant price movements in 1987 and 1988, along with a tremendous influx of Japanese buyers. Most noteworthy is the Waialae-Kahala neighborhood in Honolulu, where average price increases of over 60% in the past two years have occurred. This surge in prices has stimulated a great deal of speculative interest. The purpose of this article is to examine the effect of exchange rates (yen/dollar) and Japanese buyers on selected residential market prices and turnover. Using the most exhaustive and complete data set available in Hawaii covering 1986 through early 1988, hedonic pricing models as well as descriptive statistics are used to examine the effects of strong foreign interest in local housing submarkets.