A long tradition in Hawaii’s home-building industry has come to an end.
The Parade of Homes, an annual presentation of new home models statewide, won’t be held this year because organizers said homebuilders don’t have enough new models to make the event worthwhile.
The showcase organized by the Building Industry Association of Hawaii had run for 56 years and encouraged consumers to visit models of new homes available for sale.
Karen Nakamura, chief executive officer of the association, said there was only one new product recently put on the market and available for the public to tour, a new phase at Hoakalei Resort in Ewa Beach called Kipuka.
"You can’t have a parade with only one contestant," she said.
The Parade of Homes traditionally ran during the first two weekends of October. The event was largely a marketing production and featured a guidebook with driving directions to the models. Developers had to pay to enter, and organizers judged entries and presented awards.
Though entries could be in a variety of categories including custom homes, time-share units and condominium conversions, developers with big residential projects typically fueled the Parade.
In the past some developers said sales were too strong to bother with the event. But participation also had fallen along with buyer demand in recent years.
Last year there were only seven entries, down from 10 the year before. That compared with years where there had been close to 40 entries.
Hawaii’s biggest residential real estate market, Oahu, has seen buyer demand and prices rebound strongly this year. But Nakamura said homebuilders, aside from several condo tower developers, haven’t been able to respond very well because community opposition and a challenging regulatory environment make it hard to start new communities.
Nakamura cited two master-planned communities on Oahu as examples: the 11,750-home Ho‘opili project on the Ewa Plain and the 5,000-home Koa Ridge project between Mililani and Waipio.
Those two projects faced lengthy state Land Use Commission proceedings and court challenges, and still need zoning approvals from the City Council to proceed.
Nakamura said it is not likely that the Parade will be revived next year. However, she said it is possible that some kind of showcase for a wider variety of housing — from rentals to senior-living facilities — will take its place.
