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Honolulu, HI Real Estate News

By Hawaii homes
(Century 21 iProperties Hawaii)
Moana's sales office is closed and the salespeople have been instructed to turn in their keys.  After much hope with the planned purchase of the property by OliverMcMillan has fallen through.   The project is scheduled to be auctioned on September 25, 2009. For buyers who signed up with Moana Vista, their funds are held in escrow.  We expect them to receive full refunds of their deposits. Keep an eye on the newspapers and TV news for more information about Moana Vista  in the coming days. Aloha, Mike
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By Douglas Fischer
(East Oahu Realty - Selling Honolulu, Hawaii Condos)
This Popular Central Waikiki Condo building, located at 2121 Ala Wai Blvd, offers a great location, simple amenities and cool mountain and canal views. This mixed Fee Simple and Leasehold condominium building is a 42 story high-rise with 211 units located on the Ala Wai Canal.  It was originally built as a hotel, but now has been converted to condominiums. All units are two bedroom/one bath.  All units face the Ala Wai Canal and mountains, but some ocean views can be seen from common areas on the higher floors.  Amenities include a swimming pool, sauna, barbecue grill and recreation area.     Building Details:   Units: 211 Year Built: 1979 Elementary School: Jefferson Studios: 0 Stories: 42 Middle School: Washington 1 bdrm/1 ba: 0 Elevators: 3 High School: McKinley 2 bdrm/1 ba: 211 Uni...
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By Keahi Pelayo
(KU Realty)
September 4th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs If you are a buyer waiting for the Honolulu home market to bottom out, then you may not want to wait much longer.  Wednesday and Thursday’s posts pay a great deal of attention to how low core Honolulu’s inventory has become and, as a result, I am surprised that there is not more momentum in the real estate market.  If the factors suppressing more market exuberance disappeared, then I the Honolulu market could turn on a dime.  Here is what to watch. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST
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By Frank Diaz http://www.hawaiihome.biz
(East Oahu Realty)
The Well-Being Index will be a daily measure determining factors that impact well-being. Gallup.com’s also has a “State of the States” that series reveals state-by-state differences in political party affiliation, consumer confidence, well-being, and more, based on U.S. daily tracking data collected between January and June 2009. To view those surveys, click here. Hawaii and Utah topped the nation, with West Virginia and Kentuck maintaining their status with the lowest well-being. The Well-Being Index score for the nation and for each state is an average of six sub-indexes, which individually examine life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and access to basic necessities. The January through June 2009 aggregate includes more than 170,000 ...
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September 3rd, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs Here we go again!  The Honolulu Board of Realtors issues it’s monthly statistical report and the local newspapers read the runes and tell us what they think is really going on. Below are the headlines and a little of what each paper printed.
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September 2nd, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs In past posts I have made a distinction between the core of Honolulu’s real estate market and the rest of the island of Oahu.  Furthermore, for many reasons (see past post), as a Honolulu Realtor I believe that this core area will out perform the other parts of the island in appreciation.  Every month the Honolulu Board of Realtors publishes its statistical analysis for the island of Oahu and in general things look good. Overall we have seen remaining inventory of single-family homes drop to 1,624, this number compares with July and August of 2005 (1,604 and 1,658 homes respectively).  Condominium inventory is down to 2,140 from 2,494 in January 2009.  Note that at the end of July 2008 there were 2,753 Oahu condos f...
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September 1st, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs As Honolulu Realtor, I can’t say that our market has not experienced a decline from the highs of 2005 and 2006.  However, it seems core Honolulu houses and condos have fair better than the neighbor islands and other parts of the United States.  Today’s Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that Oahu has the highest hotel occupancy rate of “the top 10 competitive international island destinations”, this may mean that Waikiki’s hoteliers have had to cut back less than the neighbor islands (Maui, Kauai, the Big Island and Molokai). CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST.
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August 31st, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101 For the right seller of a Honolulu home or condo, owner financing can offer an excellent way to earn a good return the equity in your home and get your it sold.  The Wall Street Journal had a recent article that talked about whether or not a seller should consider financing a person who file bankruptcy in the last few years. The author spoke with two attorneys and I was surprised at their support for considering making the loan. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST.
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US News & World Report just released a recent study of national job markets.  While Hawaii has certainly been affected by the economic downturn, our unemployment rate is lower than that of many states, and now we learn that Honolulu is one of the Top Cities for New Jobs. As reported by Realtor.org, "The underlying strengths of the top cities vary considerably. Some of the stronger cities are state capitals and have lots of government jobs. Others have abundant natural resources, stable housing markets, growing health care sectors, or are in close proximity to military bases. "But overall, what separates these communities from those that have been hit harder is a steady economy that protected them from steep unemployment." Listed in alpha order, Honolulu ranked 4th.  I rank it first, bec...
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By Barbara Abe
(East Oahu Realty)
The state just released a revised economic forecast, predicting that the slump may not be as bad as originally forecast. The improved outlook is due to inflation being more subdued than state economists had anticipated, while Hawai'i's biggest economic stimulus - tourism - is expected to be worse than before and result in increased job losses. As reported by the Honolulu Advertiser, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism's new report projects that gross state product adjusted for inflation will decline 1.1 percent this year. That's an improvement from the 1.6 percent decline forecast in their May report. A report released earlier this month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Honolulu's Consumer Price Index rose a scant 0.3 percent from July 2008 to June 2...
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By Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman, (RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE
(Liberty Homes)
    Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!  (808) 842-0488 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs, she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com  
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August 26th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs My friend Ed Chu, an insurance agent with ACW Group, emailed me an article concerning possible increases in flood insurance rates for Honolulu properties. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST.
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By Keahi Pelayo
(KU Realty)
August 25th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs Forbes online had a post concerning an increase, nationally, in foreclosures. “One in three new foreclosures between April and June was from a prime, fixed-rate loan, up from one in five a year earlier. Last year, subprime adjustable-rate loans caused the largest share of foreclosures.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST.
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August 24th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101 A photo is worth a thousand words (wish I would have been the one to coin this phrase).  No matter how eloquent a writer may be, there is no substitute for having a set of pictures posted with your listing. The Wall Street Journal online confirmed this thesis with an article last Friday. “Since nine out of 10 home shoppers begin their search on the Web, according to the National Association of Realtors, I’m appalled that some sellers don’t make much of an effort to make their houses presentable and visually appealing. After all, listing pictures are your main mode of advertising. If the pictures are poor quality, or don’t show every room of your house, as well as front and back views both of and from the house, many buyers won’t bot...
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By Hawaii homes
(Century 21 iProperties Hawaii)
Buyers have taken action this summer, submitting offers and taking advantage of the market.  Some of the drivers getting buyers moving are: Low interest rates $8k homebuyers tax credit Falling home values Even with price declines seen over the last few years, many buyers find it difficult to find a house in Honolulu that's in their price range.  Well, there ARE deals available, it may take some searching outside of the traditional favorite neighborhoods. Areas such as Kaimuki, Kapahulu and Hawaii Kai are desired by many people.  When they see the lower priced homes with 1,000 square feet of interior area selling for $550,000 and up they wonder where the deals are? Kalihi Uka has some great homes available in the high $300's to mid $400's.  Understand that these prices are not for new, t...
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By Barbara Abe
(East Oahu Realty)
In June, 2008, I wrote a post about the Walk Score, and how high Honolulu scored.  A new study, Walking the Walk, compared home sale prices with Walk Scores, and found that homes in more walkable neighborhoods, especially in densely-populated cities, sold from $4,000-$34,000 higher.  The data included 90,000 recent home sales in 15 markets. What is a Walk Score?  From the source,  "Walk Score measures the number of typical consumer destinations within walking distance of a house, with scores ranging from 0 (car dependent) to 100 (most walkable).   By the Walk Score measure, walkability is a direct function of how many destinations are located within a short distance (generally between one-quarter mile and one mile of a home). Our measure of walkability reflects the convenience and proxi...
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By Keahi Pelayo
(KU Realty)
August 20th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs In past posts, I have talked about the importance of making sure your Honolulu home is really easy to show.  There are several components to this equation. 1.  You, the homeowner, must be willing to show your home on as short a notice a humanly possible (same day with an hour notice will get you many more showings). 2.  Use of a lockbox. Lockboxes give you the security of knowing that your keys are in a safe place and available for agents appointed showing times.  A listing with a lockbox will get many more showings than a listing without one and here is why.  If you don’t have a lockbox, one of two things will have to happen, your broker will have to meet every showing or a showing agent will have to pick up keys fro...
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By Daniel Newbill
(Realty Executives Oahu)
Donald Trump Junior and other high profile Hawaii dignitaries were all present high above Waikiki at the Hano Hano room at the Sheraton Waikiki August 11th.  The occasion was to further promote the luxurious 5 star Waikiki hotel and residence and to ensure buyers that the Trump name was not going anywhere.  The recent Licensing lawsuit by a handful of buyers claimed that the developer had advertised that Trump was a co-developer when indeed he had only licensed his name to the building.  The lawsuit didn't seem to deter most buyers in the building and has fueled the Trump Dynasty to further support the building.  I have included a link here to a print interview with Donald trump Jr. as well as a live interview dispelling any myths circulating.  This building and location are truly amazi...
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August 14th, 2009 categories: Honolulu House For Sale, Honolulu Real Estate 101 Until now my posts on planning have generally applied to house and condominiums, but today’s post has to do with condos alone (part 10 of my planning post). 10.  For condominiums. a.  Review the house rules. b.  Try to determine if any special assessments are coming up. c.  Determine the owner occupancy ratio. d.  Determine the percentage of reserves on hand. CLICK HERE TO READ THE POST
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By Douglas Fischer
(East Oahu Realty - Selling Honolulu, Hawaii Condos)
I just completed attending a RE/MAX sponsored discussion group with a local appraiser,  It was very interesting, and educational, to say the least. The good news is that a human being does an appraisal.  The bad news is that a human being does an appraisal. I was surprised to learn that there was a fair amount of subjectivity, based on experience, when it came to adjusting prices relative to comps.  We walked through a typical appraisal, with three comps and saw how value adjustments were made with respect to difference in square footage, remodeling, lot size, number of bathrooms, etc.  While many think there is a "big book" where an appraiser gets these dollar adjustment amounts, the actual adjustments are made by personal rule of thumb and experience with the market place. Obviously, ...
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