Honolulu Condo Deal Of The Week!
October 29th, 2008 categories: Condos For Sale, For Buyers
On Monday of this week, a buyer client of mine closed one of the better deals I have seen in sometime. The unit is 2 bedroom 2 bathroom high floor apartment at the Mauna Luan Condominium in Hawaii Kai. It listed for $560,000 and closed at $509,000 (a 9.1% reduction in price!). In my opinion, the unit had the best remodel I have ever seen at the Mauna Luan. The kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, ceilings and just about anything you can think of were replaced in 2005. Though the Mauna Luan was built in 1975, this condo felt like it was brand new. I do not know how much the seller spent to put it in this condition, but it was easily $150,000 to $200,000 worth of work. It is difficult to tell, but at the peak of the market it may have sold at $600,000 (plus or minus $25,000).
CLICK HERE FOR A CMA ON THE MAUNA LUAN
New cabinets in the kitchen.
So why report this? There are a number of lessons from this sale. Here are a few of the more important. Please remember hindsight is 20/20 and we will never know if my hypotheses are correct, but I offer them anyway.
1. The unit sat for 159 days at $560,000. After 15 days of not selling the price could have been reduced to $549,000 and the property could have sold in the $525,000 to $549,000 range.
2. In this market, the longer it takes to sell, the lower the ultimate selling price.
3. There are certain price points that are significant. As an example, $550,000 is a price which many buyers and brokers use an upper range for property searches. By being at $560,000, this seller was missing those parties searching for properties listed up to $550,000.
4. By being on the market so long, the buyer felt no pressure to make an offer at a higher price. The 159 days on market gave the buyer the luxury of knowing that there were no other buyers competing for the property and, therefore, a much lower offer could be made without the specter of losing the unit to another purchaser.
5. Overall, this sale shows that this is a very good time to buy. We will not know for a few years, but this purchase price puts this buyer in a very good long-term position to profit.
Remodeled kitchen.
If you have a down payment and solid credit scores, call me at 808-737-2093 to discuss taking advantage of this market. Likewise, if you are a seller, call me to clarify a strategy that will help you to net the most money in the least amount of time from the sale of your Honolulu condo or house.
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Aloha Keahi, Your post touched on a few important points for both buyers and sellers. I’m working with a buyer now that refers to some of the current pricing of homes we have viewed as “very proud”, meaning still unrealistic. This is where a good agent can help both buyers and sellers view the market as it is now and not as it was.