Archive for September, 2009
If You Rent, You Are Killing Your Financial Future
September 30th, 2009 categories: For Buyers
Robert Shiller is well known for being part of the Case Shiller home price index and in today’s Wall Street Journal on-line he is very candid in an interview concerning the current state of the national real estate home market. Below is a comment on the current strength in the housing market.
“But it probably isn’t the beginning of a major boom, just because the economy is in such bad shape. There’s also a chance that it will reverse. It’s still only three months old, so it’s very hard to be sure at this point. The most likely scenario is that it won’t continue at this high rate of increase, but that it will neither go down a lot, nor up a lot.?” CLICK HERE TO READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICE
Here is the question, if home values were to remain flat in Honolulu, why should you buy now? Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Three Honolulu Homes & Three Honolulu Condos For Sale
September 29th, 2009 categories: Condos For Sale, For Buyers, Homes For Sale
Here are more interesting Honolulu home and condo listings that have come up for sale over the last days.
Honolulu Homes
Between Kahala & Diamond Head, 3 bedroom 1.5 bathroom, $769,000
Kaimuki 2 homes on one lot, 3 bedroom and 1 bedroom, $825,000
Kahala Avenue, 5 bedroom 2 bathroom, $1,395,000
Honolulu Condos
Punahou, 2 bedroom 1 bath, very nice mountain view, $225,000
Holiday Mart area, 2 bedroom 1 bathroom, ground floor, $299,000
Hawaii Kai, 2 bedroom 2 bath 2 parking, gated community, $515,000
These listings are listed by other real estate companies and I can represent you. Email me at keahi@lava.net or call me at 808-398-3220 and let’s schedule a time to see one of the properties.
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Diversification Of Honolulu Economy Confirmed!
September 28th, 2009 categories: The Market
For the last few months, I have been saying that the diversity of the Honolulu economy is one of the main reasons our real estate market has not been hit as hard as the neighbor islands. This morning’s Pacific Business News (on-line) is reporting that Honolulu has the 51st largest economy in the United States. The list places us ahead of cities like Tucson, Anchorage, Reno and Albany.
Confirmation of the size of the Honolulu economy should be comforting to future and current owners of core Honolulu houses and condos as there is wider economic boat available to float our real estate values.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Honolulu Real Estate Views 502nd Post!
September 25th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
502 posts and about 375 hours later, here we are today. My odyssey in blogging germinated 20 months ago while I sat at a seminar listening to a talk about the power of the Internet. It became clear then and that as time goes by the Internet will become more relevant to selling Honolulu real estate and traditional forms of marketing will go the way of the dinosaurs. Like many a Honolulu Realtor, I had a “static” website, just because you were supposed to have one, but there was no effort in addressing Google or the other search engines. I could see that in addition to my strong client base, I needed a proactive plan to have my site show up on page 1 of Google’s organic search for Honolulu real estate. As I write this blog post my site is on Google’s page 1. This is out of 11,400,000 results!
Many people ask me how I continuously post? Kudos needs to go out to my coaches at The Real Estate Tomato. First they taught me the simple but technical side of writing and posting in a manner that would be positive to the search engine spiders. Secondly, when I asked them how I would come up with my daily posts, they told me that because I have been in real estate sales for 27 years I have vast stores of information and knowledge that a less experienced agent/broker could not fake. I am always amazed at how easily posts come to mind, thus confirming that The Tomato people were absolutely right. Here are 7 realizations I’ve had as a result of the last 501 blog posts. Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
Ten Honolulu Homes & Condos For Sale
September 25th, 2009 categories: Condos For Sale, For Buyers, Homes For Sale
Here are some of the more interesting listings that have come up for sale in Honolulu over the last days.
Honolulu Homes
Kapahulu, 3 bedroom 1 bathroom, A-2 Zoned lot-$685,000
Kaimuki Rental, 6 bedroom, could 3 rentals-$985,000
Diamond Head, 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, built in 2008-$1,295,000
Waialae Iki, large 3 bedroom, 2,924 square feet-$1,485,500
Honolulu Condos
Makiki, 2 bedroom 1 bathroom, walk to Straub medical center-$280,000
Mott-Smith Laniloa, 1 bedroom 1 bathroom, fabulous views-$400,000
Near China Town, 2 bedroom 2 bathroom, built in 2005-$439,000
Royal Capital Plaza, 2 bedroom 2 bathroom, Diamond Head view-$475,000
Imperial Plaza, 2 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, 2 parking-$569,000
Royal Iolani, 2 bedroom 2 bathroom, 2 parking-$639,000
I can represent you because all of these listings are offered for sale by other real estate companies. Email me at keahi@lava.net or call me at 808-398-3220 and let’s schedule a time to see one of the properties.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Blessing Your Honolulu Home!
September 24th, 2009 categories: For Sellers, Rants & Riffs
It is always fun to work with a family moving from the mainland to Honolulu. An inevitable part of a home purchase is helping orient my client to the cultural nuances of living in Hawaii. One of the local practices I always recommend that a new homeowner plan on doing is the “blessing of the home”. This is usually done anytime a major event happens to a home and it involves bringing a minister, or Kahu, into the house to hold a ceremony involving prayers for abundance and good in the home. After the ceremony, the preacher generally walks around the interior and says more prayers in relevant places; these invocations are usually accompanied by water in koa bowl, sprinkled or splashed from shredded ti leaves. I don’t know if it is unique to Hawaii, but based on the reaction of many buyers, I imagine it is one of Hawaii’s more unusual customs associated with the ownership of real estate.
The following are a number of events that might lead to the “blessing” of a house or condo. Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Schools Could Add To Honolulu Real Estate Appreciation
September 23rd, 2009 categories: Schools
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal about public charter schools in New York inspired me to write about the impact of good public schools on Honolulu real estate values. Read the rest of this entry »
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Honolulu Ranks Near Top For Median Income
September 23rd, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
Pacific Business News is reporting the following.
“With the increase, the state’s median income ranked 5th in the nation in 2008, the same ranking it had in 2007.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE PACIFIC BUSINESS ARTICLE
Given our cost of living, it is good to see that Hawaii is doing so well.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Commercial Bubble Could Help Honolulu Home Market
September 21st, 2009 categories: Mortgages & Financing
Let me start by saying I am not a commercial real estate broker, however, as a Honolulu residential Realtor it is important to be aware of other aspects of our market. A post at The American goes into great detail about the over-leveraging of the national commercial real estate market.
“Many are accustomed to thinking in terms of a ‘housing bubble.’ But this is only part of the story. In fact, the first decade of the 21st century brought us a real estate double bubble—one in housing, and one in commercial real estate.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE AMERICAN POST
According to a commercial brokers I know, resetting adjustable mortgages will impact the Oahu commercial market. The silver lining is that our market is not over-built like some mainland markets. If the commercial market is hit, then this may be good for Honolulu homes and condos.
Technological shifts have been pushing more and more workers home (to work virtually) and as companies cut back, I believe, you will see more workers heading home. Because many businesses can be run from a home office, you may see homes or condos with an additional room come into high demand. Think about it.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Honolulu Home For Sale-Hidden Paradise In Heart Of Town
September 17th, 2009 categories: Mortgages & Financing
Perfect for extended family living! 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms upstairs and a separate 1 bedroom 1 bathroom downstairs (it cannot be rented). This home is listed for sale by another real estate firm. Here are the details. Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
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