Archive for February, 2010
Throw The Bums Out! Honolulu Property Tax To Increase?
February 26th, 2010 categories: Rants & Riffs, The Market
It’s no surprise that the State of Hawaii and the City and County of Honolulu are short of dollars. The disappointing issue is the lack of discussion concerning spending cuts! Both the State and City have been spending beyond their means for sometime, yet the only solutions being proposed are increases in fees and taxes. According to a Honolulu Advertiser article, the State is trying to discontinue sending the Transient Accommodations Tax to the City; as a result the City is considering raising property taxes.
“Honolulu Managing Director Kirk Caldwell said the city likely will increase tax rates on second homes or investment properties even if the city receives its cut of the TAT funds. He said that at this point, owner-occupants are not being considered for property tax increases.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE HONOLULU ADVERTISER ARTICLE
Here’s my political commentary for the day, we need to “throw the bums out” and elect representatives that see government’s role in our life as limited. This means that many of the things the City and State are now doing should be cut and returned to the private sector. The solution to our current problems will not come from increasing taxes on an already over taxed populace.
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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Silver Lining In Cloud Of Doom
February 25th, 2010 categories: The Market
AS mentioned in previous blogs tourism is important to Honolulu’s economy and a recent article in the Honolulu Advertiser confirms that 2009 was a brutal year for hoteliers.
“2009 has been a tough year for the visitor industry both in Hawai’i and nationally,” Toy said. “The speed and depth of the downturn was unprecedented and the hotel industry has never experienced the level of rate discounting that is still in the market.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE HONOLULU ADVERTISER ARTICL
Here is the silver lining. Everything cycles and before things can go up they need to bottom out. Later in the article they go on to say the following, “However, the lower hotel rates, along with aggressive marketing and more flights to the Islands, appear to be helping stem the decline in occupancy.” What does this mean for Honolulu real estate?
Even with slowness in tourism, I believe the Honolulu real estate market is at a bottom and may be experiencing some appreciation. This means that as other economic sectors improve (tourism as an example), you will see Honolulu real estate prices get better too. The moral of the story for buyers is that now is the time to buy. For sellers, in the short-term, because of good financing and firming values, it is a good time to sell. Over the long haul if you can wait your real estate should experience significant appreciation.
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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KU Realty and Keahi Pelayo
February 24th, 2010 categories: KU Realty, Video For Buyers, Video For Sellers
Here is my first attempt at a video blog. Let me know what you think.
| Discussion: 5 Comments »
Hilton Hawaiian Village Ranks High In Value
February 24th, 2010 categories: Rants & Riffs
Honolulu’s Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort has just named one of the 10 best family resorts in the United States and Caribbean by Parents Magazine.
“Evaluation criteria included range of family activities, quality and uniqueness of supervised children’s programs, size and quality of rooms, safety factors such as lifeguards, fun features for parents, and overall financial value.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE PACIFIC BUSINESS NEWS ARTICLE
Hawaii’s high rankings for this and many other resorts assure a bright future for our tourism industry (one of the key drivers of our economy). This translates to a strong engine for ongoing appreciation in Honolulu real estate.
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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“Slumburbia” in Honolulu?
February 23rd, 2010 categories: Rants & Riffs, The Market
Timothy Egan, writes a real estate blog at the New York Times on-line and his headline “Slumburbia” really caught my eye. The main point of his post is that some real estate markets in the U.S. are so over built that they have become vacant slums in suburbia.
“Drive along foreclosure alley, through new planned communities that look like tile-roofed versions of a 21st century ghost town, and you see what happens when people gamble with houses instead of casino chips.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE BLOG
My readers know that I focus my attention on Oahu and Honolulu. Here is the good news, due to the limited amount of developable land on the island and unmet demand for affordable houses, our market would be very hard to overbuild to the extent that they have in the mainland. Furthermore, in core Honolulu, there is no significant parcel of land available for building single-family homes. Thus, in this core area, it is nearly impossible to add enough houses to come close to swamping the market.
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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Three Honolulu Houses For Sale
February 22nd, 2010 categories: For Buyers, Homes For Sale
Here are three Honolulu home listings that came on the market overnight. Feel free to call me, Keahi Pelayo, at 808-398-3220 if you would like to see any of these Honolulu homes. These are listed for sale by other companies and I can fully represent your interests.
Honolulu Homes
Momilani 3 bedroom 1.5-bathroom home on a 5,000+ square foot lot, with a 2 car carport. Clean and ready to move-in now. Very convenient location. $530,000. CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET.![hr1002891-1[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002891-11.jpg)
Mariners Valley (Hawaii Kai) 4 bedrooms 2-bathrooms with 1,903 square feet of living area. Very nicely remodeled with marble, travertine, and acacia floors. Chef’s kitchen. $998,000. CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET. ![hr1002949-5[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002949-51.jpg)
Fabulous Hawaii Loa Ridge view home! 5 bedrooms with 4.5-bathrooms. 3,890 square feet of living area. Very nice gated community almost exactly between Kahala and Hawaii Kai. $1,928,000. CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET.![hr1002846-2[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002846-21.jpg)
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Four Honolulu Condos For Sale
February 22nd, 2010 categories: Condos For Sale, For Buyers
Here are four Honolulu condos that came on the market over the weekend. Feel free to call me, Keahi Pelayo, at 808-398-3220 to discuss any of them; I can represent you as they are listed with other real estate firms.
Honolulu Condos
Piikoi Terrace centrally located 2 bedroom 1-bathroom. Nicely appointed with hardwood cabinets, granite counters and laminate floorings. 1 covered parking stall. $279,000. CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET.![hr1002951-1[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002951-11.jpg)
Marco Polo 2 bedroom 2-bathroom with 1 parking stall. Lots of fine amenities and great location. Land can be purchased for $155,000. $300,000 (lh). CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET.![hr1002881-4[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002881-41.jpg)
1717 Ala Wai 2 bedroom 2-bathroom with 1 parking. Perfect for the person that works in Waikiki or just wants to be centrally located to everything in Honolulu. Beautiful views of the Ala Wai canal and the Hawaii Convention Center. $459,000. CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET.![hr1002867-5[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002867-51.jpg)
Kahala Town Home (Waialae Gardens) 2 bedroom 2-bathroom with 1 parking. If your budget doesn’t allow you to buy a house in Kahala, then this unit may be the answer. Walk to Kahala Mall, Zippy’s, Whole Foods and much more. $450,000. CLICK HERE FOR FACT SHEET.![hr1002836-2[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002836-21.jpg)
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Fed Increases Key Interest Rate
February 19th, 2010 categories: Mortgages & Financing, The Market
Maybe Tim O’Leary, of Wells Fargo, is a clairevoyant. In my last blog, I reported that in a conversation with him yesterday, he mentioned that interest rates have been moving up, and then this morning I notice that the BBC reported the following action by the Federal Reserve.
“The US central bank said late on Thursday that it was lifting its discount rate to 0.75%, from 0.5%.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE
Just remember that everything cycles, tides ebb and flow and so do Honolulu real estate mortgage loan interest rates. We have been at lows for sometime and one should expect rates to move up for a while. So, here’s some advice, buy now!
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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Rates Rise For Honolulu Real Estate Loans
February 19th, 2010 categories: Mortgages & Financing, The Market
Yesterday, I was talking with Tim O,Leary, of Wells Fargo, and he let me know that interest rates have risen about an eighth of a percent in the last week. I asked him what interest rate a buyer would get if they would have locked a rate today and he said it would be around 4.875%. That is up from about 4.75% the week before.
I asked Tim about his short to mid-term prognosis for interest rates and I got the impression that he thinks we have seen the lows and that rates could be around 6% at the by the end of the year.
Maybe I am showing may age but either rate does not sound high (4.875% or 6%) to me. In fact, in my opinion, any rate below 8% is a low rate. Obviously, I like them as low as possible since it helps buyers to purchase more of a home and sellers to get sold. Here is the moral of this blog post, if you are thinking about buying, now is a great time to make you loan application, get pre-approved and buy they home you have been dreaming about.
If you want to call Tim, you can reach him at 808-227-1199.
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 »
Proof The Honolulu Real Estate Market Is Moving…Fast!
February 18th, 2010 categories: Condos For Sale, For Buyers
You may have noticed that nearly everyday I post the most interesting Honolulu houses and condominiums that were listed for sale since the previous day. This morning was no different. At about 6:00 I went to the new listings and saw a high floor Diamond Head Vista condominium offered for sale. It was pricey, but it looked nice and I selected it for today’s posting. At about 8:45 a.m., I began writing my blogs for the day and when I checked the listing again it was showing “PENDING”. This means that this $750,000 condo came on the market yesterday and sold in the same day! Check it out. CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE MLS DATA SHEET.![hr1002752-0[1]](http://honolulurealestateviews.com/files/2010/02/hr1002752-01.jpg)
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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