Archive for the 'Rants & Riffs' Category
One Of The Great Things About Honolulu
June 10th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
Even though Honolulu is a large metro-area, it is really like living in a small town. As I travel around town I am constantly seeing people that I know and it is very common to run into people one would consider celebrities in other areas.
For those of you that don’t know, I coach an I-9 flag football team of 12 years olds. We have been fortunate to have had notable people stop buy our practices to offer instruction, encouragement and inspiration. At yesterday’s practice, we were fortunate to have the highly recruited Punahou High School football player Manti Teo share insight on his life and philosophy. He told us that his father always told him “Hard work beats talent if talent isn’t working hard.”
Based on his scholarship to attend Notre Dame University, he is evidence that hard work pays off! It was amazing to hear that he works out twice a day for a total of 5 hours. So how does this translate to real estate?
I believe it speaks to the quality of life available in Honolulu. We certainly have areas in which we can improve, but Manti exemplifies the willingness of our community to share for the good of the all and this makes Honolulu a great town in which to live. Big thanks to Manti!
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME
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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Honolulu Growth Projected Slow!
June 9th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
Pacific Business News is reporting the following.
“The Honolulu metro area is expected to grow 3.6 percent from its 2005 population of 899,673 to a 2025 population of 932,587, an increase of 32,914 residents, according to the report.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE PBN
At first this does not seem like a great deal of growth, in fact, per the article it places Honolulu 201st out of the top 250 metro areas for growth. This rate of growth is good for number of reasons.
1. Core Honolulu has no significant land area in which to add houses. The significant growth in housing will come from new condominiums. This means that some of the congestion brought on by higher growth rates should be avoided.
2. Since the growth in housing inventory is limited, newcomers will add to the demand for existing houses and, therefore, I believe Honolulu will see above average appreciation in our existing housing stock. In other words, if you now own you will be happy in 2025 that you do. If you don’t own, then the sooner you buy the better.
3. Pressure on demand and prices in core Honolulu will drive demand for the more affordable housing located in west-Oahu. Even with prices down now, I expect to see these values firm and move up over time.
4. If these statistics are correct, then I would expect the quality of life we now enjoy on Oahu to remain very similar. When 3.6% is divided by 20, this equates to a .18% annual growth rate, a very small increase indeed. This is good because our infrastructure has been maxed out and probably could not take much more pressure.
In summary, some growth is good. New people, ideas, customs and blood have always helped Hawaii become stronger. As for real estate, I believe it means that an investment in a Honolulu home or condo will be a good place to be.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME
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.
OTHER POSTS WORTH READING
Honolulu Real Estate Vs. Stock
A Good Lesson
Answers To Your Questions About Me
Honolulu Rental Rates
Loans For College Condos
The Value Of A Realtor
Realtor Code of Ethics
Determining Offering Prices
Pricing Your Home
Long Term Investment Makes Sense
Honolulu Schools
Off Base Housing Allowances-BAH
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Honolulu Wearing Crown Again!
June 8th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
For most of my life Honolulu has had the most expensive housing prices in the nation. Then in the late 1990’s it was surpassed by other locales in the mainland. Pacific Business News is reporting the following.
“For the first time in more than a decade, Honolulu home prices are once again the most expensive in the nation.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE
As long as I have written this blog, I am of the opinion that investing in Honolulu real estate is a terrific long-term strategy. I believe this move back to prominence shows the staying power of our real estate values and, therefore, is confirmation that a condo or home in core Honolulu is a great place put one’s investment dollar.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME
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.
Other Posts Worth Reading
Honolulu Real Estate Vs. Stock
A Good Lesson
Answers To Your Questions About Me
Honolulu Rental Rates
Loans For College Condos
The Value Of A Realtor
Realtor Code of Ethics
Determining Offering Prices
Pricing Your Home
Long Term Investment Makes Sense
Honolulu Schools
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Honolulu Real Estate Statistics, An Interpretation
June 2nd, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
This month’s Honolulu Board of Realtors statistical report has 18 pages of very interesting information. Since the report was released yesterday afternoon, Honolulu’s local on-line newspapers (Honolulu Advertiser & Honolulu Star Bulletin) have yet to comment. If I have to guess, I bet that they will be negative about the market! Surface numbers such as median prices (down) and year on year sales comparisons (down 43.2%), look negative. However, if you dig into the report, there are some encouraging numbers. Here are five (5) that caught my eye.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Old Sayings That Aren’t So Old!
May 27th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
There are old sayings in the Honolulu real estate business, some are true and others are not. Here are a five that I have found apply.
1. “Your first offer is your best offer!” I have sold and observed the sale of thousands of properties and more times than not, the offer that gets the seller the most money is the first offer to come in. Time and again an offer will come in early in the sales process, the price is not quite what a seller wants and a counter offer issued. After some negotiating, Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Death By A Thousand Cuts!
May 21st, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
Like most municipalities, the City and County of Honolulu is falling short on the income side of budgetary planning. In other words, they have more expenses than they have income. Rather than cutting services, the City Council is attempting to increase property taxes. Yesterday’s Honolulu Advertiser reports. Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Is Taxing The “Rich” The Answer?
May 18th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
The Hawaii State Legislature raised the top income tax rate in Hawaii to 12% last week. News reports say that the increase gives Hawaii the highest state income tax rate in the Nation. The Governor vetoed the bill and our elected officials over-road her denial. This begs the question, is raising taxes on the wealthy going to improve our local economy? Today’s Wall Street Journal on-line had an excellent article that may hold the answer.
“Here’s the problem for states that want to pry more money out of the wallets of rich people. It never works because people, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states.”
CLICK HER TO READ THE WSJ ARTICLE
I know what your thinking, what does this have to do with Honolulu real estate? I think it could have a direct effect, at some point upper income individuals could say, “I love Hawaii, but it is not worth putting up with the tax burden!” At which point they pick a Sun Belt state that has a more favorable tax structure. They then take all of their marbles and expertise to benefit another state and guess what, Hawaii loses out! Real estate could be hurt by this movement as there could be fewer resident buyers for upper end homes.
Upper income individuals are generally the engines that drive job creation, private enterprise and prosperity. We can’t do anything about this tax increase until the next legislative session or maybe the next election, but it is time to “throw the bums out!”
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
We’ve Moved!
May 18th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
I haven’t been blogging over the last week because RE/MAX 808 Realty has moved to 1245 Young Street, Suite #101. All of our phone and fax numbers remain the same. Here is the good news…I am back to posting!
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
An Effort To “Lighten Up”
April 17th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs, Views of Honolulu
In a good way, it has been a very good week in my real estate business. I thought it might be good to share something to “lighten” things up for the weekend. A few weeks ago, I watched this lizard hunting on a tree just outside the front door of the home I was at. It was mesmerizing to see him jump from limb to leaf looking for a tasty bug. Have a great weekend!
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Buy Honolulu Real Estate Versus Stocks?
April 16th, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
For reasons expressed in earlier blog posts, I am a mid to long-term bull on Honolulu real estate as an investment (lack of supply, never met demand, jobs, education, etc). Until the recent financial debacle in the stock market, many people saw it as becoming a foolproof way to invest for the long-term. The closing of Enron and Aloha Airlines highlight that even with market declines the value of real estate in Hawaii has never gone to zero. In other words, the value of your investment in real estate could drop lower than the amount you paid, but could the sales price of that real estate go to zero? I think not.
Here’s the rub. Most people don’t pay cash for their home, so if property values drop below the amount owed by the owner of the property, and the owner wants to sell, then they have a problem. If the owner that is underwater does not have to sell, then there is a “paper” loss, but no real loss because it takes a sale to make the loss real. In Honolulu, if you are in this sort of negative equity position, and are not selling, your balance sheet and ego are taking a hit. But I am willing to bet that your home will be worth significantly more 10 years from now than it is today. I will make an even larger bet that your home will be worth a major fortune (in comparison to what you paid today) 20 years from now.
In summary, short-term, real estate values can go down and if you need short-term appreciation you could be a very unhappy investor in any market. However, over the long haul, in Honolulu, real estate values have risen. Do you wish you purchased more real estate in 1999, how about 1989 or 1979? Another way to fashion the same thought, if you invested in a property today, do you think it will be worth more in 2019 or 2029…get the point?
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME
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: No Comments »
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