A loan transaction typically takes about two or three weeks from the time the application is submitted until approval. This varies depending on the specifics of the application as well as the lender’s policies. It may also be a good idea to prequalify for a Hawaii home loan to save yourself time and make your [...]
BAD NEWS: The City & County of Honolulu have decided to raise our property taxes from $3.29 per $1,000 of assessed value to $3.42 per $1,000 of assessed value. GOOD NEWS: This is still one of the lowest property tax rates I’m aware of in the nation! For example, if the city says your home [...]
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The recent sharp drop in median home prices on all of the Hawaiian Islands has presented some great buying opportunities. However, uncertain lending conditions make Pre-Qualification for a loan a good idea. Here are the Top 10 Reasons to get Pre-Qualified for a Loan: Your offer will be more appealing to the seller, and sellers [...]
A list of the most viewed real estate listings in Hawaii is precious information, like a barometer of Hawaii’s real estate market. It shows our fantasies, and the reality. Some of these listings are already under contract pending a sale, and some have offers pending. The list of properties that get the most traffic, if [...]
As of July 1st, Hawaii owners will need to disclose their electricity bills, with some exceptions. House Bill 1464 says: “Prior to the sale of residential real property, the property owner shall make a good faith declaration of electricity cost based on the most recent three-month period in which the property was occupied prior to [...]
After reading a recent Pacifc Business article, May Maui home sales off 40%, prices hold, I began to think…if Maui home sales are falling, will property prices eventually drop? Well, if you read deeper into the article, what you find out is that the median of prices of homes sold on Maui have dropped 14% [...]
Our Hawaii Life Principal Broker, Matt Beall, has written an excellent article about whether real estate agents provide value, especially given how technology has changed the real estate industry to the benefit of the consumer. As Matt has previous explained, before the advent of the Internet, your local MLS (multiple listing service) compiled listings into [...]
I recently had a really interesting conversation with a friend of mine who believes that real estate agents are overpaid, overrated, and are operating a monopoly. He sold a property in Manhattan, where his Realtor showed his property all of three times in 6 months, yet still collected a hefty sales commission (even after my [...]
Kolea 16G foreclosure Two new communities were built in the last few years at Waikoloa Beach Resort that had unique attributes. Hali’i Kai has an amenity area with a saltwater pool, exercise “hale” and members-only Ocean Club Bar and Grill that is as close to the water as you can get. Its sister project Kolea [...]
When the driver of the rental car shuttle at Kona airport gives his little “welcome to the Big Island” speech, he will undoubtedly tell you that Hawaii Island is like a microcosm of the planet, with 10 of the world’s 14 or 15 identified climatic zones. Those of us who live here can attest that [...]
The cover story in this morning’s West Hawaii Today is about viewing the current activity at Halemaumau Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Like many people, the presence of an active volcano was the reason I first visited the Cinder cone on Mauna Loa, Hawaii Big Island some thirty years ago. At that time Mauna [...]
Oahu is the 3rd largest Hawaiian Island with a resident population of about 900,000 people. Oahu real estate is diverse from condos in the city of Honolulu, luxury living in Kailua, affordable housing in Mililani, and beach homes in Hawaii’s surf mecca know as the North Shore. Oahu is about 44 miles long by 30 [...]
Sales continue to grow in April in May as buyer’s recognize the opportunity in the market correction partly driven by short sales and foreclosures.
As of June 4th, there are 216 homes or condos on Kauai involved in the foreclosure process. There are 20 REO or bank-owned properties, some of which are not yet on the market. There are currently 1,217 properties ( not including land parcels) active in the Kauai MLS. This gives you a sense for the basic overall condition of our market. As is the trend with the mainland real estate market, sales volume has been steadily increasing in April and May, triggered by so many good opportunities from both distressed and not distressed properties.
Foreclosure sign Many Mainland buyers interested in our sunny Big Island Kohala region explicitly ask to look at “foreclosures.” These buyers are often looking at properties in other warm climate areas such as Arizona, Nevada, California, and Florida–the four states that happen to have the highest foreclosure rates in the U.S. Compared with these Mainland [...]
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