Just a friendly reminder, housing affordability is “near its highest levels in more than two decades.” This means not only first-time home buyers are taking advantage; there’s also folks buying up investment properties as well. Looking for a perfect opportunity on Maui? Consider a starter condo at Kihei Villages (MLS# 349021) or Southpointe. With market value [...]
Kamakoa Nui affordable housing project will be offered at prices much lower than anticipated. “Prices will range from $240,000 to $325,000—far from the project’s original concept and designs that set prices from $385,000 to $495,000,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi last Friday, November 18th, 2011 during the Kamakoa Nui model homes blessing.
Aloha to all of you. As we enter the fourth quarter, typically not that strong a quarter in the island sales market, we take a look at the data from our 3rd quarter of sales on the island of Kauai. The information comes to us courtesy of Hawaii Information Services. Monthly and quarterly, our MLS [...]
We’ve been tracking sales in the Mauna Lani Resort, year-to-date. The graph below shows the number of condos sold per month in 2011. Of the 3 sales recorded in September, 2 were short sales and one was a resale.
When discussing real estate on Kauai, many buyers I speak with are interested in buying the nicest, lowest priced home for the lowest interest rate possible. Many people are waiting for the “bottom to hit” to insure that they pay the best price and best rate for their piece of paradise, but what if the bottom [...]
Are you a buyer looking for a great deal on a house? Do you want to buy a house at a pre-foreclosure savings sale price? If so, buying a home that is a short sale might be the ticket, but know first, that short sales ARE NOT for all buyers. Not all short sales close, and the ones that [...]
Clients recently closed on a town home at Waikoloa Colony Villas and just came back to enjoy their property for the first time as theirs…now it is time to add new colors, to remove old carpet and replace it with wood flooring, to purchase new furniture, and make it their own sweet vacation home. They didn’t [...]
Have a Realtor Video Tour the Property For You Aloha! As a Realtor, my main priority is to be your fiduciary (trusted representative who works in your best interest), and one of the things I offer as a service to my clients is to video preview a property for sale—especially if you are considering buying a [...]
Hawaii Real Estate Buyer Tips—Part 3. This is a continuation on my blog series on selecting a buyer’s agent and purchasing Hawaii real estate. Many times, people start their search for a home before they know if they can buy a home, or how much house they can afford. It is important to know what [...]
Hawaii Real Estate Buyer Tips—Part 2. This is a continuation on my blog series on selecting a buyer’s agent and purchasing Hawaii real estate. Many times, people start their search for a home before they know if they can buy a home, or how much house they can afford. It is important to know what [...]
The good news is that banks are lending to first-time home buyers (FTHB). Hawaii lenders offer many financial products to help the FTHB with programs or products like Hula Mae, Mortgage Credit Certificates, USDA, and VA. You will need to begin by checking your fiscal health, and talking to a lender to get pre-qualified and begin [...]
When a person thinks of Hawaii, the word fun comes to mind, but frugal? I can’t even imagine that someone booking their flight today at the rate of $600 (if you’re lucky!) round-trip from just California, would consider it a “frugal” trip to Honolulu. Amazingly, we are. A map of the Ala Moana—Kaka'ako area According [...]
There are so many questions for people who are thinking of buying a house and it really can help to have some knowledge before embarking on such a huge endeavor. Most people have careers and families already taking up a majority of their time and attention. Adding the task of buying a home can seem like [...]
When I think back to the year and a half ago, when I purchased my very first place, exactly two months after my 30th birthday, I realize how lucky I am, but also how hard I’ve worked. It’s not easy being a single-income Realtor in one of the most expensive places to live in the [...]
Isn’t that the burning question? That and…“Have we hit the bottom?” No one, and I mean no living person, has THE crystal ball that can predict the future, but we can track the cycles of the Oahu luxury real estate market with some idea of what comes next. One thing we know is that when [...]
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