Posted by Tracy Stice, R, Broker In Charge, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, GREEN on March 18th, 2010 |
Tags: Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, News, Oahu
On Tuesday, March 23, the HGEA plans to march on the state capitol to support a proposed tax increase by the state senate that would temporarily increase the general excise tax from 4 to 5% on neighbor islands or 4.5 to 5.5% on Oahu, a 20% increase in the tax.
As quoted today by the HGEA,
“A temporary, modest increase in the General Excise Tax is vital to preserving the quality of life for all Hawaii residents. With 38 percent of the tax being paid by tourists, a GET is the best alternative for both short-term stimulus and long-term financial stability for our state.
Recently, leading local economists have also said that such an increase will help to boost our state economy.
Without passage of a GET increase this session, Governor Lingle will be allowed to address any additional deficit through further cuts to important public services and programs.
The legislators need to hear from YOU—their constituents! We will be organizing a Lobby Day where HGEA members and concerned citizens can visit with their lawmakers to encourage them to do right for Hawaii by supporting a temporary, modest GET increase. “
What tax payer in their right mind would ever believe in a “temporary tax increase”. This is one of the biggest frauds ever promoted to try to throw the balance off the real issue; government spending. Read entire post →
Posted by Lori Owens, RS on March 15th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, First Time Buyers, Foreclosures, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Loans, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Short Sales
You might be wondering, “have we hit ‘bottom’”?
I am sure this question has been on the minds of many prospective buyers. Pardon the expression but it is a “scary” market out there if you are not informed. I hope this article will relieve some of your concerns and answer some of your questions about Hawaii’s current real estate market.
Between the changes in the lending guidelines, the negative media blast about how the U.S. housing market is at its all time worst with no way to recuperate and a short supply of housing inventory, no wonder prospective buyers could easily be scared off. The good thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. A little knowledge can go a long way…
Qualifying for conventional loans is more stringent.
- Lenders are looking more closely at appraisals, and who chooses the appraiser has changed.
- The debt to income ratio has decreased from 60% to 45%.
- Larger down payments are required.
Fortunately, you have alternatives, one being private mortgages. If you have any family members, distant relatives, friends or acquaintances that have money in a savings type account they are most likely making no more than 3% interest in this market. They could be making 5-7% interest as a private mortgagee.
Another alternative is FHA financing, if you qualify you may only have to pay as low as a 3.5% down payment with lower closing costs and possible easier credit qualifying. Go to www.hud.com or www.fha.com for more information.
Beautiful 2 bedroom/2 bath oceanfront condo located at 75-6106 Alii Drive (MLS# 231993)
Read entire post →
Posted by David Buck, R, BIC on March 15th, 2010 |
Tags: Ewa Beach, Foreclosures, Hawaii, Kapolei, Oahu, REO, Waianae, Waikiki, Waipahu
RealtyTrac’s latest numbers are out for February of 2010
As foreclosures continue to rise on Oahu, there will be more and more REO’s or lender owned properties coming back on market. Once properties are listed as an REO, they are typically priced well and sell fast.
Oahu REO Galleries
Oahu single family home REOs →
Oahu Condo REOs →
Ewa Beach and Kapolei have consistently been at the top, as they were in January and in 2009. Read entire post →
Posted by Ron Margolis, RA, ABR on March 15th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, News, Oahu, Short Sales
Whether a property owner is seeking a loan modification, pursuing a short sale, or the property has already been foreclosed on, the determination of value is key to the success of each of those transactions.
Now a storm is brewing between appraisers and Broker Price Opinion (BPO) professionals vying for valuation work for short sales conducted through the Making Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.
Hawaii is a State where real estate agents are prohibited from receiving payment for BPO’s (so I am not sure why BPO’s are used). However, it is true that a BPO is less expensive than a professional appraisal and that may have something to do with the banks policies.
This short sale rim home (MLS# 227307) listed above had a compelling offer of $585,000 submitted. But, the banks BPO came in at 640,000 and the buyer walked away.
The Appraisal Institute—a trade group that represents appraisers—released a public letter it wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday, calling for an end of the practice of using BPOs for Making Home Affordable modifications and refinances, as well as amending the rules for the upcoming HAFA program to require appraisals to determine value for government-incentivized short sales. Seasoned short sale agents like myself are looking forward to the HAFA program to bring a new efficiency and streamlining to what has been a long drawn-out process of a short sale. Read entire post →
Posted by Katie Minkus, R(BIC) on March 14th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Life, Maui, Molokai, Oahu
Hawaii had the highest well-being index in the nation in 2009, with a record-breaking score of 70.2.
Hawaii is Good for your Health!
The Gallup Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where a score of 100 would represent ideal well-being, across six sub-indexes:
- Life evaluation,
- Emotional health,
- Work environment,
- Physical health,
- Healthy behaviors,
- Access to basic necessities.
The 2009 Well-Being Index score for the country (65.9) is unchanged from 2008.
For detailed information on this poll, Well-Being: Hawaii Tops Utah for Nation’s Best →
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index measures the daily pulse of U.S. well-being and provides best-in-class solutions for a healthier world. To learn more, please visit well-beingindex.com.
CFL’s use approximately 1/4 the amount of energy needed to power an equivalent incandescent lamp.
CFL’s (compact fluorescent light) produce light differently than a normal light bulb (incandescent). If you had a lightbulb that was 100 watts, your replacement CFL would be approx. 25 watts.
That is where you will save money on your electric bill. The CFL lamp is more expensive than an incandescent to purchase, but is less expensive to use and maintain. It does have some heat as output but nothing near as much as an incandescent. CFL’s have become more popular with the availability of bulbs for different tasks; dimmable, 3 way, flood, spot and chandelier style. They are also more “easy on the eyes” with the availability of incandescent style light; cool white, brite white, daylight, etc.
There are even more energy efficient fluorescent tubes to replace the standard T12 (common ordinary tube lights). Those replacements are called T8 which emit 35% more light and are more energy efficient. (The T12 & T8 denote the diameter of the lamp T12 = 12/8 of an inch and T8 = 8/8 of an inch. Lamps are measured in terms of its diameter and I will leave it at that.) Read entire post →
Posted by Tracy Stice, R, Broker In Charge, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, GREEN on March 10th, 2010 |
Tags: Agents, Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, News, Oahu
Senate Bill SB2602, HD1 (PDF), has passed through final committee review in the Hawaii State legislature and will go to Governor Lingle for her signature. In a previous conversation between Governor Lingle and the Hawaii Association of REALTORS (HAR), Governor Lingle indicated that she would support the bill. This is a proactive bill supported and lobbied for by HAR Government Affairs Committee with the support of the Hawaii Real Estate Commission. Read entire post →
Posted by David Buck, R, BIC on March 9th, 2010 |
Tags: Downtown, Hawaii, Kaneohe, North Shore, Nuuanu, Oahu, Sales Stats, Wahiawa
The Honolulu Board of Realtors has released statistics for February and we continue to outpace our 2009 sales figures.
January was a fabulous month as we led the nation in rebounding sales. February turned out to be another strong month as there were 157 single family home sales for an increase of 21.7% over last year. Meanwhile, there were 231 condos that sold for an increase of 44.3%! Read entire post →
Posted by Tracy Stice, R, Broker In Charge, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, GREEN on March 8th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, News, Oahu
From your farmer, the president.
My fish pond is suffering, the taro is wilting and tangerines are not getting picked. It has been a busy, but very fast first two months. My term officially started Jan. 1 and I actually got 4 days off before we had our first executive board meeting. Since then, I have traveled to Hilo, Lihue, Palm Springs, Washington DC, and to Honolulu 8 times. Additional, I opened a new real estate office on Maui as BIC. In my spare time, my son Jeremy and I closed 6 escrows and took 8 new listings. Now you know why my chickens don’t get fed unless my wife Laura or my daughters Chloe and Brianna do it. Read entire post →
Posted by Ken Molina, RS on March 4th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Energy Efficiency, Green, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Legislation, Maui, Molokai, News, Oahu, obama
Assuming he can get the Congressional Motley Crew to go along, Obama’s “Homestar” program would offer a rebate of $1,000 or more to people who purchase energy saving equipment.
The details are not spelled out yet but there have been several proposals. Read entire post →
