|
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Wow! The year is almost over. If you're like me,
you're saying "Good Riddance 2008 and don't the door hit
ya on the way out.. Bring on 2009 and a few Good
Tidings would be nice for crying out loud!"
Just kidding. I'm counting my many blessings this
holiday season just like you are. If you've got a roof
over your head, a full tummy, and person or a pet that's
happy to see you, you're blessed in my book. Even so,
it's hard not to look back on 2008 and go "Geez, that
was a rough one"... It makes me stop and ponder how
folks survived the Great Depression. Things were a lot
worse then, and folks somehow made it through to the
other side and found prosperity in their lives again.
God Bless the resilent American spirit. I'm confident
we will get through this and be better for it. Lord
knows I've had lessons in a few things this last year..
like humility, impulse control, and very creative money
management to list just a few. Never again will I go on
a property or clothes buying spree without first asking
myself "could I still afford this if I don't get paid
for a year?" Probably not so just keep on walking,
sweetheart.
Visitor arrivals on the Island are way down right now
but one very important visitor made it over.
President-Elect Obama is taking in some Hawaiian
sunshine this week with his family on Oahu. Maybe
seeing our new president catching a wave bodyboarding
will inspire a whole wave of visitor arrivals. It
worked when Elizabeth Taylor wore her Puka shell
necklace on the Ed Sullivan show. Puka Shell necklace
sales went off the charts after that and started a whole
puka shell necklace craze. Maybe it will work again.
Thank you Mr. President-elect... and hey.. nice form
out there.
Okay, I know you've got a lot on your plate so here's
the Kauai Real Estate news for this month....served up
piping hot..
Our YTD Sales Volume numbers for houses sold on Kauai
continued its positive trend last month increasing by
about 2% over October's numbers (-36% vs -34%). Not so
great news was that our YTD Volume numbers for vacant
land got about 2% worse (-43% vs -45%), YTD volume for
condos got worse got worse by 2% as well (-46% vs -48%).
Remember, Volume numbers add up all the sales for that
month into one big number. I feel this volume number
and units sold number are critical components in
tracking a rebound. Volume can continue to go down, but
sales units might be up. That is not unusual when
prices are declining indicating people are buying more
houses but at really low prices. In AnnMarie's Book of
Real Estate Economics when sales volume AND units sold
both increase over about 3 months, it might be
significant and could mean a turnaround is happening.
For homes on Kauai we have now had 3 months of
consistent increases in the YTD volume numbers (Sep, Oct
& Nov). We had also had 3 months of increases in June,
July & August, but then September bounced up a bit. We
are far below our number from June (-46%) with
November's numbers (-36%) so we've increased sales 10%
YTD over the last few months. Now, looking at our other
important number (Unit Sales) the news is not so
optimistic: we've almost had 3 months of gains, but
the last two months have essentially broke even... Sep
-32.54%, Oct -29.94%, and Nov -30.08%. And looking
ahead to December's numbers so far the news is not good
-31.37... so no trend possible at this point for Number
of Sales. So in essence, the housing market in Kauai
has not stabilized as of the end of 2008. It's still
really stinky..
Looking at another interesting number: Median Sale Price
for homes we do see a definite trend... down, down,
down, and then Wa-la! what do you know!...in November we
see an increase. Here's the chart: June $687K, July
$610K, August $530K, Sept $525K, Oct $520K, and then Nov
$615K... Looking deeper at what sold in November I see
we sold a real whale of a house ($10M) down on Hanalei
Bay... so that might skew it up a bit.. .but remember
it's Median not Average, so it still could be
significant. We are far from three months of increasing
prices though so still a Buyer's market. Also if you
notice the months of Aug, Sep and Oct were very close...
could we have reached bottom of the pricing in those
months? Hmmm?
On another subject... have you taken a look at interest
rates these days? Some of the lenders I work with are
quoting rates in the 4's! That kind of rate can make
your payment seem like you got the crazy low deal of the
century so don't wait too long. This low interest rate
window might not last forever especially if the
government starts pumping printing money like crazy to
try and bail out the banks. Usually when you print more
money, it raises inflation, which is not good for
interest rates..So still a really good time to buy. If
you are planning a trip to the Island or looking for
property over here, drop me a line so I can bird dog for
you. The good deals come and go pretty fast
Here's wishing everyone a wonderful holiday, and a very
happy and prosperous and healthy 2009.
Until next year...your Island Realtor, AnnMarie
|
 |
|
When
you look at your calendar you
may find the months already
overloaded with seasonal
obligations -- shopping,
entertaining, children's
pageants, charity work,
decorating the house, and so
much more. If you are also
trying to sell your home, you
are under extra pressure to keep
your home in "showtime"
condition. And that could be the
last thing you need before the
holiday spirit is broken.
It is understandable why
you would be tempted to take
your home off the market during
the holidays. And the list of
justifications is long. If you
are too busy, buyers may be
also, and you may
|
|
|
|
|
find your efforts
unrewarded with not
enough showings. And
what if you do get an
offer? You may be faced
with the possibility of
packing and moving
during the busiest time
of the year. Besides,
you can give your house
a rest, and it will
|
|
|
|
|
If
you're putting your home on the market,
better be sure you're ready to tell all
-- good and bad.
"The majority of lawsuits or claims
that occur are as a result of buyers
finding out about something that is
wrong with their property after the
close of escrow and coming to the belief
that the seller knew but didn't tell
them," says real estate attorney, Peter
Solecki of Winton & Larson, LLP.
Disclosure is vital. In one extreme
case, it may have spared a seller from
going to jail and even saved lives. The
New York Times reported on a trial back
in the late eighties that found the
seller of a home guilty for not
disclosing to the buyers that the home's
heater had malfunctioned. The buyers and
one of their children were asphyxiated
by fumes from a gas-fired heater used to
de-ice the driveway of their home. Only
their four-year-old child survived. The
seller was convicted of involuntary
manslaughter. This case is believed to
be the first of its
|
|
|
|
Here's
a key question about the current market:
Do you look at home prices to figure out
where we are in the real estate recovery
cycle, or do you focus on sales?
In an economy where an estimated
35 to 40 percent of all home
transactions are foreclosures or short
sales - distress situations in other
words -- prices won't really guide you
much beyond the conclusion that: We're
still "correcting” the excesses of the
boom years, still peeling back those
wild and unsustainable hyperinflationary
price run ups.
So it's no surprise that median
prices are down, year to year, in a
majority of large markets across the
country.
Sales statistics, on the other
hand, tell you how fast buyers are
responding to those lower prices -- and
greatly improved affordability.
Right now, in market after market,
sales are picking up tempo -- especially
in places where prices once spiraled out
of control.
Third quarter sales of existing
homes in the U.S. were up by 2.6 percent
over second quarter 2008 levels,
according to the National Association of
Realtors' latest study.
That's not spectacular -- but let's
face it: It's forward movement � and
we're in
|
|
|
|
|
Upgrading
kitchens is one of the best ways to increase
value in your home. Deciding to remodel the
kitchen using green recycled materials can add
extra appeal. It also gives homeowners a good
feeling knowing that once-wasted materials that
are generated from glass manufacturers are now
being put to good use.
"A lot of people are deciding to go green
and this is definitely a green-certified product
because it is 85 percent recycled glass," says
Cody Nosko, President of CCM Enterprises.
She’s talking about Vetrazzo�a slab of
material made from recycled glass and concrete
and used mostly in residential homes for kitchen
and bathroom countertops although it can go
anywhere natural stone is commonly used. The
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real
Estate market today, find current
interest rates, or browse the extensive
library of advice and how-to articles
written by some of the top experts in
Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
|
More Articles
|
|
|
|
