I would like to be one of the first people to extend a warm welcome to all of our newly (or soon to be) stationed military personnel and their families! Today, the Army announced the following:
"The Department of the Army announced today the availability of the record of decision (ROD) for growing and realigning the Army's force structure to support operations in the Pacific Theater.
The ROD explains that the Army will proceed with its preferred alternatives to station approximately 1,980 new Soldiers in Hawaii (1,680 Combat Support (CS) and Combat Service Support (CSS) Soldiers at Schofield Barracks and 300 additional Soldiers at Fort Shafter)..."
We welcome you with open arms and I personally would like to say that I appreciate your service and am grateful for everything you do! Please take every opportunity you get to enjoy these islands. I've attached, probably, the most famous quote from General John M. Schofield for just a little insight on him.
"The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling, but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself. While he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect towards others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself."
- John M. Schofield
Thank you (we can never say that enough) for your service and thank you to your families for their continued support! As always, I'm proud to be an American!
Mahalo and if you need any help with buying or selling real estate I would be honored to help you!
Rob Gerichs | RE/MAX Honolulu | rob@hawaiirob.com | (808) 284-4441
2410 Cleghorn Street, Honolulu, HI
TO VIEW A VIDEO WALK THROUGH OF THIS CONDO GO TO WWW.HAWAIIROB.COM AND CLICK ON THE "VIDEOS" TAB.
1BR/1BA Condo
offered at $319,000
Year Built
1978
Sq Footage
585
Bedrooms
1
Bathrooms
1 full, 0 partial
Floors
4+
Parking
1 Car garage
Lot Size
22,050 sqft
HOA/Maint
$461 per month
DESCRIPTION
Lowest priced unit in the building and a great investment. Right in the heart of Waikiki. Well managed pet friendly building that is close to the beach and all the amenities. Corner unit with large private lanai. Enjoy the pool, bbq area, and sauna. Property has TAT short term rental license.
see additional photos below
PROPERTY FEATURES
Living room
Dishwasher
Refrigerator
Stove/Oven
Microwave
Washer
Dryer
Swimming pool
Sauna
COMMUNITY FEATURES
Garage parking
Covered parking
OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES
To view a video walk through of this condo please visit www.HawaiiRob.com and go to the VIDEOS tab
The Waikiki Banyan is one of the more popular buildings in all of Waikiki. It is located right in the heart of Waikiki and only minutes from the beach. The building is composed of two towers, referred to as Tower 1 (Makai) and Tower 2 (Mauka). Recently, the Liliuokalani estate has offered the fee interest for purchase. A good chunk of the owners have taken the estate up on their offer and have purchased the fee. By doing that the owners have made the Waikiki Banyan one of the most desired buildings in all of Waikiki.
Along with the building now being highly pursued I can tell you that one of the most highly sought after units, if not the most sought after unit is the '02 units in Tower 2 (Mauka). These units are perfectly situated right on Ohua Ave. They stick out just past Tower 1 and give you direct views of the ocean right over St. Augustine Church. From all areas of the condo you can stare right at the ocean.
I've recently done a video walk through for a client who was off island. This unit is on the 8th floor and as you go up the view only gets better and better.
There are very few markets anywhere that are going up in value at this time, so I think it's pretty safe to make a comment on something that I think will help you in your pursuit of purchasing property.
When clients ask me how much a property is selling for I generally reply, "Well, they have it listed for..."and then I tell them exactly what it is listed for. I've realized that while "listing price" is not as solid and unchangeable as "final price" it definitely conveys a firmness that I think may give buyers the wrong impression.
As I prefaced earlier, markets that are appreciating right now are slim indeed. While most of the prices of condos and homes in Hawaii are not sinking into the ocean, they are not exactly on the firmest footings either.
So, in my quest to give buyers a better understanding and comfort with the market I've started playing around with the idea that I should start responding to clients pricing inquiries with "Well, the suggested retail price is...". Why not? It is the truth and does explicitly represent the market that we are in. We are in a buyers market and I think that using "suggested retail price" helps my buyers feel more comfortable in offering less than the listing price.
I'm not thinking that the formal groups that regulate the real estate industry will even give this idea much more than a nanosecond of attention, but maybe it gives some of you a slightly better grasp on the changing market we are in.
The most exciting development to hit the entire state of Hawaii is, hands down, Donald Trump's development in Waikiki. Trump Tower Waikiki is slated to be finished in the fall of 2009. After selling out in a matter of hours, the demand for units in Trump Tower Waikiki has been phenomenal.
Let it be known, there are currently three units that have recently been made available for sale to the public. They start with a studio on the Diamond Head side and go up to a 2 bedroom unit with a premier corner location that has unobstructed and breath taking views of the ocean and sunset.
The above mentioned units are not currently on the traditional MLS market. If you are interested in purchasing one of these units please contact me immediately. These available properties are a rarity and are available on a first come first serve basis. Purchasing these units requires a 20% down payment with final closing on the property in the fall of 2009, when the the tower is completed.
Trump Tower Waikiki is and will be the pinnacle development for Hawaii for decades to come. This is a fantastic opportunity to grab your own slice of the Trump experience. Have confidence in the brand that radiates class and quality.
Trying to plan out the activities for your upcoming vacation to Hawaii? Or, are you a resident of Hawaii who's just looking for something to do on a Friday night? Well then, if that is the case then I think I may be able to help you plan out your Friday night.
Every Friday evening the Hilton Hawaiian Village puts on a series of shows for guests (and anyone else who may wander through their hotel). It opens with the village guards drill team proceeding through to start the main show, which is a Polynesian party of song and dance that will take you through many of the native dances. This wonderfully firey show full of energy is performed pool side by the pool that is closest to the beach. You can buy tickets to sit in the pool area and watch the show. However, as many do, you can just stand right outside the pool area and still have the same great experience for free. The show will last a little less than an hour and will end simultaneously with the kaboom and kickoff of the fireworks show.
While you can still get a great view from the pool for the thundering fireworks the best location is right on the beach directly behind the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Note, that if you have some young keiki (kids) you may want to walk down away from the Hilton towards Diamond Head, because the thundering fireworks are launched from the beach directly behind the lagoon at the Hilton. So, if anyone in your party still has sensitive ear drums you may want to back away from the crowds. Although, if you want to feel the pulse of the fireworks and hear each glorious explosion you may then want to congregate with the crowds.
Below is a schedule of the activities described above. For any questions or for other activities that go on at the Hilton Hawaiian Village please consult their web site.
Show Schedule Village Guards Precision Rifle Drill Team 6:15 p.m. (October to March) 6:45 p.m. (April to September)
Main Show at the Super Pool 6:30 p.m. (October to March) 7 p.m. (April to September)
Fireworks Display 7:30 p.m. (October to March) 8 p.m. (April to September)
I hope you are fortunate enough to make it to this Friday night spectacle. Please enjoy and have fun!
Kahala, one of the finer neighborhoods on Oahu, has some interesting numbers to point out. I've been studying Kahala for a long time and wanted to bring your attention to some things that may interest a few of you buyers and sellers out there.
First off, did you know Kahala just had it's first sale under $1,000,000 since 2005? It's true. The cheapest home to sell in Kahala since 2005 just recently closed for $980,000. Right now the least expensive home for sale is priced at $1,250,000.
Of the 50 homes that are currently for sale 21 of them (42%) are priced between $1.2M and $3M. The remaining 29 (58%) are priced from $3M to $7.45M. There's nothing too surprising about those numbers, because Kahala does offer a nice balance between a typical residential suburbia feel and higher end ocean view or oceanfront homes.
What makes those numbers stick out is that all of the five currently "Pending" homes are listed from $1.3M to $2.5M. It's not hard to do the math on those numbers at all. There are zero homes above $2.5M that are under contract.
If you go back and look at all of the "Sold" properties since 1/1/08 you will see that 14 (77%) of the total properties sold were priced from $980k to $3M. That leaves a total of 4 properties sold, for the first half of this year, that were priced from $5.2M to $6.5M. Nothing in between $3M and $5.2M has sold at all this year.
What does this mean? This data points directly at a residential based buyer here on Oahu that is still looking for a nice property that is affordable (by Kahala standards). It also points out that the very high end of Kahala real estate is still somewhat alive, but the current situation may be slowing more. However, if you are a seller that has a home that falls between $3M and $5.2M the market is not on your side right now.
Opportunity is the key in real estate! I will address the following price ranges and situations and where you might be able to fit in.
Everything under $3 Million - This is by far where the biggest pool of buyers are. The key to buying in this range is quality and location. Most buyers in this range are looking for a home that is newer or has been remodeled recently (note, buyers in this range will sacrifice location more for quality and appeal). As many of you do know, Kahala has a good supply of properties that need to be remodeled. If you can find a property that has potential, good location, and some nice characteristics you may want to think of buying a fixer. The potential gains and ability to customize your own home may be what works best for you. Sellers, focus on making your house presentable and doing all the things you can to point out the good features of the house. However, I would like to note that you may want to give remodeling a second thought if you don't plan on doing a full remodel. Partial remodels don't always attract buyers. Don't expect buyers to pay for a brand new kitchen when the rest of the house screams 1960's.
$3 Million to $5.2 Million- This is what I like to call the area of opportunity. The buyers in this range right now are practically non-existent. If you are a buyer in this range you should be smiling with the opportunity that may lay before you. Sellers are a lot more "accommodating" when you are the only one that is walking through their home. You are in the range where you are above Kahala's definition of affordable and you are not quite at the very high end of what Kahala has to offer. I'll admit that this range has its fare share of overly optimistic sellers. Opportunity is all around... maybe look for the very high end property that has fallen from the top due to some characteristics that the seller never remedied or that you could easily remedy. Such as, an ocean view home who's ocean facing side has very few windows. Remodel that side of the house and add instant value by putting in larger more expansive windows. The key here is to capture the view that the house never has done before.
$5.2 Million and up- If you are going to pay top dollar make sure the stars are aligned before you buy. The traffic on this range is existent, but slow. Finding buyers in this range with the money to buy can be difficult. Sellers, make sure your home is top notch and do everything you can to increase the views and add more privacy. Buyers, Kahala has some of the finest oceanfront homes you can imagine. Enjoy the process and find the home that constantly reminds you of how good it is to own a home in Hawaii.
I would be honored to help you with your real estate needs, whether you are a buyer or seller. I specialize in going above and beyond for my clients and will make sure that your experience is not only a success but also enjoyable. Mahalo!
For the month of May Waikiki has shown it's feeling a bit of downward pressure, or close to holding its own. Compared to last month Waikiki has had the number of properties sold increase while Days on Market have gone down and prices have dropped less than 1%. When you look at May of this year in comparison to May of 2007 you notice a slight slowdown.
May 2007
68 Units Sold
Avg. List Price $413,488 of units sold
Avg. Sold Price $398,682
Avg. Days on Market 76
May 2008
53 Units Sold
Avg. List Price $403,485 of units sold
Avg. Sold Price $385,991
Avg. Days on Market 62
Sold prices are down about about 3% from last year at this time. Days on Market (the time to sell a property) have been trimmed by about 19%. Taking into consideration that 53 units sold in May of '08 vs. 68 in May of '07 (22% decline) I would say that you have every right to draw a slightly opaque conclusion to all this. However, keep in mind that in 2007 it was a lot easier to get a loan than it is in 2008. Lenders are now scrutinizing buyers more than ever. You need to keep your credit score in check, have more money to put down, and be prepared to verify everything. There are plenty of willing buyers out there but since lenders have added more hoops to jump through it's keeping more and more buyers on the sidelines.
For myself, I watch a few different markets off island and for our prices to only drop by 3% in a year is fantastic. Less units are selling, but units are now selling faster. The simple conclusion that I come to is that sellers are becoming more realistic and open to offers, but still are not willing to give away the farm. Which is exactly what any healthy real estate market needs.
The numbers are in for Hawaii Kai single family activity during May of 2008. When comparing May of 2007 with May of 2008 you'll see a few nice things below, if you are a buyer.
First, the Data:
May 2007 -
22 homes sold
Avg. List Price $1,238,727
Avg. Sold Price $1,204,659
Sellers got on average 97% of their asking price.
Avg. Price Per Sq. Ft. $562
Days on Market (DOM) 72
May 2008 -
18 homes sold
Avg. List Price $1,014,166
Avg. Sold Price $969,934
Sellers got on average 96% of their asking price.
Avg. Price Per Sq. Ft. $467
Days on Market (DOM) 93
What Does This Mean? Well, it definitely means that it is a buyer's market. Which is something that many of you already knew. So, beyond that what do these numbers mean? Well, you're seeing an increase in time that it takes sellers to sell their homes. Along with that you are noticing that the sales price is coming down. The motivation of the seller is also rising slightly. Sellers were willing to accept a 3% discount last year from their listing price. In 2008 that has grown to 4%.
So where does that leave you? Well, to give you some perspective, the condo/townhomes of Hawaii Kai have gone down about $2,000 in average sales price since 2007. Currently, they are selling for $594,242 and since 2007 their DOM have gone from 71 to 49. Fewer properties are selling, but you are seeing a demand at about $600,000 for a condo/townhome in Hawaii Kai.
With a single family home selling for $467 per sq. ft. and condo/townhomes now going for $439 per sq. ft. there is not much holding back condo buyers back from switching to being a single family home buyer. All that appears to be seperating the two is the price tag. Single family homes in Hawaii Kai use to be more than twice as expensive as condo/townhomes. Now the average single family homes are selling 63% higher than the average condo/townhouse. At a certain point and time single family homes are going to get too close in price to the condo/townhouse market and you'll see a shift. That "certain point" is left up to you to determine. All factors must be taken into account, and if you feel it's the right time then you might want to go ahead with buying.
When you analyze the number of condo sales in Waikiki since the beginning of 2008, it's easy to see that sellers are realizing that it is more and more of a buyer's market these days. It's taken some time, especially since Waikiki is very well balanced in terms of risk due to its exposure to buyers from all over the world. I like to think of Waikiki as the "melting pot" of the Pacific which protects it from some dramatic losses that areas of the mainland are experiencing.
I've pulled in all the fee simple condo sales in Waikiki from the beginning of 2008 until the day of this blog. I could analyze Waikiki based upon several factors, but the one factor that always gives you a finger on the pulse of real estate is the sales price. However, the sales price alone doesn't tell you much. I could compare it to the sales price from a year ago, but that only really works if everything remains the same (i.e. no new buildings were built or no buildings converted from Leasehold to Fee Simple). So, I figured what better way to analyze what's really happening in real estate then to compare it to the psychology of the seller. Well, you're probably asking how I do that. It's not as hard as you think, but it's not as deep as you might think either...
Every Seller I've ever met in my life has always cared the most about one thing more than any other thing when selling. That one thing is Price. They want the best price they can get for their particular scenario. Most people have sold a property before, and if you've ever sold in a normal market or less than normal market than you're probably familiar with lowering the sales price of your property. It's the point where you realize that you probably are not going to get what you want and that you're hoping to reduce your price as little as possible to where a willing buyer will buy your property. When you get to that point you've just arrived at my theory about finding out what's happening in real estate by analyzing the psychology of the seller. This is the point at which the seller (generally with reluctance) decides to give up on selling their property at a certain price and adjusts it to what they feel is a fair price. This process could keep happening over and over until the seller finally gets to a sales price where a willing buyer commits to purchasing their property. So, with that I bring you the numbers.
I have access to the original list price at which the seller first listed their property for. I also have access to what the list price was at the time the seller accepted an offer from a buyer. That list price is not always what the seller received. To get the final price we need to add in the final sales price. Without further ado... the results:
Original List Price
List Price at time of accepted offer
Final Sales Price
AVG WAIKIKI CONDO
$407,210
$389,216
$373,985
4.42% decrease from Orig LP
8.16% decrease from Orig LP
What can you take from this? As you can see the average seller started out at $407,210 and then along the way has discounted their property 1 or more times for a total of 4.42% to $389,216, until they finally accepted an offer. That offer came in another 3.91% lower than what they had their property priced for sale at the time they accepted that offer. In total, the average seller in Waikiki this year has come down 8.16% from their original listing price.
What does this all mean? It means that this little melting pot of the Pacific is still pretty stable, but sellers are realizing that in order to sell their property they have to come down a little with their prices to find those willing buyers.
If you are looking to buy or sell anywhere in Hawaii please contact me and I will let you know how I go above and beyond for all my clients to make sure your real estate needs are met. - Mahalo!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
"The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling, but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself. While he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect towards others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself."
Living room
The most exciting development to hit the entire state of Hawaii is, hands down, Donald Trump's development in Waikiki. Trump Tower Waikiki is slated to be finished in the fall of 2009. After selling out in a matter of hours, the demand for units in Trump Tower Waikiki has been phenomenal.
Kahala, one of the finer neighborhoods on Oahu, has some interesting numbers to point out. I've been studying Kahala for a long time and wanted to bring your attention to some things that may interest a few of you buyers and sellers out there.
;)
;)
