Welcome to Hawaii Realty Group and Market Chat.
I would like to start by welcoming you to Market Chat at the Hawaii Realty Group. Market chat pulls information from the Honolulu Board of Realtors and every day experiences from the Hawaii Real Estate Market.
This morning I was listening to the local news and the business report came on. The information they reported was so out to lunch, that I nearly choked on my Yogurt! (Brown Cow, Non Fat, Vanilla...) The facts were correct but the information was totally wrong. They reported that Hawaii's, more to the point Honolulu's, Single Family Home Prices were continuing to SLIP some 15-30% last month. Here is a link to the Honolulu Broad of Realtors charts.
http://hicentral.com/pdfs/ResaleCharts_May09.pdf
As you can plainly see, Single Family Home prices as well as Honolulu Condominium Prices have been working to be fairly stable for some time now. If you compare May 2009 to May 2008, yes it is true that prices have come down by double digits, but the fact is that this is NOT Relevant in today's Hawaii market.
Across the United States, there are areas that are prone to HUGE Seasonal weather changes. It makes sense to compare a day or month in the middle of winter to the same day or month of the last year because to compare a lovely Spring Day to a day two months ago when there was three feet of snow on the ground and people would tend NOT to go House Hunting would be silly and unfair. Here in Hawaii, Everyday is a lovely Spring Day.
To not report that Home Prices are and have been fairly stable is hurting the entire R
eal Estate Industry in Hawaii and is bringing a false perceptions or sence of value to both buyer's and seller's of Hawaii real estate. The simple fact is the only the Buyer and Seller of a property can determine the value of that piece of Hawaii Real Estate. All of the charts and theories are purely academic.
They best way to determine if it is a Buyer's Market or a Seller's Market is to look at the amount of homes that are for sale in a specific community. Then you look at the homes that have sold in that same area and then think of a large funnel. New homes that are going on the market are going into the funnel and homes that are selling are flowing out of the bottom of the funnel. If the level of home or properties in the funnel are going UP, then it is more a Buyer's Market, if the level is going down, then it is more a Seller's Market.
Hawaii Real Estate prices will come down a bit in Buyer's Markets and will hold steady or increase in Seller's Markets. In today's Real Estate Market in Hawaii, you will need to apply this rule to each area you are looking at to figure out which market you are in. Mike & Gayle from Hawaii Realty Group and Market Chat are here to help you do this.
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