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Oahu, Hawaii and the Current Real Estate Market

By
Real Estate Agent with Hawaii Military Realty, Inc.

The Real Estate Market on Oahu, Hawaii

By: David Kucic (RA) GRI, ABR, e-PRO

What is really going on? Why are homes staying on the market longer than usual?  What happened to the real estate market that made everyone excited about purchasing a property a little over a year ago?

The truth of the matter is that there are several factors that are driving our current market such as supply and demand, interest rates and loan programs available to buyers. 

One of the major issues right now is with "Mortgages".  Of course, cash buyers won't have this problem. The lending industry has taken a real beating lately because of some of the "creative financing" programs that banks have offered within the past several years.  During the time when the real estate market was hot and prices kept going up, lenders found ways to be creative in order to get more and more people qualified to buy homes.  Some of you may be part of that group of buyers who are in on those creative loans.  Many of the loans had "adjustment periods" and now they are starting to become un-affordable for the homeowner.  Many homeowners are in a bind because they financed 100% of the value and cannot sell their home without taking a loss in today's market.  They bought when prices were high and they cannot sell because they will not get enough from the sale to pay off their mortgage.  Some lending institutions will allow a "short sale" which means that the home can be sold for a loss and the lender will "eat" the loss.  However, the homeowner will have to claim the lost amount of money as income on their personal taxes.  See your tax professional for more information.

With the shake-up in the lending industry, the number of qualified people that can purchase properties has been reduced dramatically.  The ever so popular stated income - 100% loans that have left many people in a bind have been removed from nearly all lenders portfolios and are only available at much higher interest rates.  Leniency for poor credit scores and stated income is no longer an option.  You must have decent credit history and a verifiable job with adequate income if you want to get a loan for a home.  This means that there are many less qualified buyers than there are homes available. 

The pricing of your home remains one of the most important aspects of selling your home.  If it is priced well, your home has a much better chance of selling.  You can't rely on pricing it like the others that have sold in your neighborhood because you must remember that our market is different than it was even just 2 months ago.  If there are less qualified buyers, you need to find out how to attract them to your property.

Hawaii will always be a desireable place to live, work and play.  Now, more than ever, you need a Realtor on your side to help you get through this tough time.

David and Tonya Kucic
www.davidkucic.com
Hawaii Home Buying and Selling Team
Oahu, Hawaii

 

 

 

Comments (7)

Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE

Not sure how reliable our newspeople are but I read the other day that 19% of the loans done here were arms/stated etc. and the rest were 30 year fixed. Not to mention how many VA and FHA loans are done here....

 The market in Ewa looks like its starting to move a little again. True?

Aug 18, 2007 12:13 PM
1SG (Ret.) David Kucic
Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. - Ewa Beach, HI
President and Owner

My military buyers all have VA loan eligibility so that is one of the best programs available today.  Remember how sellers didn't want to take a VA loan in the past?  I know they are changing their minds now.  FHA is also great but it is still difficult for people that dont have money for the downpayment.  Ewa Beach is picking up a little bit but there is still a problem.  This post affects a lot of people in Ewa Beach.  A large percentage of the homes that were bought out here during 2004-2006 are affecting the buyers in this post about mortgages. Aloha!

Aug 18, 2007 12:44 PM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE
I'm currently in contract with client doing an FHA loan. Yeah, they all thought VA was a bad thing. That's okay....they're loving it now.  Yeah. I believe it.
Aug 18, 2007 12:54 PM
1SG (Ret.) David Kucic
Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. - Ewa Beach, HI
President and Owner
Cool Sally.  I hope it goes well for you and when you are done, I would love to hear from a realtors perspective how it went.  I have never had anyone use FHA but have been curious. 
Aug 18, 2007 01:03 PM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE
It's basically kind of the same like VA. Same kind of rules and stuff. You've done many VA too so no biggie. In this case my client is in Iraq and already bought a Northbrook in 2005 and renting it out. She wanted a nicer townhouse IN Mililani and had the money to put down and she also made Captain. The only difference is putting the % down and having the money for closing.
Aug 18, 2007 01:07 PM
1SG (Ret.) David Kucic
Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. - Ewa Beach, HI
President and Owner
Can they get the down payment as a gift and can they also use a credit for closing costs just like we do with VA's?
Aug 18, 2007 01:11 PM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE
They can do credit for closing....check with lender for the gift. Mine has the cash and closing money and this is a first FHA so I can only let you know what I know from this one. Jeff Belonger has a bunch of articles that have criteria and he also has a new FHA group as well. Maybe you can grab some info there. Anyway, so far so good and we are almost done at this point. Appraiser already went out and all contingencies except TIR pretty much done.
Aug 18, 2007 01:22 PM