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Home : Blogs : Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman HAWAII Relocations & Real Estate : ALOHA! Hawaii Real Estate and Relocations Blog

The Hawaii Housing Market Depends on Circumstances

The National News surely depicts an overall picture (so does NAR) of the housing market that is unrealistic. Why? How can anyone believe that this nationwide report will be the same for every state, county, city and neighborhood? It is unrealistic to report that 'nationwide' it is a beautiful market to buy or sell just as it is unrealistic to report that 'nationwide' it is a bad time to buy or sell. It depends on a wide variety of points doesn't it?

How about this?

Your Realtor ® will give you a clearer picture of the current market conditions in your specific area. Bad choice to have your loan officer, friends and family pretending they are the Realtor®. Might as well just watch the news right?
It depends on your circumstances if you are considering selling your home. Relocation to another state? Downsizing? Tragedy in the family?
It depends on your circumstances if you are considering buying a home. Relocation to Hawaii? Benefits of ownership vs. renting? Retiring? Downsizing?
It depends on the county, the city & the neighborhood for better market conditions to sell. Your Realtor ® will provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis for these specifics.
It depends on the county, the city & the neighborhood for room for negotiations for the buyer. Your Realtor® can give you a breakdown of the areas that you are considering.

As of February of 2008 the Oahu Housing Market has slowed down 40% in NUMBER of sales.The Oahu Housing Market has increased in prices since last year BUT ARE NOW STABLE. The table below will show you an increase/decrease in sales and prices to give you a better idea of our market on our Island of Oahu in HONOLULU COUNTY. (These statistics DO NOT include new home sales)

MONTH, YEAR	SINGLE FAMILY / #	CONDO / #
February 2008	$599,000 / 163	$335,000 / 321
January 2008	$600,000 / 228	$324,000 / 324
December 2007	$610,000 / 240	$320,000 / 353
November 2007	$610,000 / 245	$315,000 / 379
October 2007	$655,000 / 265	$322,500 / 423
September 2007	$650,000 / 255	$335,000 / 414
August 2007	$650,000 / 381	$325,000 / 495
July 2007	$640,500 / 339	$335,000 / 457
June 2007	$685,000 / 338	$334,000 / 547
May 2007	$650,000 / 357	$325,000 / 543
April 2007	$665,000 / 342	$325,000 / 527
March 2007	$643,500 / 330	$321,000 / 541
February 2007	$614,500 / 272	$320,000 / 402
Statistics: Year-to-Year	-2.5% / -40.1%	4.7% / -20.1%

Our inventory on OAHU is still modest due to fewer homes/condos being listed on the market. For this reason it gives us a positive outlook because the inventory has NOT ballooned as in previous post-boom periods.

Just keep in mind that this too is an overall picture of our market in Honolulu County. (Which is the island of Oahu) and neighborhoods differ as well. For example, the prices for homes/condos in Mililani are stable whereas the prices in Ewa Beach have decreased a little and have a higher inventory overall. The number of Short Sales in Ewa are high whereas there are very few in Mililani. Newer, Older, Sq. Ft., Land Area and so forth are also to be considered.

IT JUST DEPENDS.

More Statistics on Neighborhoods:

FYI: Honolulu Board of REALTORS® was established in 1922 and is one of the largest of 1,600 boards of REALTORS®. With over 6,000 members on our island alone the Honolulu Board of Realtors ® is the largest trade organization on Oahu. The above statistics are from the Honolulu Board of Realtors ® and are taken from our Multiple Listing Service site.

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Posted by Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman HAWAII Relocations & Real Estate on 03/04/2008 02:33 PM

Comments (39)

mililani condos homes, oahu real estate, honolulu mililani real estate, hawaii relocations, military hawaii transfers relocations

Originally posted at: Hawaii Real Estate & Relocations : The Hawaii Housing Market Depends on Circumstances

This post has been included in Hawaii Information Honolulu County, HI Information
Post is included in group: US Coast Guard and Real Estate

39 Comments on The Hawaii Housing Market Depends on Circumstances

MAR

2008

So true!!! NAR is NOT doing us any favors by spreading this. We have been in difficult times for a FEW YEARS NOW. Our sellers are understanding this is true and pricing correctly now. It is a great time to buy in MI, especially Ann Arbor! Phew. thank you for letting me get that off my chest. ;-)

I feel better now. Thanks.

Karen: To me it would seem like common sense that all markets differ....Jonathan Washburn ranted about this the other day.....the commercial NAR did for 'it's a great time to buy"....as if targeting all markets and buyers. It is in our clinet's best interests to know the facts...so they can decide :)

Well said Sis, I spoke to another prospective client today that cited The Media as their source for Real Estate Info and insight. I hate to beat a dead horse but people need to start taking some 'News' with a grain of salt. There is a big difference between 'News' & blatant ploys for ratings.

Sally- You go! Real estate is micro local! Wonderful post, the way you put it all together.

Jason (lil bro): Ahh...that was to the point and right on target.....I say throw the crap out and get some real info...from real sources.

Thanks Katerina....I like the way you said Micro Local! I like that!

Sally- An excellent way to show that your area in Hawaii is different from my area over by Palm Springs, CA, We aren't similar at all.....so as you said those Media Stories aren't right !!!!! Hopefully when people see this, they will give some serious thought into THEIR situation, and where they want to live. Then ask a Professional, like yourself how the Market is.

Wonderful Job....

Sally - Very wise words and this can not be stress enough..Real estate is local, local. local! What is happening in your market might not be true in mine. Sellers and buyers alike need the services of a local professional REALTOR to give them the up to date information they need to order make informed decisions.

You're so right Sally. The national stats are totally unrelated to and provide a false impression of our market.

Geez. Most of the stats mix Mont/DC and areas of southern MD or Hagerstown in the same group.

All I want to do is scream, "HEY, HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED AT A MAP?"

Sally - Amen - Stats are great but only if you understand how they were arrived at and what specifically they cover (location, type of property etc). How often we see the same stats used differently depending on the perspective of the person interpreting the stats. Just one more in the list of reasons a professional Realtor is your best source of real time information.

Hi Sally,

You are a great source of information for consumers, real estate is local! :)

Woo-Hoo: RIGHT ON! NAR clumps every state into one pile and they might as well be pulling stats out of their ...well...out of something. Most states are suffering, to be honest. However, the numbers still vary greatly state to state and in fact, county to county.

OH...and don't get my started on the media with their gloom and doom.Talk about not helping the housing situation. They are clobbering us!

Good post!

Sally, So true. We as realtors know that real estate is local. There are some area of the country that are noting double digit increases in home values while others are at the opposite end of the spectrum. The media is definitely an issue and something that we will always have to deal with. It's how we deal with it that counts.

I couldn't agree more. I heard a mortgage company representative say recently that Illinois was a "declining market" when of course, is the would-be buyer buying property in every single town in Illinois, or in my local market? He needs to do his homework and not generalize an entire state and claim that as "the market"!!

Kathy: I just irks me to see all this stuff while watching the news....5:30..national news and announcing that "nationwide"....then our local news comes on to clean up that act.....but it's 'island wide' or state wide....in any case...only the Realtor® can give up to date and accurate info to match the individual circumstances and needs of the client.

Sandra: Local local local!!!! Ha...that slang "location, location, location" comes to mind ...lol! In any case I know exactly how all of you feel....it is really depressing to watch our own Association buy into that crap and do commercials for ONE market.

Lenn: Even the stats above are island (Our island of Oahu) wide and from one neighborhood to the next are close together.......REAL close together :) This is the kind of 'crap'...yes, I said 'crap' that do not paint the correct picture or a REAL market for all of us. Why don't they add to the commercials and news stories to contact their local agent and local lender for proper representation???

Kathy: Even some of the stats I see here on AR are so varying for a WHOLE county that they are ridiculous. I could paint a picture of median sales of $350,000 to 3.5 million too...but is that accurate? Neighborhoods, counties and cities differ....even down to complexes and associations!

Sally, I wonder if the News people got "out in the trenches" to different areas if they would see things differently? Or maybe saying there are areas that are stable wouldn't sell....

Hi Suzanne! It sure is local! Thanks..hope you're doing well!

Kat; You're funny...you came back swinging all right! Good for you and glad you're doing well with your new life!

Marc: I know one thing...I deal with it with more facts...like my post :) The fact of the matter is....it depends... :)

Kelly: The LO needs to just do his figures ...or else go get his RE licens lol!

Carole: I just think we need better representation in the media sector....so our side will get out there so the consumers go to the right source. I mean....do they go to the kiddie park when they should be at the hospital?

Sally what you wrote makes perfect sense, but unfortunately the media has people looking at things on a national scale. People need to listen to their local Realtor, and turn off the TV set.

Well done, Sally. Many of us continue to talk about how the market is so local and looking even regionally can distort, one way or the other, what is actually going on. And it keeps changing as well. Making sweeping generalizations is rather risky, as we all know.

Jeff

Applause! Very nice post about your local market. I hope your clients appreciate these details.

MAR

2008

Sally,

What a responsible post, keeping it real, keeping it local, telling it like it is.

Love it!

Audrey

Sally, Thanks for the nice market overview.

Sally, you are right on with this analysis! Now, if only consumers would listen, really listen!

P.S. - I'm watching the Military Relocation contest for some of those awesome Hawaii relo posts you do,

George: Yup...and listen to their appropriate professional as well...(i.e. LO, Escrow etc.)

Jeff: Sure is....so why does the media and NAR keep doing it?

Lisa: I thought so too....it's good to give the public insight that not all they see and hear on tv etc. is fact.

Thanks Audrey!

Why thank you kind Dan!

Margaret: Been busy the last few days but not to worry....Been working on it....it will be a part 2 if not 3 series :)

I like your "buttons" on the bottom of your blog! How did you do that?

Sally -- The new revisions to Article 12 of the Code of Ethics states that Realtors® must project a "true picture" of themselves in the advertising, marketing etc. I am surprised that the current national commercial made it past Nar's legal team -- it certainly does not paint at "true picture" of the real estate market in many parts of the country. What is up with that???

It is ALL ABOUT the LOCAL market! Even different sides of town (or I suppose the Island) can vary greatly!

Hey Pete...you're cute. Copied and pasted from my website program :)

Joan: Beats me....all I can do is paint the TRUE picture in my own market just like the rest of you. Doesn't it just want you to go 'harumph"?

James: Yes it is!!! Neighborhoods, town, complexes and the like. Bottom line...a Realtor ® can and will give them the correct comps in whatever area.

MAR

2008

Sally, this is so timely and spot on! I was just thinking about writing something along these lines. I'm so tired of broad brush generalizations about real estate. It is hurting both buyers and sellers and even communities! By the way, I hope you are doing well!

Diane: Me too.....it finally got to me enough to write.... Read Jon Washburn's post with the You Tube NAR commercial.

Sally... we both agree on this, that every market is different. It is about local market and you would think NAR would understand this and stop with the national references.

MAR

2008

Jeff: Because they chime in .,.....again, last night on national news they have an OVERALL foreclosure status of doom.....and that just is not the case all over the country....they need to get it right.

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