If I were to get all of my information from the news, I would believe the sky is falling.

• Gasoline prices that are matching the price of milk in Hawaii.
• Mortgage companies closing their doors all over the country.
• Airlines raising price, filing bankruptcies, parking planes and closing their doors.
• Military troops in large numbers in harms way overseas.
• Auto sales way down
• Visitor counts off.

 Living in Hawaii, you would think the economy must be in the tank.  Well it isn't!

Our real estate industry has seen a slowing of sales volume since the peak of the hottest market in history.  Yet sales prices have remained surprisingly consistent in most areas.  You would never guess that reading the newspaper or watching the evening news.

In the last 4 weeks I personally have seen a huge increase in sales activity.  I am expecting this summer to set a new personal high for me.  How is that possible considering all the negative news?

First of all people still need a place to live.  We are not over developed on Oahu.  The supply and demand is still at a good balance.  Yes we have a lot of troops overseas, but the market adjusted a couple of years ago to the change in troop levels and we have had a few rotations since then.  Each troop rotation creates a lot of activity.

The drop in airline seats coming to our islands is a very recent thing.  We have not seen the long term effects of that yet.

The high price of fuels has made a few folks look at moving closer to their jobs.  That has actually created real estate activity.  I have two escrows with one client as we speak, who is selling in the suburbs and moving in town.  I also just closed an escrow with a client who did the opposite to take advantage of the housing values a little further out.

Since the decrease in real estate sales volume, many inexperienced agents who jumped in to take advantage of the hot market are jumping back out.  In this adjusted market, buyers and sellers are gravitating towards those of us who are recognized as top professionals in our areas.  The negative press has probably helped me gain market share.  Sellers are realizing that homes are not going to sell if they are not marketed and priced correctly.

If you are thinking of selling or buying real estate in a balanced like most areas on Oahu a challenged market like many parts of the mainland; get professionals involved.  This is not amateur night.  Get a top REALTOR® and if you are a buyer get a top respected loan officer, your REALTOR® can help you if you do not have a great loan officer.