In Hawaii, we are having a crisis of our own. The ripple effect from the declining tourism industry is on a roll. Because the housing market is so bad in many places on the mainland it's obvious that the number of our incoming vacationers has dropped over 17% for last month alone. No telling what this month's figures will bring.
Then starts the ripple effect of a declining tourism industry due to the decline in incoming visitors to Hawaii. Businesses related to tourism are losing money. Hotels, Restaurants, Transportation (tours and taxis), Entertainment, Retail Stores and the like continue to lose money and many are closing. From that point the tax office is collecting less money so there now becomes a issue of cutting spending on State and City & County programs. And so on and so forth.
On the other hand our malls are still thriving from our local consumers. On the other hand our residents are making the best of what they have and strive to keep our businesses running. On the other hand there are people that still have needs. On the other hand there are military deploying out and other Military PCS'ing in to the many bases on Oahu. On the other hand.....it depends on YOUR situation.
The big difference with the Housing Market in Hawaii is the fact that we have just so much buildable and usable land. Therefore, there is always a need for housing and the decision to buy or sell will ALWAYS remain a 'situational' or 'circumstancial' event that leads the consumer to make their decision.
- Military Relocating to Hawaii - and they would rather spend their housing allowance alloted to them by the government to put into their OWN home.
- A Job Transfer and Relocation to Hawaii and they have outstanding credit and money to put down.
- They know that if they are paying the same amount in rent as a mortgage payment it makes sense to get their own tax deductions at the end of the year.
- They are Relocating to Hawaii and Retiring here and therefore have no use for throwing their money away on rent.
- Prices are reasonable in some areas and they are able to get a good price and negotiate.
- Hawaii Residents who are tired of paying rent and have no plans on leaving. They can afford a comfortable home and are not overextending themselves.
Due to the ongoing financial crisis there is still one thing left to consider.
THE BASIC NEEDS FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS.
Food, Water, Clothing and SHELTER.
The Will to Survive.
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© 2008 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman's Hawaii Real Estate and Relocation Blog. All rights reserved.
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Great post Sally - as beautiful as Hawaii is, all of America is affected by the current market conditions. It's not just housing or real estate, it's tourism, travel, hotels, automobiles, airlines - the list is long. We can either push through and conquer or fall back and hide.