“World's Most Complete Neighborpedia”
Explore:   What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Honolulu, HI

Links for Hawaii Pet Owners

11-28-09
Barbara Abe
Barbara Abe: Real Estate Agent in Honolulu, HI

I found a great site, Sugar Mill Vet Center on St Croix, which furnishes links for pet owners. Since many parents consider giving the gift of a pet for Christmas - but pets are also being "donated" in the thousands to shelters nationwide because of owners' financial difficulties - here are some sites which will give you more information and help you consider the needs of our furry best friends.

Choosing a New Puppy

Breeds of Dogs

Heartworm Society

Behavior Problems

National Animal Poison Control Center

Cat Fancier's Assn

USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service

Novartis Animal Health

Rainbow Bridge

American Animal Hospital Assn

US Veterinary Schools

Humane Society

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

American Assn of Feline Practioners

Vet Information Network

Hawaii Resources:

the Pet Web Page on my site

Hawaiian Humane Society

Hawaii State Dept of Agriculture (pet quarantine information)

Hawaii Dog Parks

Hawaii Dog Clubs

Let's be responsible pet owners this holiday season. Contact me with any questions on bringing pets into Hawaii and our animal care resources.

Hawaii home sales are steady, with tax break or not

Douglas Fischer: Real Estate Agent in Honolulu, HI

Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii home sales are steady, with tax break or not

When economist Paul Brewbaker cracked this week that the government’s $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers affected only a handful of sales in Hawaii, no one in the audience of several hundred real estate executives disputed it. For all the hoopla last month about the burst in sales generated by the tax credit, it’s difficult to assess whether it’s driven many Hawaii sales. While some Realtors say they had several first-time buyers close sales in the past month, others said they’re actually seeing investors return to the market. The tax credit was due to expire on Monday but has now been extended for six months. Either way, the fact remains that sales have been steadily rising since bottoming out at the start of 2009. Rest of Story.....

Honolulu Condos - Real Estate News & Trends 11/25/09

Douglas Fischer: Real Estate Agent in Honolulu, HI

Aloha!

Welcome to this month's issue of "Honolulu Condos - Real Estate News & Trends", provided by Douglas / Christopher Realtor Associates with RE/MAX Honolulu. This newsletter is published monthly and contains time sensitive information about the Honolulu Real Estate Market. It also combines the weekly newsletter, "Honolulu Condos - Listing Alerts" which includes current new condo listings and distressed property listings.

Don't miss the HOT LINKS at the bottom of this newsletter for such distressed property listings as:

  • Lender Owned Property Listings
  • Foreclosure Property Listings
  • Short Sale Property Listings

Also, please feel free to visit our website, one of the most complete Honolulu Condominium Directories available online at www.HNLCondos.com.

Honolulu Market Update for 11/25/09

Hawaiian orchid flower

Overall, for the seven neighborhoods in Honolulu we are monitoring, the Honolulu Condo market has shown a decrease of 75 new listings. This is the sixth consecutive month of decreased listings, meaning inventory is shrinking.

Overall pending sales decreased by 8, compared to last month. Sold listings increased by 113. The sales price to listing price indicator was 94.25%, compared to 94.23% for the previous month, with an overall increase of 0.02%.

Keep in mind that pending sales can sometimes be a more accurate measurement of immediate sales activitry, since closing times can vary from 30-90 days.

With that in mind, this newsletter data provides the most comprehensive market information by comparing this month's data with the previous months. Feel free to visit the Newsletter Archive, if you haven't saved the newsletters yourself.

Neighborhood Market Watch

Hawaiian slippers

ALA MOANA

  • 87 (2) Active
  • 17 (0) Pending
  • 79 (1) Sold
  • +7 Change in Sold
  • 92.91% (+0.44%) Sold Price/Listing Price

DIAMOND HEAD

  • 78 (32) Active
  • 1 (0) Pending
  • 41 (8) Sold
  • +4 Change in Sold
  • 89.74% (-0.34%) Sold Price/Listing Price

DOWNTOWN/CHINATOWN

  • 82 (8) Active
  • 9 (0) Pending
  • 118 (0) Sold
  • +0 Change in Sold
  • 96.08% (+0.06%) Sold Price/Listing Price

KAKAAKO

  • 122 (36) Active
  • 5 (1) Pending
  • 206 (34) Sold
  • +23 Change in Sold
  • 93.90% (-0.07%) Sold Price/Listing Price

KAPIOLANI

  • 52 (0) Active
  • 1 (0) Pending
  • 147 (0) Sold
  • +18 Change in Sold
  • 97.54% (+0.335) Sold Price/Listing Price

MAKIKI

  • 113 (0) Active
  • 7 (0) Pending
  • 179 (0) Sold
  • +24 Change in Sold
  • 96.39% (-0.5%) Sold Price/Listing Price

WAIKIKI

  • 679 (52) Active
  • 19 (0) Pending
  • 571 (10) Sold
  • +37 Change in Sold
  • 93.22% (+0.27%) Sold Price/Listing Price

1. The numbers in parantheses reflect the number of listings over $1M, but are included in the first, total number..

2. Sold listings are for the previous 12 months.

3. Change is the increase or decrease in number of sold listings from the previous month.

New Condo Listings

Hawaiian shirt

These condo listings are new listings that have come on the market for sale, since our last newsletter, dated November 18, 2009.

ALA MOANA NEW CONDO LISTINGS

DIAMOND HEAD NEW CONDO LISTINGS

DOWNTOWN/CHINATOWN NEW CONDO LISTINGS

KAKAAKO NEW CONDO LISTINGS

KAPIOLANI NEW CONDO LISTINGS

MAKIKI NEW CONDO LISTINGS - No New Listings This Wekk

WAIKIKI NEW CONDO LISTINGS

To view all Honolulu condo listings please visit the MLS Search page on our Website or set up your own Listing Manager Account.

Distressed Condo Listings - Hot Links!!!

Hawaiian flower

These distressed Honolulu condo listings include REO, or lender owned properties, foreclosures and short sales. New Listings are new this week, since our last week's newsletter.

Please click here to read a complete definition or description of Lender Owned, Foreclosure and Short Sale Properties .

LENDER OWNED PROPERTY LISTINGS - ALL

LENDER OWNED PROPERTY LISTINGS - NEW - no new listings this week

FORECLOSURE PROPERTY LISTINGS - ALL

FORECLOSURE PROPERTY LISTINGS - NEW - no new listings this week

SHORT SALE PROPERTY LISTINGS - ALL

SHORT SALES $0 - 200,000

SHORT SALES $200,000 - 400,000

SHORT SALES $400,000 AND OVER

SHORT SALE PROPERTY LISTINGS - NEW

Have a wonderful week and a Happy Thanksgiving! We all have a lot to be thankful for.

If you or anyone you know is thinking about buying or selling a condo in Honolulu, Hawaii, it would be our pleasure to help.

Team Douglas/Christopher

For a webpage view of this newsletter, Click here

Access the Newsletter Archive for back issues.

Hawaii - Talk Story / Pidgin

Douglas Fischer: Real Estate Agent in Honolulu, HI

Talk Story / Pidgin

Talk Story

If you're a new arrival, you'll find there's plenty to learn about our unique Aloha State, starting with pidgin - the unofficial language of the Islands. If you're a kama‘aina, check out some of the new books on the local dialect and you'll likely learn something new.

You hear it on Dog the Bounty Hunter and the 6 o'clock news, you read it in a growing body of local literature, and nowadays you can even take classes in it. Pidgin is a unique stew of Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino and American influences that came together on the old plantations and melded into a commonly understood patois.

Not all locals speak pidgin, especially in urban Honolulu. But old-time neighborhoods and country locales still ring with its lilting cadences, and thanks to local youth culture and new influences from the mainland, pidgin is still evolving. For a bare-bones primer on survival pidgin, read on. For more depth, get the classic Pidgin to Da Max or the newer Da Kine Dictionary, both available in bookstores, as is the more advanced Pidgin Grammar.

PIDGIN 101

  • Broke da mout': So delicious it breaks your mouth.
  • Bumbye: by and by, later on; or else later on.
  • Choke: lots, plenty.
  • Da kine: um; whatchamacallit. Often used when trying to recall a word or name.
  • Garans: guaranteed.
  • Grine: grind, or to eat. Its plural form, grinds, means food.
  • Hammajang: not in good working condition; junk.
  • Haole: Caucasian. Can also mean "too mainland," as in overly assertive or insensitive to local ways.
  • Pau: finished.

To learn more about Hawaii culture and resources, please visit our website for Honolulu Condos.

Crime Way Down In The Aloha State

11-23-09
Keahi Pelayo
Keahi Pelayo: Real Estate Agent in Honolulu, HI

November 23rd, 2009 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101

Until I read a recent article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, I would have told you that crime in Honolulu is higher than it used to be (not that it was bad). This may be because murder, mayhem, child abduction and their ilk are splashed across headlines in newspapers, radio and TV. In my case, I have not had any significant exposure personally to issues related to crime, but my gut told me there is more crime now. The Star Bulletin reported the following.

“Crime in Hawaii has fallen to its lowest level since data collection started in 1975, with theft and murder rates plunging over the past decade.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE POST.