Mililani, HI

Mililani IS the only community in Hawaii to receive the distinction "All American City" in 1986. Mililani Town and Mililani Mauka, a Master Planned Community has a population of approximately 30,000 people.

The first homes went up for sale around June 1968 and 112 homes were offered for purchase.

In The Beginning...

In 1971 my parents bought a new home and we moved to Mililani Town upon completion that summer. Since Mililani High School wasn't finished yet I had to catch the bus to Wahiawa until graduation from Leilehua in 1974.

Our H-2 freeway opened in 1976 which lessened the time to travel to and from Honolulu with an additional route other than Kamehameha Highway. Mililani Mauka Subdivision had their groundbreaking ceremony in 1990 and the building continued until last year when the last of the homes were sold.

Current Real Estate Trends in Mililani

The Mililani Real Estate and Housing Market remained stable in sales the past few months although prices dropped some overall the past year. The good thing is that the sales numbers have increased and inventory dropped considerably over the last year as well.

What does that tell us? The following Mililani Real Estate Sales Activity for May of 2009 tells a story compared to the following statistics for 2008 at this same time period.

Current Market Report 2009

*NOTE: DOM (Days on Market) means how long the property was listed on the MLS until the properties went into escrow with an accepted contract.

2008 Market Report

Here's the bottom line: The First Time Homebuyer $8,000 tax credit brought interest back into our market over the last couple of months. The Military plays a big part in our community and the Hawaii VA Loan is a great loan for the Hawaii Military Relocation client. So, with the inventory down we all know what happens when you snooze. You lose. :)

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Be proactive in your Hawaii Relocation and your search for your home in paradise.

It's not easy moving across the Pacific Ocean let alone to a totally different "world" of people but you can do it with effort, motivation and a great Realtor®!

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

Balancing time is a crucial part of of a professionals' life and keeping that balance takes hard work and effort. We take leaps, bounds and long strides to do our best in thinking in the best interests of our clients.

All of us go through stressful situations. The bottom line is "No matter what it is all in the manner of how I handle the situation".

This is how the last week has gone for me:

• Client's arrived on July 17 from Bonita Springs, Florida and I have showing appointments for the next day 18th, and we view 10 properties.
• July 20-Set more showing appointments and fellow agent shows them properties and they meet me back at the office and we put in an offer.
• The offer is countered three times and we finally get into contract on July 24. We open escrow and I run around getting Association and Condo Docs from the other agent.
• Signing at escrow for other client Mr. "W"
• July 26th-Home Inspection. Client's backed out right then and there from that unit.
• They want to go back and look at the other townhouse with the garage and on the golf course. Call listing agent and whew....go right from the one townhouse to the other. They put in a full price offer.
• July 27th-Accepted contract and again schedule a home inspection. Great. He's available.
• July 28th (today): Needs a few repairs...nothing major. Whew!

After the home inspector had finished and I was having the client's sign for receipt of the Association documents he stops and looks at me and says, "Sally, I just want you to know that I really appreciate you working hard for me while we've been here. And I just want you to know that I have noticed the little things you do." He then mentioned that it's not all about sales and that I really made them feel like it was a nice journey and not just a sale. (can't remember those exact words although the basic meaning is there)

I just about cried. It was hard to show people property who are from Florida where they have seen a decline in the market and convince them it is not the case here. After we crossed that obstacle we were in a situation of the other home "looking real bad" from the first time they saw it. Now they are happy.

Between all the happenings of this transaction and Mr. "W's transaction I worked in the office all week (and was able to arrange with my broker to leave at certain times to accomodate these clients) because the other admin lady is on vacation in Ireland! I'm tired.

They are on their way to the airport as I am writing this. Funny, I got "attached" ....again. The daughter is actually my client. She is in Iraq and coincidentally knows my other client John and they have crossed paths as well over there. My "Clients are dad and sister".

She'll be home soon to a wonderful townhouse.

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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

Hale Kaloapau Townhouse in Mililani Town

OPEN HOUSE TODAY! 2-5pm!

Listing Agent: Randy Prothero, Century 21 Liberty Homes

Yup! I'm all for the Bill passing and starting on Wednesday, July 01! It's going to stop all this text messaging, game playing and so forth while driving (and weaving all over the road). I've used hands free technology (Bluetooth earset) for years just for the fact it was safer with answering so many phone calls during my drive to and from each destination.

With all the accidents and even instances with public bus drivers playing games while driving (that's scarey) it's about time we had this bill passed. I think back to when I used to smoke and talk on the phone at the same time. ..... <groan>

There is NO grace period allowed...in case you are wondering. More from the Honolulu Police Department website here>>>>> http://www.honolulupd.org/traffic/electronic_devices.htm

19 days and counting :)

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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

I'll be 52 years old in a couple of months and I'm proud of it. I have learned many lessons in those years and believe me I was one of those that HAD to learn the hard way. Or so my Pop used to tell me over and over. He didn't agree with many of my impulsive decisions back then and mom was the one who was there to support me when I fell. It hurt my dad too much to face me and see me hurt with my failures.

At this moment...I am at the exact point and time I am supposed to be.

There are many things I have learned in my half century of living:

• It IS MORE than Words. The way I speak to other people is not so much the words being spoken but the way I am speaking them. Definitely not like the person I was in my younger years. I used to believe that expressing my views and opinions is all that mattered and the way I barked at them didn't.
• Setting Personal Boundaries .....The Key is Communication Setting healthy boundaries takes communication skills and being assertive. Taking care of ourselves means that we make sure we know where our boundaries start and we let others know where their side ends. Just remember... There's a Diplomatic (Nicer) Way to Say IT! Go and bark at me and I just won't listen. Plain and simple. Now I know why no one listened to me....way back when.
• Someone asks me for help and I'm very busy. I can only speak for myself as I have been in many a situation where I have been very busy and managed to squeeze in a moment or at the very least, let them know I'm busy but will get back to them shortly. Give a Little.....Gain a Lot. Everything in life is a give and take situation.

Awareness of how I affect others is one thing I am conscious of every day now. I learned that the small simple things really matter and that a smile, a kind word or a little task can help lift someone's spirit when they're weary. These traits of ours carry into our business. That's a FACT.

I know this to be true. I just told someone this morning that the small things like answering my questions or an email made a difference for me. And these are the small simple things that I do for my clients that make a difference for them and that they remember.

These are the small simple things that DO matter.

These are the details that make me a good Realtor Associate®

.....and a good human being.

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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