About Mililani's Mililani Home Sales

In 1971 the Mililani Condos and Homes prices were definitely a far cry away from the prices today. My parents bought their home back then for $48,000 and Mililani was in the beginning stages of a 40 year Master Planned Community. Today the land alone on my mom's property is worth over $500,000 for a bit over 9,000 sq/ft. of land.

Mililani Town is the only community in Hawaii in 1986 to receive the distinction of "All American City" and is centrally located on the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and to all US Military Bases as well. About 5-10 minutes up Highway 99 is Schofield Barracks (Army) and Wheeler AAF (Army), Hickam AFB and Pearl Harbor Navy Base is about 20-25 minutes down H-2 to H-1 Freeway. Kaneohe Marine Corp Air Station is up and over the H-3 Freeway.

Year to Date Market Report for Mililani Condos, Townhouses, Homes

Mililani Single Family Home Market Report YTD 2009: We have 49 Active Listings Year to Date for 2009 with 31 in contract and 119 sold. Mililani Single Family Home activity is picking up with more in contract for June 2009 (you can check out the report here>> Mililani Real Estate | Mililani Condos Homes | Market Report for June 2009). Sales Prices Ranged from $500,000 (2 bedrooms) to $830,000 (4 bedrooms).

Mililani Condo Statistics for YTD 2009: There are 93 Active condos/townhouses on the market, 45 in contract and 130 sold for the period January to June of 2009. Looks like our Mililani Condo/Townhouse market is picking up with more units condos and accepted contracts. Sales Prices ranged from $160,000 (1 bedroom condo) to $495,00 (2 bdrm luxury townhouse).

Picture Above: JUST SOLD! Recorded yesterday for Hawaii Relocation Clients on a Mililani Townhouse for $360,000. From left, Ron & Zeny (clients), Sally (me), and Bryon Tucker, Loan Officer for Everygreen Home Loans. Written permission given by clients and loan officer to use their picture :)

Other Mililani Info:

Mililani Recreation Centers and Fun for All Ages! With SEVEN Recreation Centers there is fun for all ages. For Tiny Tots (18 mos. to 3 years) there is circle time, arts and crafts. Then there is Tai Chi, Karate, Yoga, Self Defense and Hula (Hawaiian Dance) for all ages. There is Movie Night and Teen Nights too! Homeowners can join in on plenty of activities in our community! Mililani Recreation Centers

Assagio's Restaurant at the Town Center in Mililani Assagio's in Mililani opened in 1994 and our family has enjoyed many meals over the years. Italian pasta dishes, linguini chicken anchovy olio to filet mignon; Assagio's is fine dining at its best! And if your preference is a Ceasar salad it is prepared table side.

Mililani Boasts Three Shopping Centers: Mililani Town Center - 95-1249 Meheula Parkway , Mililani Shopping Center - 95-221 Kipapa Drive (where Century 21 Liberty Homes resides), and Mililani Marketplace - 94-780 Meheula Pkwy.

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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

This past Friday, June 5th, 2009 we had our 2009 Summer GMM (General Membership Meeting) at the Hilton Hawaiian Village held by our Honolulu Board of Realtors. The theme was FRESH Tech Thinking and it was great to see many show up.

Classes, vendor fair, games, awards, luncheon, door prizes and recognitions. My BIC told me the big 'secret' before we attended the luncheon where they would annouce something grand.

Our Principal Broker/Owner, Douglas Fortner could not attend and we found out by the recognition speech that he recieved the REALTOR® Emeritus Status and they will announce it at the San Diego NAR Conference this November.

REALTOR® Emeritus Status:  Any person who has held membership in the National Association as a REALTOR®, REALTOR-ASSOCIATE®, or a combination of both, for a cumulative period of 40 years in one or more Associations of REALTORS® is eligible for REALTOR® Emeritus status.

Upon approval by the Board of Directors of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, no further payment of dues is necessary to the National Association by the Member Association of which the REALTOR® Emeritus is a member.  READ MORE  >>>> REALTOR® Emeritus Status

Mililani Market Statistics Comparison Between March 2008 and March 2009

The Planned Community of Mililani continues to be one of the more resilient neighborhoods on the island of Oahu., Although the volume of sales is lower by about one third compared to a year ago, the sales prices of Single Family Homes is actually up slightly (+6.4%) compared to one year ago, and Condominiums prices are nearly flat, declining by a mere 0.5% from the same time last year. Here are the numbers:

I apologize for the chart, It's been awhile since I posted a chart here, and the functions seem to have changed. I will have to re-format this next time.

Single Family Homes

Condominiums

Overall Oahu

Single Family Residences

Condominiums

Scenarios:

• You the REALTOR®, you walk into a potential listing and the home has a few (hundred) too many items in the house. What do you say to the seller?
• The seller wants $75,000 more than the home is worth. Do you tell them the advice they got from their hairdresser neighbor or uncle from another town is a mile off?
• The house is dirty, messy and has a bad smell (Big Dog). Do you say lovely home, I am sure it will sell fast or do you tell it to them straight?
• The orange bathroom walls and hot pink bedroom carpet is not going to be popular among buyers. Do you say lovely choice of colors or do you talk about neutralizing?

These are among some of the basics we as REALTORS® deal with on a daily basis. If you are a professional, you need to be honest and tell them the truth up front. You also need to be diplomatic and not hurt feelings or insult anyone. You are speaking about their home. You are however an expert and they brought you in to help them, not stroke their ego.

Being professional includes preparing clients for the process ahead and keeping them informed. I tell clients I would rather tell them the truth up front and not stand in front of them three months from now making lame excuses. A true test of a professional is you ability to say no without insulting someone. Most people understand no. What really makes them angry is being mislead and later having to deal with the damages.

We are dealing with the most expensive item in their lives in most cases and we need to treat it as such.

To address clutter, I discuss making the space look as big as we can. I also talk about what they loved about the home when they bought it and discuss how we can make the home better show that to potential buyers. We also need to allow buyers to envision the home with their stuff in it. If the walls are filled with family pictures and shelves have a ton of collectables they will not be able to place themselves in there. In some cases bringing in a professional stager may be the solution. If the seller does not except my advice, they may accept it from a staging professional.

The pet question is a big one. Many pet owners are immune to the smell. I delicately discuss that many buyers do not have pets and detect the smell easily. I also mention that many buyers and/or their children have allergies to pet dander and fur. Hopefully when I begin the discussion, they pick up on it and make it easier for me.

The loud colors I handle with my famous speech about staging. I tell sellers there is two ways to stage a home. We can stage it to live in it and we can stage it to sell. Staging to sell requires that we neutralized and depersonalize. I have had a few clients resist by telling my how much they love something. In the most tactful way I can I remind them they are not going to be living here and we need to prepare it for the new owners. In most cases the sellers have gone with my suggestions and we have had a successful sale. In two cases they held their guns and the sell price was less than I felt we might have gotten, and it took longer to sell. In both cases, I gave my professional advice and then accepted the seller's decision. It is their home and their choice in the end.

If sellers are completely unreasonable are not willing to price the home within reason or make any effort to make it sellable, I then do the most professional thing I can. I do not take the listing. This is hard for most agents to do, but there are times when you will not be able to help them.

In one case where I rejected a listing, the seller respected me for doing it and agreed to my recommendations. To this day we are good friends and has not only been a repeat client, but has sent me referrals.

Good luck and good selling!