Hawaii homes

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reported on Thursday, 1/29/09 that Hawaii experienced its worst decline in tourism since 1932 (during the Great Depression) last year. The decrease in visitors averaged 10.8% for 2008. As you might imagine, the real problems occurred from June through December, when fuel prices were high and the economic meltdown on Wall Street occurred. Businesses are feeling the pain and so are employees, whose hours are getting cut back or worse.

The visitor industry is Hawaii's top economic driver. We hope for more visitors to come to Hawaii and are making it worth your while! Now that fuel prices are down to reasonable levels, airlines can offer decent fares again. Hawaii tour agencies are putting together some great packages for visitors.

One offer I noted was from Pleasant Holidays, a Honolulu travel agency. They're offering three night hotel and air vacations from Los Angeles to Oahu for $299! Upgrades to fancier hotels are available for reasonable amounts. Besides visiting their website, customers can call their toll free number: (800) 742-9244.

The weak economy means some homeowners are being forced to sell and it's putting downward pressure on real estate prices. If you're looking for properties in Hawaii, take a look at our website for Hawaii Homes. Send me an e-mail or call (808) 551-2663 and we can make arrangements to see Hawaii properties.

Aloha, Mike Bates

The famous Ilikai might be closing up in February 2009. Before we laugh, remember that Aloha Airlines warned us about shutting down in 2008 and we shrugged it off. A month later, Aloha closed up, just as they had warned.

Why would the Ilikai close down? It's difficult to get a clear picture of the complete situation from the media. Some of the key factors are:

- Brian Anderson, a developer on the Big Island has title to approximately 203 hotel/condo units plus commercial space at the Ilikai.

- Mr. Anderson's Anekona companies owe iStar FM Loans LLC about $75 million. iStar is initiating foreclosure proceedings. Anekona companies also owe the Ilikai Apartment Building Association approximately $1 million for delinquent electricity and maintenance fees.

- The residential properties (203 hotel/condo units) are losing about $300,000 per month.

- Joseph Toy, a local hospitality expert has been appointed as the receiver. He is planning a shut down of the property.

The Ilikai consists of 1,009 rooms. Approximately 140 of the rooms are timeshares and 170 are condos. Most of the condos are part of a hotel room pool.

This is truly a mess for owners of condos at the Ilikai. The homeowners' association cannot continue forward because Anekona is not paying its portion of the common area costs. If the hotel closes down, condo owners will have a difficult time renting rooms without a front desk and maintenance of the common areas.

In the end, it looks like investors may take a bath in red ink. At this point in time, we may see things getting worse at the Ilikai before they get better. Owners might want to sell now. Over the longer term, uncertain times bring opportunity. When prices drop and people want to get rid of their investment properties, buyers can move in and purchase at lower prices and work towards a positive future at the Ilikai.

Be careful and invest safely!

Aloha, Mike

Ilikai condos for sale

I recently spent a few days looking at homes with customers in Kapolei Knolls. Homes at Kapolei Knolls were developed by D.R. Horton.

This is a newer neighborhood by Hawaii standards, many of the homes for sale are just a few years old. Homes here average about 2,000 square feet interior with about 5,800 square foot lots. Kapolei Knolls is a great place for large families that desire modern homes.

Another interesting factor is the pricing. Many of the homes in Kapolei Knolls for sale now are listed for substantially less than what the owners paid for them. It's not uncommon to see owners losing $150,000-$200,000 on homes they bought a couple of years ago.

Bargain hunters and investors want to buy low and sell high - here's an opportunity to take advantage of the down market and low interest rates!

View our Kapolei Knolls webpage and see if there's a home that fits your needs.

Aloha, Mike Bates

We have a new webpage that sorts out listings for fixers. The page includes listings of homes that are tear downs and those in need of major repair.

Click here to start your search for fixer upper homes in Hawaii

Hawaii's real estate market has slowed and we're seeing lower prices on fixer upper homes now. Take advantage and be prepared for market gains in the future!

Aloha, Mike

When Hawaii's housing market turns downward, the outlying locations seem to get hurt the worst. Why is this? Probably because areas like Waianae have less good jobs compared to Honolulu neighborhoods. Also, when the market begins to recover, people look to the future and where there's room for growth - West Oahu!

Now we're back in one of those painful slumps, where some owners are getting hurt. Buyers with good credit and/or cash are preparing to make their moves on properties. It's great to make a purchase, knowing that it would have cost more had you bought it a year or two earlier.

Where are the deals? Here are a few:

Makaha Shores MLS 2819098 - a short sale listed for $150,000. This is a fee simple studio at the famous Makaha surfing beach. Interior area is 323 square feet with a 82 square foot lanai. Comparable units sell for over $200,000.

View the listing by inputting the MLS number here: Search Hawaii listings by MLS number.

Here's a picture of the building.

Makaha Valley Plantation. There are three short sales listed for less than $100,000 each. MLS numbers 2819626, 2819621 and 2819627.

View the listings here: Makaha Valley Plantation.

Note: Short sales are usually slow processes because of the owners' banks. The banks are taking a loss because the properties are being sold for less than the owners' loan balance. Buyers must be patient. In addition, a buyer should have good credit and cash for a downpayment. Forget about 100% financing. That's the reason many of these sellers got in trouble in the first place!

Visit our website or call Mike Bates (808) 548-1220 for more info about Hawaii real estate investments.

Oahu MLS