Monique Ting, RA e-pro SFR

The perishable food is cooked, I have water in all the empty containers I could get my hand on & have the local TV on to monitor the developping situation!

I was supposed to make some phone calls to set up showings this week-end, have an open house scheduled for tomorrow...however with the developping situation, there will be no showings. Can't reach anyone on the phone. The Open House is still on.

Almost everyone in Waikiki is staying put in their buildings, moving up to the higher floors. It is an eerie feeling to see Waikiki streets deserted by people... At the boat Harbor most of the boats have been moved out to sea.

We hope that the tsunami will be mild, but are prepared for the worse! So far, it is still very nice in Waikiki!

If we don't get it too hard, I'll be having a nice 1/2 day off...

As many of you are probably not aware, we have entered in the Golden Tiger Year, as of February 4th, 2010!

According to the Oriental Horoscope, this year promises to be a tough year that will however harbor many hidden good fortune possibilities. In general, this Tiger year will be full of obstacles & frustrations, that will have the positive consequence of bringing out the best in many people.

Forced to overcome obstacles, some of us will rise to the challenge. A positive outlook, combined with creativity & the willingness to act decisively will produce remarkable results!

I have been studying Oriental astrology & how it affects the Feng Shui of living spaces for over 30 years. There is a direct correlation between the energy of a certain year and how people react to it. In our business of dealing with people & living spaces, it is important to be prepared by knowing the energy climate that will dominate a certain period in time.

Now that you know what to look for, just think positive, act decisively & allow creativity to permeate your work. You will be rewarded with great business in this new Year of the Golden Tiger!

The biggest challenge for a buyer in this market is finding a home to purchase. At the end of January 2010 there were only 1,202 homes for sale on the island of Oahu. That is the lowest level in more than half a decade.

Even though the number of homes for sale are higher than the number of buyers each month, the homes which are not selling are not attractive to buyers because they are not in livable condition (no financing is available for those homes) or those sellers have priced their homes above the appraisal value. This creates a situation where the homes for sale which are in good condition receive multiple offers and are able to sell at a price close to asking. Last month homes sold for 94.9% of their asking price compared to Dec. 2008 when they sold for 90.8% of the asking price. For the average home on the island that means the seller gets to pocket an extra $24,497.

In the last 6 days, I have been on the road logging in over 300 miles on our little island with buyers, trying to find their perfect little island home. They are not familiar with all of the neighborhoods, so I made it a point to take them to all the places that they wanted to consider. We looked at many homes & made 2 offers. The second one is awaiting reply as I write this. My clients from the mainland are only here for 10 days & "time is of the essence" to find them a place to call home.

It was quite a challenge to set up viewing appointments:

On a certain listing of interest, I made 6 phone calls & 3 e-mail requests & never received a reply from either the listing agent or the co-listor! grrr!!!!

5 of the listings my clients liked had received multiple offers, and yet the listing still showed "Active". grrr!!!

The few that were still available were in such condition that we had to forego the Hawaiian tradition to remove our shoes inside. What was described as "fair condition" "just needing cosmetic upgrade"... turned out to warrant a full gutting of the kitchen & baths, fumigation & most likely rewiring etc ... It is such a shame to see homes priced at almost half a million dollars fall in such a state of disrepair!

But with all of this, I am still optimistic that I will find my clients their Hawaiian Dream Home! My only question is where are the sellers???

A Bounty of Opportunities in 2010!

For the Oahu Real Estate Market this past year was filled with drastic and unprecedented changes. And as we know, with change comes opportunity. This new year promises to be filled with opportunities for both buyers and sellers. We just need to keep our eyes open and be decisive. Here is what to look for:

Buyers

• One of the biggest reasons why buyers didn’t purchase a home & take advantage of the low rates and tax credit during the end of 2009 was because of a lack of inventory for sale. At the end of the year there were only 1100 homes for sale. That is the lowest we have seen in over 5 years. That said, every January homes for sale flood the market because the holidays are over & sellers are ready to move on. Anyone in the market to buy in 2010 should keep a close eye on new listings for sale in January. One may find just the right property at the right price.
• Prices are down! In December of 2008 the median sales price of a home was $626,500. Last month, we ended the year with a median sales price of $550,000. Sellers will react to that news and price their homes to sell.
• Last month, President Obama announced the details of his Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program. This program will allow short sales to close much sooner than the 4 months it took on average during 2009. Since short sales sold for 79% of their tax assessed value in 2009 the opportunity will be there to buy a home for a lower price prior to the tax credit deadline in April.

Sellers

• There are less than 1100 homes for sale on Oahu. If we continue at the same rate of sales for homes as last month (265) 24% of the active inventory will sell. That is the best ratio for sellers in years. Property owners should not wait if planning to sell this year. Taking advantage of the situation now could make the difference between being successful or not!
• The tax credit extension and expansion should repeat the same frenzy of buying we experienced during the 3^rd quarter of 2009. Buyers jumped off the fence in droves as demonstrated by the drastic raise in the number of sales in those months compared to the rest of the year.

Monthly Market Synopsis

2009 ended with a bang! Single family home sales were up 36.6% as compared to the previous year (December 2008) while condo sales also surged forward with a 43.6% increase. We may see that trend continue into January & February as the number of new escrows (accepted contracts that haven’t closed yet) were up by 55.2% for homes and 62.5% for condos. December saw homes “flying off the shelf” with an average # of days on the market of 34 for single family homes and 36 for condos . It was certainly a positive way to end 2009!

Released: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 HONOLULU - Sales of single-family homes were up in October according to resale figures released today by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. According to the analysis conducted by the Board, using data collected from its computerized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the statistics are: October 2009 Residential Resales Statistics for Oahu During October, sales of 281 single-family homes and 381 condominiums were reported through the Board's MLS, increases of 15.6 and 20.5 percent, respectively, compared to the same month last year. This brings total single-family home sales on Oahu to $1.447 billion for the first ten months of 2009, a decrease of 23.9 percent over the same time period one year ago. Total condominium sales through September were $940.43 million, a 30.4 percent decrease from last year. The median prices paid for island properties in the first ten months of 2009 were $575,000 for single-family homes and $300,000 for condominiums, decreases respectively of 8.0 percent and 7.7 percent from the same time period in 2008. The year-to-date total dollar sales volume generated in the housing market through October was $2.388 billion, a decrease of 26.6 percent, or $867 million, compared to the $3.255 billion produced one year ago. "The current rate of sales for both single-family homes and condominiums were both slightly up in October, which is truly encouraging in light of the overall economy," said Sandra "Sam" Bangerter, president of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. "The median prices for single-family homes were up a bit and down for condominiums, but still within relatively stable price ranges. The first-time homebuyer federal tax credit has been helpful in raising buyer awareness." Statistics are courtesy of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. Below is a graph showing the Zillow market trend since 2005!