Hawaii Randy's Real Estate Opinions: March 2007

Ewa Beach is an older community that is slowly but steadily being surrounded by planned communities.  Ewa Beach has a mix of older lesser expensive homes along with Million Dollar plus beach front properties. (makes up part of tax map key 191).

Single family homes sales have had consistant sales volume and steady price growth.  There was a spike in average price in the 2^nd half of 2005 that was due to several high end properties selling.  Currently there is more than 6 months worth of inventory, which may have an impact on future prices.

These are only the totals and average sale prices.

Here are number of single family homes sold in Ewa Beach:

2007:                                                                                       Average Sales Price:

• Today                                          59 homes active for sale
• Today                                          12 homes in escrow
• January & February 2007                11 homes sold                     $612,363        

Previous periods:                                                                  

• 7/1/06 through 12/31/06:             31 homes sold                     $465,815
• 1/1/06 through 6/30/06                28 homes sold                     $452,000        
• 7/1/05 through 12/31/05              35 homes sold                     $541,642                    
• 1/1/05 through 6/30/05                30 homes sold                     $389,386        
• 7/1/04 through 12/31/04              38 homes sold                     $367,648

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: http://www.hawaiirandy.com/

The first ship in the fleet is undergoing sea trails in Mobile Alabama, during this month of March 2007 where it was built.  In April it will begin its journey through the Panama Canal towards Hawaii.

The Super Ferry is scheduled to start service in July 2007.  Tickets go on sale in May 2007.

When sports clubs travel to tournaments, they can bring their bus, and all of their equipment with them instead of shipping them separately.  For a family of four like mine we can load all of our stuff in our vehicle and take it with is, saving a lot of costs for rental vehicles and making it so much easier to travel without lugging suitcases through the airports.  You will also have the added ability of bringing family pets on the trips.

Besides all of the above advantages of being able to ship your vehicle and belongings with you the Hawaii Super Ferry will provide additional benefit.  As a member of the State Civil Defense Advisory Council I am keenly aware of the issues we face in an emergency.  When the hurricane hit Kauai many years ago, there were major delays getting relief equipment and supplies there.  Our only modes of transportation were barge and airplane.  We currently have no easy way to get vehicles and large quantities of supplies over quick.  The Super Ferry will allow us to get disaster relief to another island in a few hours.

The Hawaii Super Ferry will be state of the art and will utilize the newest and best technologies and practices to be protect the environment.  They have plans in place to avoid whale collisions, prevent the spread of invasive species.  The Hawaii Super Ferry will be a much more fuel-efficient way to transport passengers than jet aircraft.

100% of all waste water will be contained in holding tanks and dumped into the Honolulu sewer system; nothing will be dumped in the ocean.

Many energy saving features will be utilized such as reflective glass on the window to save energy on cooling.  All light fixtures will use energy efficient bulbs.

A recent public poll showed that nearly 9 of 10 Hawaii residents were in favor of the Super Ferry.  Include me in the 90% of those who are excited about this welcome addition to our islands.

For more information go to the Hawaii Super Ferry website at:  http://www.hawaiisuperferry.com/

My previous post about the Hawaii Super Ferry: Hawaii Super Ferry is Getting Closer to Reality

While getting my Active Rain morning fix I received a message that I have been MEME'd by Neal Bloom, who is a really cool blogger.  My dirty laundry? I have now been MEME'd  

Well here is my life:

I am a husband and father of two boys, one in high school and one in kindergartener.   My wife and I have been happily married for 12 years.  At the time we got married my wife had a three year son, Daniel.  I became his dad, a responsibility and joy I gladly took on.  We waited a few years mostly for me to grow up.  My wife finally gave up on that ever happening and added our next big joy in our lives, Jacob.

What little spare time I have is spent teaching chess and organizing events.  Both of my son's play competitively and have won a few trophies and medals each.  My youngest Jacob is the Kindergarten current state chess champ.  He also plays soccer and nicknamed his right foot: "Thunder Foot"

My oldest Daniel plays center for the Mililani High School football team.  He now out weighs me by a bunch.  I day I never thought was possible.  If you read further down I will explain that remark.

My wife Darnelle is the love of my life and she keeps me feeling young.  She has the patience of a saint when it comes to me.  Without that I would have driven her crazy years ago.

I was born in Racine, Wisconsin.  I grew up in Logan Square, a neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago.  At age 18 I took a month off and spent it in Hawaii.  I stayed with my older half brother Russ and his family, who originally came to Hawaii in the Marine Corp.  After visiting a 2^nd time I decided Hawaii was the place to live.  A couple of years later in 1982, I made Hawaii my home and have never regretted it.

I spent many of those years in the printing and graphics industry, which took me to Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles.  After a few years of traveling almost full time I came back to Hawaii (home).  A few years later I met my wife Darnelle and have planted my roots even deeper here.

1)  I hate to wear a tie.  Fortunately in Hawaii, aloha shirts are the closest thing to a tuxedo.  I wear golf shirts with my name and Century 21 logo embroidered on it.

2) I heavily volunteer in the community and sit on several boards including:

• Commissioner, State Civil Defense Advisory Council
• Vice-chairman, Honolulu Board of Realtors, Leeward Region
• President, Hawaii Chess Federation a501(c)3
• Vice-President, Director, Mililani Chess Club a501(c)3
• Vice Chairman, Mililani Drug Free
• Vice President Mililani Garden Homes AOAO

I have also volunteered and sat on boards for several other non-profits and community groups and have been politically active over the years.  My community involvement was one of the things that drew me back to real estate.  It seemed like a natural business for me.

3) I enjoy technology and have been building my own websites for several years.  My Treo phone does not have internet.  I get to many e-mails and the screen is too small for my liking.  I carry a laptop with a Sprint Card along and always have a digital camera with me.

4) I have been on a strict doctor supervised diet to get better control of my health.  I just stepped on the scale this morning have lost 128 lbs so far.  I will hold off on posting pictures for a couple more months; mostly because I need to take new ones.

5) My slogan is "Not Just Another Pretty."  I came up with it late one night when getting my very first ad together.  I decided that humor would be part of my advertising.  I looked through several publications with many real estate ads that had glamour shots from 20 years ago of agents in my area.  I am just  not the glamour shot.  It then hit me and has been my slogan ever since.  You have to have a mug like mine to pull that one off.

So...now that you read about my boring life...It is my pleasure to pick on 3 new victims.  I would like to pick on Leslie Bloss, Scott Daniels and Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman.

Hopefully no one else has zapped them already.

Here are a few facts about Hawaii that possibly only a few trivia buffs may know:

• Hawaii is known as the Aloha State, because of the friendly people.
• Hawaii is the only state that has a palace and was a former kingdom with a royal family.  The Iolani Palace is now a museum. (Pictured)
• Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee
• Hawaii is the most isolated location on earth that has a population center.  2390 miles from California and 3850 miles from Japan.
• Hawaii is the first state to have an Asian American US Senator.
• The only state to have a Japanese, a Filipino, a Hawaiian and a Jewish women elected governor.
• Hawaii has the most moderate climate of any state
• Hawaii has some of the best beaches on the planet
• The state motto is:  Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness)
• Hawaii is the last state to join the union in 1959.

Hawaii Web Links:

• Tourism Authority
• State Parks
• Historical Society
• Virtual Tours of Hawaii
• State Government
• Hawaii Public Schools
• Hawaii Private Schools
• State Public Library System
• Hawaii Chess Federation
• Oahu Property Search
• Honolulu Board of Realtors
• Hawaii Association of Realtors
• Top Rated Oahu Realtor

Hauula (tax map keys 153 thru 154)

Single family homes sold have been consistent.  Prices have steadily climbed.  January single family home sales started the year a little bit slow, but the number in escrow is picking up and prices are not showing signs of dropping.

The below figures are only the totals and averages.

Here are number of single family homes sold in the Hauula and the surrounding areas:

2007:                                                                                       Average Sales Price:

• Today  3-21-07                       21 homes active for sale
• Today  3-21-07                        6 homes in escrow
• January 2007                           1 home sold                            $750,000        

Previous periods:                                                                   Average Sales Price:

• 7/1/06 through 12/31/06:         15 homes sold                         $727,266
• 1/1/06 through 6/30/06            11 homes sold                         $655,590
• 7/1/05 through 12/31/05          22 homes sold                         $616,318        
• 1/1/05 through 6/30/05            10 homes sold                         $474,000
• 7/1/04 through 12/31/04          21 homes sold                         $419,571                    

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: http://www.hawaiirandy.com/

State and County Flags Will Fly at Half-Staff for Former Elected Officials

Tomorrow, Tuesday March 20, 2007 all state and county flags at state and county buildings will be flown at half-staff to honor Thomas K. Kaulukui Sr., a former Office of Hawaii Affairs Trustee who died on March 9^th.  He served from 1980 to 1994.

On Thursday March 22, 2007 Tomorrow, Tuesday March 20, 2007 all state and county flags at state and county buildings will be flown at half-staff to honor Peter Aduja, a former Republican State Representative from Hilo.  Peter Aduja passed away on Feb 19^th.  He was the first Filipino to serve in the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives, before the time of statehood.

Once funeral arrangements are made for OHA trustee Linda Dela Cruz who passed away March 15^th, Governor Lingle is expected to announce the date for flag to fly at half-staff in her honor.

This week I am taking the first step to my eventual goal of building a team.  One of my clients has gotten her Real Estate license and joined us.  I sold a couple of properties through her and her husband and sold a couple of more through their referrals.  I am losing a great client and hopefully gaining a great team mate.

Initially she will be teaming up and training with me on a transactional basis.  Here name is Lielane Peralta and I believe she will become a wonderful Realtor.

A couple of my previous related blogs:

• Do You Help New Agents?
• To Hire an Assistant or Not Hiring an Assistant, That is the Question.

A little over a week ago in one of my blogs I mentioned that she made the decision to drop her mortgage license and transfer her real estate license to our office.  Yet Another Blog About the Agent With Too Many Hats?

Lielane got her license earlier last year and approached us at that time.  She also had a mortgage license which created a dilemma for us.  Our office has a policy of not having agents that do dual services; a policy I strongly agree with.  Many of you know I am very opinionated on that subject.  I firmly believe that if you sell real estate that is the only thing you should be selling your client.  I have written a couple of blogs on the subject in the past and have commented on many other blogs here on Active Rain.

Here are a couple of my previous blogs on the subject:

• Yet Another Blog About the Agent With Too Many Hats?
• Hold on Let Me Change My Hat - I am now your.....

At that time she decided to go with another real estate company that would allow her to sell both services.

After several months of trying to get up and running while selling both homes and mortgages Lielane came to realize this was not a good way to go.  In the last few weeks she contacted me again.  She was rethinking her decision and was willing to drop the mortgage license so she could join our company and focus on selling homes.  She asked if I would be willing to help train her.  I took that as a compliment from a great previous customer.  After meeting with our broker she filed the appropriate papers and is now officially a member of the Century 21 Liberty Homes family.

This weekend we will be building her website and getting her established.  Lielane knows a lot of people in our community and should have no trouble getting going with a little assistance.  I will put up another post in a week or so and better introduce her.

Welcome Lielane Peralta!

In the last few weeks we have seen a surge in business in Mililani and the surrounding area.

Our office had two townhouses for sale.  One was on the market for a little over a year and the other nearly 6 months.  They were just sitting there with very little interest and then it happened.  At the same time they both received multiple offers and went into escrow.  Ok I know that is not scientific, but let's look at a few more.

On the first of the month 3/1/07, I listed a 3 bed/ 2.5 bath townhouse for sale in Laulea.  My clients were still moving out and we were putting in new carpet.  We did not have showings until last Wednesday starting at 10:00am.  That afternoon I already had multiple offers pushing it over asking price.  In Mililani Garden Homes 1 another agent from a neighboring Century 21 office had a listing that was the twin brother to the one I am selling in Laulea.  I checked that day to find his was scooped up also.  The beginning of the year these properties were just not moving.

In the last few weeks I have also noticed inventory in Mililani has come down some.

Today  3/14/07:

Townhouses Sales

• 111      Active for Sale
• 63        In Escrow
• 218      Sold in last 6 months

Single Family Homes

• 88        Active for Sale
• 44        In Escrow
• 142      Sold in last 6 months

We have now dropped to 2 months inventory, making it a sellers market again in Mililani.

What are some of the forces pushing this new positive movement?  Interest rates are low.  The homes construction is almost completely built out in Mililani Mauka.  We also have the Striker Brigade coming to Schofield Barracks.  The 2^nd Brigade is still in Iraq.  When they return there will be another big pressure on our housing inventory.  At least for the short term things are looking up in Mililani.

Mililani Links:

• Mililani Town Association: http://www.mililanitown.org/
• Mililani Drug Free: http://www.Mililanidrugfree.org/
• Mililani Chess Club: http://www.mililanichess.org/
• Real Estate Sales: http://www.hawaiirandy.com/

Mililani Blog Posts:

• Welcome to Mililani - Part 1 the Shopping Centers
• Welcome to Mililani - Part 2 the Planned Community
• Welcome to Mililani - Part 3 the Surrounding Communities
• Mililani is Pet Friendly  
• Mililani, Hawaii Directory of Schools
•   
• 12 Great Reasons to Buy a Home in Mililani, Hawaii
• Mililani - Q1 2007 Real Estate Sales Activity of Existing Homes
• Real Estate Sales In Mililani Seems to be Picking Up
• Real Estate Sales Activity in Mililani
• Mililani Townhouse Sales are on Fire!
• Mililani, Hawaii - A changing market, many opportunities
•   
• Mililani Chess Kids are Still Flashing Their Stuff
• Mililani Middle School Brings Home State Chess Title
• Mililani High School Cheerleaders Take Their First State Title
• A Sunny Day of Chess and Real Estate in Hawaii
• Mililani HS Wins OIA Softball Title
• Are You Involved in Your Community? If Not, Get to It.

I showed a property this morning that was labeled by the listing agent as "Must See to Appreciate."

Now that is an interesting statement.

• What did it mean?
• Would you like to guess?
• I will help you out.  The listing gives you nothing to hang your hat on.
• No pictures to start with.
• The zoning was mislabeled.

The listing gave you a few hints as to the status of the property:

1. It was one of the lowest priced homes in the area.
2. It is only 4 years old.
3. It had a large lot.
4. It was on the market a long time.
5. It was tenant occupied.

An interesting thing I observed on the public remarks was a statement to call the listing agent for more information.  The contact information for the listing agent is on the agent's showing instructions, where the public can't see.

I called yesterday to make the appointment for 9:30am today.  The agent indicated that there was a lockbox and to knock in case the tenant was home.  Ooops a red flag.

Ms. Realtor, will you call the tenant to be sure it is ok for us to go?  She replied that she would.

We arrived at the property to find it was a flag lot.  Another detail left off the listing. 

The house is backed against a step hill that looks like a mud slide waiting to happen; possibly the reason for no pictures.  There was a BIG electrical box with two buttons labeled pump 1 and pump 2 that was at the front of the parking stall outside against the hill.  In the parking stall there was a large round steel plate that reminded me of hatch for a missile tube.   Hmmm that must be for moving the water coming off that hill somehow. 

There were also two cars in the driveway.  They must be home.

I walked up the stairs and across the porch, stepping over the doggie doodoo.  You read that right.  It was right in the center of the deck.  Ok a little dog poop is not going to slow me down.  I knock on the door.  No answer.  So as I have done hundreds of times I retrieve the key from the lock box and open the door.  I call out hello anyone home?  No response again.

As we entered the home we see the TV is on.  Someone must be home.  I call again and still no response.  I look back towards the three bedrooms and the doors are closed.  I tell my clients we need to cut this short and move them outside.

What an interesting listing.

• I doubt the agent ever called the tenants.
• The listing had no pictures, left off key information and was flat wrong in several cases.
• That big hill made up most of the square footage on the lot, leaving not much usable land.
• The steep muddy hill almost touching the home looks to be a huge issue.  What a lousy place to build a house.

Well I saw it and I did not appreciate it.  That was one other thing that the listing agent had wrong in the listing.

I a previous blog I wrote about Mililani Middle Schools big win: Mililani Middle School Brings Home State Chess Title

There were also several other Mililani standouts at the State Scholastic Chess Championships who walked away with medals or trophies.

Robert Lau a homeschool student took the State High School Individual Title.  Robert is a 2-time national champion, a 5-time former state scholastic champion and the current state Open Rapid Champion.

Jacob Prothero from Hanalani School finished as the Kindergarten Champ (yes he is my son).

Hanalani School took the bronze medals in the high school team division.

Alex Farrell finished as the top 12^th grader.  Although not a Mililani resident, he is a regular at the Mililani Chess Club.

Results from the event can be found at: http://hawaiichess.homestead.com/Tournaments.html

The events tournament directors were:

• Guy P. Ontai                           State Scholastic Director
• Randy L. Prothero                  President, Hawaii Chess Federation
• Lawrence Reifurth                  Treasurer, Hawaii Chess Federation
• Beau Mueller                           Local Tournament Director

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Mililani Links:

• Mililani Town Association: http://www.mililanitown.org/
• Mililani Drug Free: http://www.Mililanidrugfree.org/
• Mililani Chess Club: http://www.mililanichess.org/
• Real Estate Sales: http://www.hawaiirandy.com/

Mililani Blog Posts:

• Welcome to Mililani - Part 1 the Shopping Centers
• Welcome to Mililani - Part 2 the Planned Community
• Welcome to Mililani - Part 3 the Surrounding Communities
• Mililani is Pet Friendly  
• Mililani, Hawaii Directory of Schools
•   
• 12 Great Reasons to Buy a Home in Mililani, Hawaii
• Mililani - Q1 2007 Real Estate Sales Activity of Existing Homes
• Real Estate Sales In Mililani Seems to be Picking Up
• Real Estate Sales Activity in Mililani
• Mililani Townhouse Sales are on Fire!
• Mililani, Hawaii - A changing market, many opportunities
•   
• Mililani Chess Kids are Still Flashing Their Stuff
• Mililani Middle School Brings Home State Chess Title
• Mililani High School Cheerleaders Take Their First State Title
• A Sunny Day of Chess and Real Estate in Hawaii
• Mililani HS Wins OIA Softball Title
• Are You Involved in Your Community? If Not, Get to It.