Hawaii Randy's Real Estate Opinions: July 2008

Among the real estate agent in my area who claim to be doing poorly, I have found many have simply stopped working.  I try to make appointments to show listings and find a third of the agents not returning phone calls or e-mails in any reasonable period of time.  Hard to sell a home if no one can view them.

In our market, prices of home sales have stabilized.  Some parts of Oahu have seen price decreases; some have had increases, while many have stayed flat for the last couple of years.  The big change is in sales volume.  Sales volume of homes has gone down tremendously from the peak of the market in 2005.

Many real estate agents have seen major drops in their business.  I hear them complaining about how bad the market is.  Yet in this changing market there are several of us who have seen our business grow.  June was my biggest month ever.

Let me give my opinion on why some are busy while others are dying:

• Many agents are not spending money or time marketing themselves or their listings, if they have any.  They are not sitting open houses or working office floor time.  In other words they are completely missing in action.
• Another common denominator I am seeing is they are not spending much or any time or effort on education.  Education is an important factor for those trying to thrive in a challenging market.
• Many part time and limited service agents are fading fast, while full time professionals are gaining market share.  To be successful in a slowing market clients need to find you and feel you are an expert in the community and you will bring them success.  They are reading so much negative press and are concerned about the economy and the lending industry problems.  They want a top professional to navigate them through the rough waters.

I was talking to an agent about their business and how they were struggling.  I asked what they had been doing.  Because things were so slow, that agent has been going to the beach, the movies and sitting home.  HELLO!

Have you ever noticed that all you have to do to get less than ethical folks to show their ugly side is to talk about ethics or professional standards?

Over the last few months when one of us writes about ethics and professional standards we get a few off the wall people who will argue against them.  It is so insane.  A real estate agent or a loan officer being offended by the mere suggestion that we need higher standards or that a professional is someone who strives to conduct themselves at a much higher level than the basic minimum.

Reading comments from a real estate person (I was going to say professional) who was upset or offended that I would have the arrogance to suggest the being a professional means minimum requirements are not enough.  I wonder what their clients would think if they read the comments.

There have been several blog posts addressing the issue of dual services and why it was bad for the general public (acting as a real estate agent and loan officer or other service provider for the same client). Those seem to hit home with a few folks.  Boy did I get some hate messages from that topic. Yet Another Blog About the Agent With Too Many Hats?

Recently many of you read my post Real Estate Ethics in Nutshell and how I received a few negative comments and a series of e-mails from a real estate broker.  He felt all was fair in business and it was OK to take advantage of any loophole available to him.  In the end he deleted his worst messages that included negative remarks about religion.

There have been several blog posts about holding loan officers to the same standards as real estate agents.  King For a Day Series - Mortgage Industry  That topic caused me to really get hit with the hate messages.  Now look where the lending industry is today.  Do you think better regulation, a Code of Ethics, industry self-policing and better licensing laws may have helped?  I can tell you first hand that I and most top real estate agents I know avoid mortgage brokers and out of state lenders like the plague.  That might possibly have been a different story if their industry was better regulated and operated.

So what is the answer?  Do we only write nice fluffy posts about the flowers in our gardens or do we discuss what is important to consumers and to improving ourselves and out industry?  I for one prefer to work on the improvement of our industry and to share knowledge with each other and the public.

So if you are not a professional and offended by those discussions, you may not want to read some of my posts.  If on the other hand you enjoy sharing knowledge and having discussions on professional behavior, I hope that our blog system will continue to be a great forum for us to exchange information and knowledge.

Good Luck and Good Blogging!

Some related posts:

• Do We Need a Class on Class?
• Do You Speak Your Mind or Bite Your Lip?
• Are You Offended by The Golden Rule?
• Hold on Let Me Change My Hat - I am now your.....

We speak about ethics and legal issues when do business.  As REALTORS® we have the Code of Ethics.  It is required to take a class on NAR ethics periodically.  Can you really teach ethics?  I believe you either have them or you don't.  The classes are great for reminding agents of the details, but they will never make someone ethical.

In the same spirit I am thinking that possibly we need a class on class.  The classes may not give someone class, but will at least let them know what it is when they see it.

Here is a few examples I have run into in the last few months where the other agent or service provider had no class and probably would not recognize it if it kissed them on the lips.

• An agent when showing one of my listings left a stack of their loan officer spouse's business cards on top of my business cards.
• A loan officer came into my open house and placed a stack of their flyers on the counter without even asking.
• A few bloggers have left several comments on my post longer than the original post trying to hijack my blog.
• There was an agent greeting buyers outside another agent's open house and offering to show them the home.
• Agents who make a point of tell other agents how much money they are making.
• Agents who look for loop holes in the COE to allow them to contact other agents clients.
• People who pass out business cards at a funeral or wedding.
• Brokers who call or mail to other offices trying to steal their agents.
• Bloggers who mention names when discussing bad situations.

I am sure you have many others you can add to the list.  Please feel free to share them.

This Mililani sales report covers zip code 96789 which covers both Mililani Mauka and Mililani Area (which includes Mililani Town, Launani Valley and Waipio Acres).

Mililani real estate is still moving strong.  We are still seeing good real estate activity in the Mililani area.  Mililani has remained a balanced market giving buyer good selection, and seller's the ability to move appropriately priced homes.

A few dynamics in the area:

Castle and Cooke have almost finished selling the new homes in Mililani Mauka.  We are continuing to see troop movements at Schofield Barracks, which is contributing to the movement of inventory in Mililani.

Single Family Homes (resale): Average sales prices in Mililani Town and the valleys stayed saw a dip in June from the levels last year, while year to date they have stayed consistent.  Mililani Mauka had a small decrease in average price over the same period last year.  Year to date Sales volume in the Mililani Town and the valleys are up from last year, while Mililani Mauka dipped a little.  Inventory levels have remained consistent.  Along with mortgage rates remaining low, buyers and sellers will continue to find the Mililani real estate market attractive.

Condo and Townhouses (resale):  Sales volume and average sales prices in Mililani Town and the Valleys both saw modest increase while Mililani Mauka saw slippage in volume and held their average prices consistent with last year.

Currently Active for Sale (July 5, 2008): 

• 53 Single Family Homes - Mililani Area
• 49 Single Family Homes - Mililani Mauka
• 82 Condos/ Townhouses - Mililani Area
• 26 Condos/ Townhouses - Mililani Mauka

Currently in Escrow (July 5, 2008):

• 20 Single Family Homes - Mililani Area
• 14 Single Family Homes - Mililani Mauka
• 27 Condos/ Townhouses - Mililani Area
• 12 Condos/ Townhouses - Mililani Mauka

*These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of Realtors MLS system and are deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

©2008 Randy L. Prothero

June 2008 numbers are in.

Single Family Home Sales have continued to show decreased sales volume across all counties.  June saw drops in Median Sales Prices in all counties except Kauai compared to the 2007 levels.  During June I saw an increase of activity in my business and am hoping that pattern is repeating among other agents and areas.  The July numbers will be important as to determine possible trends.

Condominium Median Sales Prices saw a big bump on Maui, a slight increase on Oahu and a leveling on Kauai.  The Hawaii was the only county to see any significant dips from the 2007 levels.  All counties continue to see decreases in sales volume.

*These numbers were taken from area MLS systems and Title Guaranty Escrow. The information listed here is deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: www.HawaiiRandy.com

Or at: www.localism.com

Waipio Gentry Area also includes Crestview and Seaview.

Single Family homes sales have softened. Year to date average sales prices of single family homes have gone down from the same period of time last year.  Sales volume year to date has also gone down increasing the averages day on the market.  Buyers will find Waipio Gentry a good environment for finding the home of their dreams.

Condo and townhouse sales have seen average sale price climb.  Sales volume has remained consistent with the same period in 2007, while average sales prices have shown a similar decrease as the single family homes in the area.   

Currently Active for Sale (July 5, 2008)

• 21 Single Family Homes
• 25 Condos/ Townhouses

Currently in Escrow (July 5, 2008)

•   1 Single Family Homes
• 16 Condos/ Townhouses

*These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of Realtors MLS system and are deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: www.HawaiiRandy.com

Or at: www.localism.com

Single Family homes sales in Wahiawa/ Whitmore have shown increases. Average sales prices of single family homes have held consistent with the same period last year.  Sales volume has dropped considerably.  The number of month's worth of inventory has increased in recent months giving buyers more selection.  Buyers will be able to find the home of their dreams, while seller's will find that pricing and the condition of their home will be more important now than in recent months.

Condo and townhouse sales in Wahiawa/ Whitmore are another story.  Average sales prices have shown a slight drop of a little over 3%, while sales volume is down tremendously year to date compared to the same period last year.  Buyer will find sellers more motivated than last year.

The below figures include both fee simple and leasehold properties.  These are only the totals and averages.

Currently Active for Sale (7/5/2008): 

• 37 Single Family Homes
• 24 Condos/ Townhouses

Currently in Escrow (7/5/2008): 

•    9 Single Family Homes
•    5 Condos/ Townhouses

*These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of Realtors MLS system and are deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: www.HawaiiRandy.com

Or at: www.localism.com

This Westloch sales report covers both Westloch Estates and Westloch Fairway (part of zip code of 96706) have seen a flattening of the market when comparing with 2006 numbers.  Sales volume has stayed steady with last year, while average sale prices have slipped slightly.

Sales volume in Westloch has slowed from the same period last year.  Average sales prices have also seen a softening.  Buyers will find some really good values in Westloch. 

Currently Active for Sale (7/5/08): 

•  29 Single Family Homes

Currently in Escrow (7/5/08):

•    6 Single Family Homes

*These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of Realtors MLS system and are deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: www.HawaiiRandy.com

Or at: www.localism.com

I placed my order yesterday for my first shipment of electronic lock boxes.  They will be coming in sometime in August.  I have been looking forward to this for some time.  Our Honolulu Board of REALTORS® made the decision to go with SentriLock, REALTOR® Electronic Lockbox.  Several years back the board implemented electronic boxes and the system was a disaster.  This time they underwent serious planning; to ensure they selected the best system and will have a smooth introduction and a program that would be embraced by the members and their clients.

In the last month I have had 3 different REALTORS® give the code to my lock boxes to their clients at closing instead of meeting them.  In one case they took my lock box and I had to have their agent get it back.  With the new electronic boxes they will need a smart card and a pin code.  Also there is a 2^nd code to remove the box, which they will not have.

We will have a log of who entered and when.  Hopefully that will stop some of the nonsense.  I am also looking forward to the reports that we can generate for our sellers.  It will be nice to have confirmation of when and if they viewed the home.  It will also prevent agents from giving lock box codes to their clients.  Sellers will feel much more comfortable with having a lock box on their door.

Use of the new electronic boxes is optional, but agents who do not use them will find themselves in the minority quickly.  The Board of REALTORS® is providing the first box and the smart card free along with a huge discount on pre-ordered lock boxes.  I am hoping that will encourage almost everyone to get onboard.