If I were to get all of my information from the news, I would believe the sky is falling.
- Gasoline prices that are matching the price of milk in Hawaii.
- Mortgage companies closing their doors all over the country.
- Airlines raising price, filing bankruptcies, parking planes and closing their doors.
- Military troops in large numbers in harms way overseas.
- Auto sales way down
- Visitor counts off.
Living in Hawaii, you would think the economy must be in the tank. Well it isn't!
Our real estate industry has seen a slowing of sales volume since the peak of the hottest market in history. Yet sales prices have remained surprisingly consistent in most areas. You would never guess that reading the newspaper or watching the evening news.
In the last 4 weeks I personally have seen a huge increase in sales activity. I am expecting this summer to set a new personal high for me. How is that possible considering all the negative news?
First of all people still need a place to live. We are not over developed on Oahu. The supply and demand is still at a good balance. Yes we have a lot of troops overseas, but the market adjusted a couple of years ago to the change in troop levels and we have had a few rotations since then. Each troop rotation creates a lot of activity.
The drop in airline seats coming to our islands is a very recent thing. We have not seen the long term effects of that yet.
The high price of fuels has made a few folks look at moving closer to their jobs. That has actually created real estate activity. I have two escrows with one client as we speak, who is selling in the suburbs and moving in town. I also just closed an escrow with a client who did the opposite to take advantage of the housing values a little further out.
Since the decrease in real estate sales volume, many inexperienced agents who jumped in to take advantage of the hot market are jumping back out. In this adjusted market, buyers and sellers are gravitating towards those of us who are recognized as top professionals in our areas. The negative press has probably helped me gain market share. Sellers are realizing that homes are not going to sell if they are not marketed and priced correctly.
If you are thinking of selling or buying real estate in a balanced like most areas on Oahu a challenged market like many parts of the mainland; get professionals involved. This is not amateur night. Get a top REALTOR® and if you are a buyer get a top respected loan officer, your REALTOR® can help you if you do not have a great loan officer.
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Randy L. Prothero, REALTOR®, ABR, AHWD, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, SFR
Century 21 Liberty Homes
Randy Prothero is well established as an expert in working with military / VA clients and first time home buyers. His home seller's (listing) campaign is one of the most aggressive marketing programs in the area.
Based out of Mililani, Hawaii. Randy services the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and the Leeward Regional Chairman of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. To improve overall professionalism in his area Randy also offers classes for real estate agents.
www.HawaiiRandy.com * Oahu (Honolulu County) Property Search * Hawaii Military Relocations
Randy
What a great post. You live in Paradise.
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Tom - I surely do.
Randy,
Glad to see positive attitude ! same with Phoenix .. guess what?
People are still moving here every day and there are new jobs created .... is sure beats the cold NE of mainland US. People that buy now will be set for life as rents now cover exenses of owning a property :) imagine that having an investment that pays for itself with someone else's money.
Elena - It is hard to find good properties that pay for themselves in our market.
They will always come back to Hawaii. We have sun, great beaches, golf courses, surf, great life styles and we are a pretty safe place compared to a lot of places in the world. Hope you have a great year.
Steve
Oh you make me want to come right over! You work in paradise...I am so jealous!
Randy, as I always say... real estate is LOCAL! Great post!
Randy,
It used to be the same here 2 years ago but not any more. someone could find now realistic long terms investments. There are a few things going on in Phoenix now that will atract a lot of people to move to the core/ down town of the city and make them interested in renting there.
Hi Randy,
Yes, there is some bad news but there is some good news too. Why can't the media report that? We've seen an increase in activity recently also.
Randy:
With the thorough analysis you present, and the activity you are seein,g how can one believe what the media continues to report. We are seeing a lot more activity too. Still some major hurdles ahead, however.
Jeff
Randy very well done and said, but unfortunatly the positive end of all this does not make it into the news papers, and news broadcasts, so it is up to us to spread the GOOD NEWS!!!!
Excellent news! Hawaii No Ka Oi!
Steven - All true.
Monika - Paradise is the best name for it.
Irina - It is always local. Many read national news and try to apply it to us.
Elena - Happy to hear things are improving in Phoenix.
Cynthia - Glad to hear.
Jeff - I guess good news doesn't sell newspapers.
George - I am amazed by how many agents do not check or run the stats for their area. There are many agents who have no clue what their market is doing.
Leolinda - Thank you.
Randy, excellent post. If only there were some way to get the media to report the facts, rather than the hysteria!
Yeah Randy, prices tend to be higher here but we call that Paradise tax! Have a happy Memorial Day.
Michael - It will only happen if they give one of us our own real estate column.
Patrick - Absolutely, that is the price of paradise.
Good post. Hope consumers read your post and buy homes before rates go up.
Gita - I am seeing sales activity, so many are not believing all of the news.