Buyers who are relocating to Hawaii hop on the airplane and bring along with them the mindset that all housing markets are the same nationwide. The media has given the consumer a NATIONWIDE view of the housing market and it's not factual information after crossing the Pacific Ocean. The media has given the consumer wrong information because each and every neighborhood presents a different LOCAL market. Each city has different statistics for their housing market and goes right down to each state has their own statistics for their economy and the reasons why.
Yes, we all are experiencing some difficult times as the rest of the nation but you, the buyer, need to be informed properly so when you are looking to purchase that Home in Hawaii you will know that KILLER NEGOTIATING WILL CAUSE YOU TO LOSE THE HOME YOU LOVE!
- Get an experienced Realtor® and stop listening to your friends, cousins, aunties and uncles on the mainland to give you great marketing advice.
- When your Realtor® gives you comps on surrounding complexes make sure you are including the fenced in courtyard that tax records show.
- When you get rejected know that your offer insulted the seller and that your killer negotiating tactics didn't work.
- When you come back with an acceptable offer and submit an As Is Addendum that does not mean to come back with nit picky items to fix under C-51 (the Home Inspection) Why did you submit one if you're going to do that??
In our Sunday Honolulu Advertiser Homes Section this past Sunday there was a story titled "Local Banks Remain Solid Dilberately. Anti Subprime Sentiment Saves Homes, Banks". Wow! What a wonderful story to show that in Hawaii we still have one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the country. ONE in every 842 households in Hawaii compared to ONE in every 189 in California and one in every 82 in Nevada is a very impressive number. What would keep our Hawaii Homes Market at a lower foreclosure rate than other parts of the country?
The reason being is that our local banks INTENTIONALLY stayed away from subprime loans. It was a conscious decision that kept our banks solid here but also saved many Oahu Homeowners from losing their homes. The Local Lenders in Hawaii have an interest in to serve the communities and provide mortgage products that meet our unique community's needs. This explanation from Linda Nakamura, vice president of mortgage servicing at First Hawaiian Bank is the best one I've seen to explain our local housing market and the reasons that we have survived a declining market "nationwide".
This is not to say that some neighborhoods are experiencing a "slightly" declining market but this is nothing compared to what I've seen in blogs and articles online on ActiveRain Real Estate Network. This is not to say that we are not experiencing a slower market either because we are.
Bottom line is that it all depends on the circumstances of both the buyer and the seller.
Example: If the seller does not HAVE to sell but wanting to make a life change and the buyer really loves the home, why would a buyer try and be a killer negotiater and take a chance on losing the home they love?
There is little buildable land here in Hawaii compared to the rest of the country and much of our land is Preservation, Conservation, Agricultural and Country zoned. Local residents and Relocating Military to Hawaii chose to buy their own homes when the market boomed due to rising rental costs. Why rent when we can buy? And they did so with the majority taking out Conventional and VA loans at 30 year fixed rates.
The same holds true for today. Yes, there is a LITTLE room for negotiating and under certain circumtances there may be more room to negotiate in other neighborhoods where it is SLIGHTLY declining. But don't presume that flying Across the Ocean to Paradise will bring a BIG discount when purchasing your Hawaii Home.
Bottom line is that the housing market in Hawaii has slowed but not dead.
And....it all depends on the circumstances.
How bad do you want to buy that home & how bad do they need to sell that home?
© 2008 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, All rights reserved
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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents. Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com
Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate® and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocations, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents, Home Buyers and Sellers.
© 2007-2012 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman's Hawaii Real Estate and Relocation Blog.
All rights reserved.
Glad to hear things are looking good out there. I met your Association and state leaders at NAR meetings...very nice people.
Are sellers pricing accurately or greedy?
Please remember me if you learn of anyone moving back to Orange County CA and I'll do the same.
Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors
Sally, -
Thanks for this post. You are 100% the real estate is localized. Even in my declining Burlington County, NJ market, clients have a false view of reality. The figure that since a house is listed at $100K below what it would have sold for last year, they can pick it up at a fire sale price of at least $100K below the asking price. It is our job to educate all of our clients. Sellers and Buyers.
Have a great day and keep up the good work
Leander
Hi Sally,
Very informative. Persons relocating there should locate a reliable Realtor, one they can trust, then listen and be guided. Every market and area is unique unto itself.
Sally - I have to laugh sometimes at what people think. Thinking that the real estate market is the same nationwide is like saying the average temperature in the US is 78 degrees! LOL In your area it may be 98 degrees and somewhere else it may be 62 and so on. People can understand that logically but for some reason feel property values are supposed to be the same all over.
Hi Sally, You are so right. Our local market has stayed pretty healthy at the same time markets in other areas have suffered. Have a great day.~
Sally, good points. Especially the one about insulting the sellers with the poor negotiating tactics!
Hi Sally,
This is need to know information for anyone considering purchasing in Hawaii or anywhere for that matter. Real Estate is local. Excellent! :)
Michael: Thanks .... and I'll keep that in mind :)
Leander: Right on target. It's OUR JOB to educate our clients. Now....that's not to say what the buyer or seller will decide in the end anyway...but I agree...it's our job to educate.
Hal: Yup...and it takes just one that does not educate their client to make a market go down...or one that does and keeps the market alive.
Sandy: I like your example! Our temperature is warm all year.....cooler (but still warm) in the winter. So....why does the media insist that the market is NATIONWIDE?
Shirley: Yup....and there are reasons why....and it's my job to educate the consumer with facts...not fiction on tv,:)
Gary: I agree. Let's do the best for our clients but educate them with sensible advice!
Suzanne: It sure is! How are you???? I'm doing good with the sugar thing....I do believe my intake is cut 2/3 now!
Local, local, local. Kind of like location, location, location, isn't it? Well put Sally.
Sally,
Many good points here to apply to other states and situations...and yes, economies as well as real estate, is a very 'local' phenomenon...! Thanks, Fran
HI SALLY!
Kudos to you for letting the consumer know, in advance, that you can't come to HI and "steal" a house. That is so important to clarify because they're watching HGTV whose telling them that they can "demand" what they want for the price that they want!
Sally - Great information with some very beautiful photographs, thanks for the tips!
Sally - rock on ! Well said. The media and the pundits have done a disservice to some buyers, either have paralyzed them out of the market due to fear or have them offering 80 percent of the listing price and being "firm". It is important to remember location, location location !!! Glad we subscribed to your blog : ) - You have some great content !
Thanks Fred...don't you hate those inuendos lol!
Fran: Sure is! Like here we thrive on tourism....not so great right now :)
Yvette: And so the reason to get expert advice and not TV garbage :)
Robert: Sure thing...
Christopher and STephanie: Okay...rock...and roll :) Thanks for dropping by. :)
Well, my market STINKS! But I'm so glad that yours DOES NOT! I've found that when it comes to negotiating, in good or bad markets, the super aggressive negotation tactics rarely work.
Aloha Sally,
Excellent post! Many mainlanders forget that Hawaii is an archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where land is a premium. When you buy a home in Hawaii the value is in the land not in the home itself. That's why dilapidated teardowns can cost $500K or more. It comes down to land square footage and location.
Peace,
Sally do you mean the the Media has been coloring the news that they have been reporting :)
I have been getting a laugh out of what they have been reporting lately about Lenders not being able to fund loans. We do not have any problem with funding loans here in Connecticut. The only people that are having a hard time getting a loan are the ones that have bad credit, HIGH ratio's, or who can't document their income. If someone has fair credit, middle of the road ratio's, and can document income, we do not have any problem in funding and giving them a loan.
There might be parts of the country where it maybe a problem, but not here, and the Media needs to stop taking worst case conditions and applying them to the whole nation.
It's nice to hear that the real estate market is holding it's own there in Hawaii! Those nit pickers need to go back to the mainland. LOL
Kelly: It sure doesn't. What part of working together as a team do they not understand?
Thanks Kimo! That surely is the main point isn't it? Just so much buildable land and land value is there...the land :)
As they say, all real estate is local. If your market is healthy, underbidding will not turn out well for buyers. They should rely on you and not their uninformed family (since they're probably relying on the national news media). I would say the same for any buyer - listen to your agent!
Sally,
You bet all r.e. is local. Even down to one side of town or one neighborhood vs. another. All the more reason to use a local agent!
Sally, great story, proving once again about real estate being so local. I agree with what Lynda said it is even down to the neighborhood.
Sally, How wonderful to read how strong your market is in Hawaii--you have such LOW foreclosure rates there. I would think people would be thrilled to find their dream home and put in an acceptable offer...Or I should say I would hope they would.
Sally... how about building houses on water? Hey, love the pictures..
Jeff , that is funny, but definetely possible. they are building homes on the water in Dubai like crazy. I would guess that under water volcanos in Hawaii would pose too much risk though.
Sally , your point is well taken. I think that more buyers need to hear this. It appears that people have very unrealistic expectations of the Real estate market across the country.
Sally,
A great post and good advice and the best advice in my opinion is "Get an experienced Realtor® and stop listening to your friends, cousins, aunties and uncles on the mainland to give you great marketing advice.".
Yes, that will save you lots of time and heartache.
Sally - this is a great post, and thanks for sharing the numbers about the foreclosure rates. Congratulations to Hawaii for having such a low foreclosure rate.
Margaret: It's sad to see that the Buyers Agent is shoved to the side (while giving good information to their client) over listening to outside sources. Another thing if the agent chimes in without educating the buyer as well. Many of our areas are still healthy and I suspect that it is due to the suggestions stated above.
Lynda: Educating a buyer/seller is one thing....if they don't listen is another too. :) Bottom line....local ..neighborhood...even sides of neighborhood....that's another.
Gary: Sides of neighborhoods. I thought about that one....it's true...in Mililani and Miliani Mauka it is differing. :)
Carole: Many relocating here do not understand and if their Realtor® is not educating them properly then what can one do? If the agent is educating their client and they're not listening ...well, we just can't control these people can we? :) :)
Sally I am so glad you posted this! We are having the exact same dilemma here in Texas. We have not dodged the bullet by any means but we are still very healthy due to some of the same things you mentioned (The relative lack of sub-prime loans and not much over building) When folks show up with a preconceived notion that often lose out until they finally learn the truth about a particular market. It is too bad people make such costly mistakes but it is a reality I can understand. Great post! have a good weekend!
I run into many folks who think they are still on the mainland. It is difficult to get them to realize our market is quite different than many places.
Russell: Isn't it just downright disgusting the way they paint the market as NATIONWIDE? How ridiculous...might as well say statistics for everything is the same.... employment rate and the whole bit. So ridiculous and then WE have to clean up the rumors and bad info.
Randy: No kidding. Bottom line...they can keep losing offers on homes until they get it right :)
Jeff: Funny:) You mean like houseboats? :)
Benita: Exactly! And then they go into shock once they get here. :)
Cynthia: Definitely!
Sharon: It's with great planning that this is market has steady sales prices.