Memorial Day Weekend is generally considered the tip-off to summer, and that means time with the kids, family vacations, long days at the beach and possibly buying a new house. Summer can be a great time to take a big step in your real estate plans, whether you're looking to sell your house or buy a new one. Here are some summer real estate tips for you: If you're selling your house, start … [Read more...]
The 3 Types of Real Estate Buyers
What does it mean when someone says they buy or invest in real estate? Or even when they simply say that they want to buy a house? It's not always Ken and Barbie looking for a 3-bed single family home in Honolulu with a white picket fence and room for Fido in the back. Today's real estate scene is savvier and more sophisticated than ever. Non-real estate professionals know more about the real … [Read more...]
Over 100K in Renovations – Large Home for Sale in Honolulu NOW!
We just finished a long project in Moanalua Gardens, Honolulu. We put over $100,000 into rehabbing this large 2-story, 5-bed 3-bath home at 1720 Ala Amoamo Street behind Fort Shafter. A long journey but well worth it as we turned out a BEAUTY of a house! Kudos to general contractor Sam Kim and KO Builders for all the hard work they did. This stunner just hit the local real estate market on … [Read more...]
Are You Committed to Hawaii Real Estate?
Are you committed to Hawaii real estate? I mean really committed? What does that even mean and why would I even ask? Well, the word "commitment" has special meaning for me lately as I just got married last week to the most wonderful woman. To be committed to anything -- or anyone -- means to pursue, devote and persevere toward a worthy goal. Well, that may not be the Webster's definition but it … [Read more...]
Summer Real Estate Season
It's widely known that in most areas in the country, the peak of home buying season is in the summer months. It's not just the temperature that's hot in June through August months. While the Hawaii real estate scene does not suffer from winter storms and subzero temperatures that plague open houses, and home sellers, in much of the mainland, even Hawaii's market picks up in these times as well. If … [Read more...]
Reading the Tea Leaves
Aloha, friends. It sure is an interesting time for the economy and real estate, both in Hawaii and across the nation. If you're a news junkie, then you no doubt are aware of the see-saw performance of the stock market. Today it's up, tomorrow it's down. It's basically dependent on two key items: HOUSING and JOBS, the two of which are themselves intrinsically linked together. But how reliable … [Read more...]
Tapping Into Foreign Markets For Buyers
It's no secret that many of today's properties are considered 'distressed'. The percentage of homes that are vacant, in preforeclosure, headed to an auction or repossessed by banks as REO properties is not news -- but it's still staggering. Obviously some states have weathered the storm more than others. Hawaii has dropped out of the top ten states in America for foreclosure rates, but we're still … [Read more...]