Just SOLD!  $740k condo at Kalele Kai. My very happy client has been waiting for a good unit in this building for quite some time.  

It's 2 bedrooms,  2 baths, 1427 square feet with a huge lanai and some marina view. 

Check out the great open kitchen with modern cabinets and counters.

 The building sits over the marina, and owners get to have a dock for their boats.  What a great location!

The complex has a beautiful resort like setting, and this luxurious pool featuring palm trees as part of the lush landscape.

Congratulations and thanks to my client on her great new condo!  

A client of mine is going to be listing this beautiful 3 bedroom marina front town home in Mawaena Kai. It should be ready in a couple weeks.  Here is a preview.  It is an end unit with a large extended lanai and a huge loft inside. Probably the best location in the complex.

Oahu has beautiful eye popping luxury homes all around.  With panoramic ocean views, sandy beaches, and gorgeous sunsets, it's easy for us real estate agents to get amazing photos of the properties we sell on this beautiful island. 

But every now and then as I'm browsing new listings, I come across a picture that is so bad that I save it in a folder I have labeled, "ridiculous."  Now that I have enough to share, I thought my readers might find these funny.  All of these photos are from actual MLS listings that appeared on the web.

1. This one was pretty recent, and is actually taken by someone I know.  I
guess this is a picture of a blurry pool, but all I see is the free
camera strap that apparently comes with the condo.   No time to take
another photo I guess.  

2. "Mrs. Seller, I'm going to take a picture of your house, can you hold
still so I can get just the top of your head in it?   No don't worry, I
won't crop you out later."

 3. I'm pretty sure these are not the sellers of this house, but rather a couple different groups of people looking at it.  "Hello boy, do you want to be on the internet? NO? Too bad."  

4. Ok so this one wasn't on the MLS, but I had to include it. I took this at a $1.2 million house I was showing. The listing agent used her own belt to help secure the house. No kidding, she asked me to put the belt back on after we left.  Is this a safe neighborhood?  Well... as long as you have an extra belt around, yes.

5. Purse? Check. Half of some guy's shirt? Check. Bowl of noodles next to your purse? Check.  Ok we are ready to take the picture and sell this house! 

6. You should highlight the features of your home.  If one of those features is a big stack of books "for dummies," then definitely show that in your listing pictures.  You wouldn't want buyers to think you are some stuck up smart guy.

7.  Wow. Just what are we seeing here? Some kind of indoor tent in a half finished "under the stairs" type of room? Fire hazards everywhere but somehow there is a fire sprinkler in this place?  I'm sure this house sold to a nice family of hostage takers.
 

8. This house comes with a storage shed, which you can either put things inside, or just sort of near. Good thing the tarp is nearly covering up these valuable items or someone might take them.

9.  Not funny, just dark and blurry.  Perfect for your clients with poor eyesight, and/or who like to hold a seance to summon their relatives with bad taste in curtains.

10.  Fire hazard + child height stove = the perfect selling point for this house.  "Your kids will love cooking plastic and paper!"

11.  We have 4 trashcans.  That's 4!

12. Would you like to live near this guy?  Too bad, he's riding away so we don't know who he is.  This agent must have been in a REAL hurry, because he didn't have time to get out of his car or wait for this guy to be out of the shot. At least he rolled down his window.

13.  Someday I would like to take photography lessons.  I think lesson 1 is, if there is a toilet, a dog, and a tackle box, you have good "composition."  

14. There is a lot going on in this picture.  Let's play a sort of "where's Waldo" with it.  I think there are up to 5 people in it. Can you spot them all?

15. And The Winner!  Where do I begin?  I guess this agent didn't have time to get out of the
car. Worse yet, you can see the University of Hawaii hat reflecting in
the windshield.   This house was listed for almost $700k!  For a
commission on $700k, I would be willing to roll down the window or maybe even get all the way out of my car to take
the picture. 

The Maui real estate statistics are out by
Realtors Association of Maui, Inc.The numbers are huge.

Single family Homes

Sales increased by 45 units to 485 homes sold, a 10% change YTD.  The Highest Price Sold was a $9,700,000 Kapalua residence. The average sold price increased to $817,232, which is up 15% YTD.

The median price increased to $542,000, 20% YTD.

Condos

Sales increased slightly to 672 units sold, up 4 units. Average sold price increased to $536,021, up 13%!

The Median Price increased to $372,500, up +6% YTD.

Inventory is low:

There is a 5 month supply of Single family homes and condos on the market.

The market in Maui is pretty much mirroring the Oahu market.  Inventory low, prices up, but starting to slow down a bit. 

I often hear from young adults today that they are finding it difficult to establish themselves in the housing market. Owning your own home is a central part of the American dream, and a pretty important milestone in any person's life, so it's bad news if young people today are having a tougher go at it than we did. But are they really?

I decided to dig up the statistics all the way back to 1979 to find out how affordable a home has been for the average American over that time period, based on median home price, median family income, interest rates, debt levels, and more. The results were both surprising and complicated, so I decided to present them in infographic form to make it easier for my readers to make sense of all the data I looked at.

Whether you're a young professional eager to buy your first home, a parent who's about to send their first child off to a college, or a real estate professional trying to make sense of current trends, pay close attention because it's time to take an honest look at how the average family has fared over the past three decades. 

Check out my new listing in Ocean Pointe for $690,000.  This beautiful 2446 sqft house has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a detached studio with wetbar. It has a great corner lot!

Great room with new stainless appliances !

Large living room lead to even bigger back yard

Large open lanai

With an asking price of $24.9 million, the exquisite property of 210 North Kalaheo Ave. in Kailua is currently the highest priced home for sale in all of Oahu. But what's most stunning about this home, other than its gorgeous design and countless luxury features, is that its original asking price when it went on sale in 2011 was $36 million. That's a reduction of $11.1 million - probably the largest price drop in Hawaii real estate history! Luxury buyers should take note, because as far as top-tier homes in Hawaii go, this one is a serious bargain.

With countless features and amenities to boast about, one hardly knows where to begin when describing this incredible piece of real estate. With an 11,000 square foot estate which includes a primary residence as well as a separate guest house, plus 1.5 acres of beachfront land situated right on Oahu's desirable windward coast, this property is perfect for those who enjoy hosting friends, family, and business associates. The 8 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms (5 each in the main home and 3 each in the guest house), plus 3 powder rooms (2 in the main home and 1 in the guest house), all but guarantee that space won't be a problem, even for large families. For those who appreciate fine automobiles, the main residence's 1,000+ square foot garage is sure to be appreciated, as are the 16 separate parking stalls available throughout the property. The custom-designed media room makes the concept of "home theater" ring truer than ever before, while the full-sized library offers a perfect opportunity for tranquility and research. The total lot area is over 65,000 square feet, all situated on some of the most prized real estate in Hawaii.

Designed by the extremely talented duo of Kerr Michaels Design, and listed by Tracy P. Allen of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, 210 North Kalaheo Ave. is a genuinely luxurious property that simply can not be beaten at this price. If you'd like to inquire further about this fine home, feel free to reach my office at (808) 395-5776.

This 2324 sqft, 4 bedroom 3 bath home was just listed yesterday. At just under $1 million, it is the ONLY home available in Hahaione Valley right now.  Check out this long driveway with room for several cars.

 And some nice ocean view from the living room and dining room. 

 Kitchen has new Corian counters and stainless steel appliances with a gas stove.

 And flat yard for kids and pets!

It's true - there are only 3 availaible homes for sale in ALL of Hawaii Kai under $1 million.  I just listed this one, and even though we haven't shown it, I have multiple buyers wanting to send us offers over asking price!

This remodeled ocean view home has 1340 sqft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, with granite kitchen and wood floors. Best of all, it's located at the top of a flat cul de sac so kids can play outside, and adults can enjoy the ocean view from the llanai. 

We decided to let it sit on the market for an ENTIRE WEEK before allowing any offers to come in. This way, our first showing day will be a mad rush, and I'm certain there will be multiple offers well over asking price.  In this market, every good listing that is priced correctly should sell in a matter of days.

 Open floor plan with granite kitchen and laminate wood floors.

 Beautiful valley and ocean view from the lanai!

2012 in Oahu Real Estate went on record as one of the strongest seller's markets in a long time.  The median home price for at the end of 2012 was $620,000, up 7.8% since last year, while condos were at $317,500, up 5.8%.

A year ago, Oahu median home prices were just $575,000, and median condo prices were at $300,000.  The number of sales increased as well, up 6.5% or homes and 8.2% for condos compared to all of 2011.

The main factor driving up prices is the lack of inventory, with only 2.5 months of home inventory in Oahu. This led to sellers receiving an average of 97% of their asking price in 2012, as compared to 95% in 2011.

But most people want to know where the market is going in the future, not where it was in the past.  What will 2013 look like?  I have a few predictions for 2013. By the way I've been right every year for 10 years, including the down years. In April 2009, I called the bottom of the Oahu real estate market, and it's up 15-20% since then. 

The Oahu real estate market in 2013:

• Inventory will increase a little bit, leading to prices being more stable and not increasing as quickly as last year.  I predict a 10-15% increase in inventory, mostly due to the banks pushing foreclosures through the courts again.  In 2012, there were almost no foreclosures as banks had to figure their way through Act 48. 
• The number of sales will increase almost proportionately to the increase in inventory, which means that prices won't rise as quickly.  
• Prices will rise around 1-2% for 2013.  In 2012, the average house took 34 days to sell.  In reality, a nice house in a nice neighborhood sold in a day or two if priced correctly.  I had many listings with multiple offers, even though they were well over $1 million. However in 2013, I think that will slow slightly by about the end of summer, which will lead to prices rising slower than last year. 
• I predict we will finish the year with homes selling in an average of 40-45 days. 
• Sellers will still get about 95-97% of their asking prices.  It's still going to be a seller's market, because inventory will continue to be low by historical standards.  We currently still have crazy low inventory, and a slight increase won't change the market because of continuing high demand and the increase in military presence coming this year. 

At the end of 2013, it will be a more balanced seller's market, and buyers will wish they had bought sooner.  One thing is for sure - if you own a Hawaii home in 2013, your mortgage will have been paid down for one more year, which means no matter what you will have banked some money.