All Categories

Jim Cramer is an interesting guy, some people love him and some hate him. In September of 2008, Cramer said the housing market would recover from its freefall on June 30, 2009. Many were pes-simistic, thinking it would take longer and some were optimistic, thinking June 2009 was too far away. On Tuesday June 16th, 2009 Jim Cramer declared the bust is over. Do you believe him? If you missed his show, checkout the video. Note, Cramer's not predicting sudden appreciation of homes, rather he's sa... Read Full Post

This house on Kilauea Avenue in Kaimuki was on the market in 2008, initially priced at $829,900. There were several price reductions and it didn't sell. The house went into foreclosure, now it's back on the market as a lender sale. The home has five bedrooms, three and a half baths with 1,824 square feet interior area. The lot is small but adequate, 2,900 square feet. This location is terrific! It's right across the street from Kapiolani Community College and near Leahi Hospital. The list pri... Read Full Post

Hawaii has a new law for cell phones and other hand-held devices taking effect on July 1st, 2009. The law only applies to Oahu and bans "hand-held mobile electronic devices" while driving. "Hands-free" devices will be allowed. The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) will ticket drivers observed violating the new law. Major Thomas Nitta, commander of the HPD's traffic division, said officers will ticket drivers caught with electronic devices in their hands while driving. It will then be up to the... Read Full Post

Oahu's median home prices took a big hit last month. The median price of a single family home declined to $550,000, from $649,500 in May 2008. That's a 15.3% drop islandwide. Median condo and townhome prices fell too. The May 2009 median sale price was $305,000 versus $337,000 in May 2008. Home Sales Volume on Oahu May 2009 had 225 single family home sales, down 10.7% from the 252 homes sold in May 2008. For condos and townhomes, there were 263 sales in March 2009 versus 382 in March 2008. Th... Read Full Post

Summer is (nearly) here and the waves are rolling in at Diamond Head again! For those who are not familiar with the waves in Hawaii, in the summer we tend to get waves on the south side of the island (Honolulu) and in the winter we tend to get waves on the north side (the famous North Shore). South Shore waves typically do not get as big as the North Shore. It still gets big enough to be plenty fun and scary too. When wave sizes are overhead, that's all I need for my thrills. Waves are measur... Read Full Post

A customer made an inquiry about buying property at Diamond Head and Kahala. He wants a property with sandy beach frontage. The property can be either vacant land or land with an older house, ready for a remodel. I drive along Diamond Head Road and Kahala Avenue nearly every day. There are numerous homes along the beach and several undeveloped land parcels too. It first seemed like an easy task to find a suitable beachfront property for this person. Not so! Apparently the beachfront propertie... Read Full Post

Are you into Hawaii Nostalgia? I love it. Hawaii Airplane history I've had an interest in World War II airplanes since I was a young kid. There's a great website prepared by the Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society that has lots of photos of vintage airplanes, long forgotten airfields and famous landmarks such as Diamond Head. If you're into vintage propeller-driven airplanes, you will love this website. Hawaii Five-0 A favorite TV show about the 50th State is Hawaii Five-0. When I was a kid,... Read Full Post

After two very slow months at the beginning of the year, March 2009 showed some signs of recovery for Hawaii's housing market. The median price of a single family home climbed back up to $600,000, from February's $555,000 median. Single family home prices were down from a year earlier, approximately 4.5% island-wide. Condo and townhome prices were down 7.4% in March 2009, versus a year earlier. Home Sales Volume on Oahu March 2009 had 188 single family home sales, up from 163 sold in February... Read Full Post

Here's an interesting property on the windward side of Oahu. A small house sits on this 3/4 acre beachfront lot. The house is definitely a fixer, although habitable. The current owners have lived in the house for several years. This listing will attract a lot of attention because of its price. Originally listed at $175,000, the owners have dropped the price all the way down to $99,000. Normally, a sandy beachfront lot of 1/4 acre and larger on Oahu would start at a minimum of $1,500,000 and h... Read Full Post

Here's a deal at Makaha Valley Towers! This is a two bedroom, one bath condo with views of two golf courses, the ocean and the mountains. The building has central air conditioning and it's kept in great shape. This used to be my listing. The buyers got into financial troubles and we tried to sell it. The condo went to foreclosure auction and the bank set the minimum bid at $275,000. A few people were interested, but not at that price. The bank took the condo back and it's been relisted. Makah... Read Full Post