A home in Aina Haina is up for consideration as the “messiest home in america.” The Style Networks hit show “Clean House”
The house is stacked with bins of books. Toys cover the floor. The dining table has become a storage facility. The pantry is filled with old eats, and all the rooms are overstuffed, having lost their original purpose as places of comfort and relaxation.
The family has five cars — but can’t find the keys to two of them.
PBN reported that new home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331,000 in December. That’s down nearly 15 percent from a revised 388,000 annual rate in November. December’s total was the lowest on records dating back to 1963.
Hawaii Realtors weigh in on Economy.com’s prediction. In this story by KGMB, realtors agree that a 30% drop is too drastic. It’s predictions like these that destroys consumer confidence and creates unrealistic expectations for potential buyers.
The Honolulu Advertiser article cites a national research study by Economy.com. The headline illicited response from Hawaii realtors who think this is overly pessimistic. Honolulu’s median price fell just 3% last year, and according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors, Hawaii’s inventory has remained stable. I think the most telling stat of all… In 2007, Economy.com forecast a 0.6 percent decline to Honolulu’s median home price. Instead, the median rose 2.1 percent that year.
Can the real estate market get so bad that banks are practically giving homes away? According to this article in Yahoo, foreclosures have turned banks into property management companies and it’s often cheaper for them to give these homes away rather than try to get market value for them.
A lot of these homes were listed and re-listed, or were previously put up for auction but didn’t sell. And many of them are “fixer-uppers,” and buyers will be required to make repairs and bring the houses up to code. But still… $1,000 is a great deal.
According to Freddi Mac, the national average of interest rate last week has dropped to the lowest ever since 1971. This historical low interest rate is sparking a big refinancing boom among homeowners trying to lower their monthly payments, shorten the life of their loans, or convert from adjustable rate to fixed rate mortages. It’s expected that more people will refinance as word of the low interest rates spread. Check out the Honolulu Advertiser article.
Ofcourse… when rates are this low, it’s also a great time to buy.
According to Honolulu Board of Realtors, the Oahu home prices in 2008 were fairly stable. If you compare the median price for single-family homes in 2008 and 2007, the median price in 2008 ($624,000) dropped only by 3 percent from 2007 ($643,500). When you do the same comparison by month, December’s median price in 2008 ($626,500) has actually risen by 3 percent from December 2007 ($610,000). Read Pacific Business News article
We started the new year with a bang at a friend’s house where we lit the customary firecrackers at midnight (notice the illegal aerial fireworks in the background). Unfortunately, there were no tradewinds yesterday to blow away the smoke. The air was so thick with smoke from the fireworks, we could barely see the lines on the road as we drove home.
Based on the information from the Multiple Listing Service of the Honolulu Board of REALTORS active listings last updated on .
Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.