Here are five smart reasons to buy a home now.
1. Low Mortgage Rates
2. Houses are in move-in condition
3. Terrific houses are coming on the market
4. Appraisal regulations are finally aligned with market realities
5. Plenty of programs
So, if you are looking for a home, please allow us the opportunity to work with you to find the perfect property to match your needs and budget.
As a reminder, you can search all MLS listings from our website. After you have selected your criteria, and done a search, hit Save Search. Then, whenever there is a new listing matching those criteria, you will be automatically notified.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. Ken will be on vacation for 4 weeks beginning August 6th. Follow his exploits on Facebook, or check out his progress during the National Scrabble Championships. He is entered in the Intermediate Division.
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- Jul
- 28
Maui Foreclosure Sales
According to Realty Trac, 31% of all sales in the first quarter nationally were from Foreclosures. Read more.
The good news for Maui is that we are well below the National Average. In the first quarter, there were 87 REO sales out of a total of 509, which is equal to 17%. In the second quarter, there were 96 out total of 697 or 14%.
We suspect both the number and percentage of sales from REO’s to jump dramatically on Maui over the next 12 months.
This may be bad news for Sellers, but it is good news for those who are looking to buy. Please let us know if you would like to take advantage of the Buyer’s market.
When you add super low interest rates to the equation, it makes it an ideal time to purchase Maui real estate.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. We have created a Facebook Fan Page for “Maui Real Estate – The Smith Team”. We would love any comments or suggestions on how to improve either our Newsletter or our new Facebook page.
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According to noted economist, Paul Brewbaker, “If Maui real estate prices haven’t already hit bottom, they’re not going to get much lower.”
He further stated that it wasn’t worth looking for the last 5 dollars, and if you want a bargain, the time to act is now.
In addition, even if prices do drop further, the likelihood is that interest rates will more than offset any possible savings for those who are financing their purchases.
The uptick in housing prices in California, fortells an uptick here, as Maui closely follows the trends in California; although normally with a lag time. Read the full article.
Next week, we will put up a link to the video, so you can see for yourself the data which Mr. Brewbaker is using for his forecast.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. Ho’onanea at Lahaina is a brand new D.R. Horton project with terrific pre-construction pricing. Here are three representative Listings.
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Have we hit bottom yet? That is one of the most frequently asked questions we get.
For the answer to this question, one should look at the statistics and see how they compare to past cycles. When you do that, we believe the data suggests signs that this current phase has indeed bottomed out.
For those of you have the time and interest, we highly recommend you listen to the Video presentations on the State of Real Estate 2010 by an esteemed panel of experts. Once you have done that, we would appreciate your feedback, and the conclusions you came to.
We don’t expect to see a quick recovery on Maui due to the large number of foreclosures that are still in the pipeline, but at least the light and the end of the tunnel has gotten much brighter.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. New Website Feature - We are very excited to announce that you can now pull up Comparable Sales information on our website. Once you do a search based on the criteria you selected, click on any one of the properties that came up and hit View Details. You will then see links in the Property Information Section (Just Above Remarks) as well as above the photos. The comps shown will be to all sales within the last 6 months reported in our MLS. Also, after being down for awhile, we again have the information from the Public Tax Records for all properties on our website. Click here for a sample.
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Have you noticed that our introductions seem to be getting shorter and shorter? The reason is that as the market has improved, we have become so busy, it is a full time job just keeping up with the e-mails, offers, and escrows.
Don’t get us wrong. We are not complaining. In fact, we are delighted by the tremendous increase in e-mail inquiries and new business.
Sometime within the next week, we are hopeful to roll out a new upgraded version of our website that will allow you to search sold comps going back 6 months. We are in Beta testing right now.
It is desire to provide you with the most up to date and complete information possible, so you can make an informed decision on buying and selling real estate on Maui. If there are any specific requests you might have, please let us know.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
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- Feb
- 25
Multi-Generational Living
Multi-Generational living may be a new trend in real estate; however, here on Maui, this has been a very common theme for a long, long time.
There are two very important reasons for this. The first reason is economic. With the high cost of living here in the Islands, families often share living arrangements to save money.
The second reason is more cultural in nature. There are many families with Hawaiian and Asian descent in our population. They have a very strong cultural tradition for this type of living arrangement.
In fact, the term you often see used in Hawaii is “Ohana”. The term “Ohana” literally means family. It has come to mean any type of separate living arrangement either inside the home or a detached cottage. Typically these Ohanas have their own kitchens.
If you are looking for a home with an Ohana either for economic reasons or to share with another family member, please allow us to help you find the ideal property for your budget.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. We are very sad to report the loss of a dear friend and colleague, Betsy Jacobsen who died several days ago. Our heartfelt prayers are with her family. Happy trails Betsy.
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- Feb
- 22
Shadow Inventory
There has been a lot of talk about “Shadow Inventory” recently. This refers to properties with delinquent mortgage loans.
It is currently estimated that there are 7.7 million properties with delinquent mortgages, and that over half of these, approximately 5.5 million will end up being foreclosed on in the next two years.
According to a new study by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, the “Shadow Inventory” will not hurt the market because there is strong investor demand.
This has certainly been the case here on Maui, where well priced REO or short sale listings are receiving multiple offers.
An example of that was a 3 bedroom 2 bath 3 year old starter home in Wailuku where the price was reduced to $299,999. Within only a few days there were 14 offers, most of which were above the asking price.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. Tired of the snow. Come warm up in beautiful, warm, sunny Maui. It’s a great day to be living in Paradise.
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Opportunities abound as more and more Sellers get realistic on their pricing.
With new REO’s hitting the market each week, Sellers are either dropping their prices or accepting offers well below asking. Some of these are on short sale listings, which are not guaranteed of closing; however, what do you have to lose.
With interest rates close to record low levels, now is the time to lock in a great deal before prices and interest rates both go up.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
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2009 is almost in the history books. It certainly has been a challenging year for many people, and especially those in real estate.
Fortunately, we were able to buck the trend again, and had another outstanding year with closed sales over $19 Million.
Although we are understandably proud of our accomplishments this year; we take even greater satisfaction in knowing that we helped many folks get some terrific deals as well as helping others sell their properties in challenging times.
We are looking forward to an even better year in 2010. If you are thinking of buying or selling, please let us know how we can best assist you in that process.
We want to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.
Have a wonderful week!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
The Smith Team
P.S. At times we hear about owners who are extremely motivated even though the price may not seem to reflect it. Such is the case with two oceanfront homes at Maluhia #5 and Makena Place #1. Don’t be shy about making an offer on either of these properties.
Gregory P. Smith R (B), Melissa Smith R (B), Ken Smith R (S), Jeremy Smith R (S)
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