mikey's Blog: All Categories

I met with a homeowner in Honolulu today, he's ready to sell and move somewhere else.  As we walked around the house I saw this chameleon, colors going full blast on a sunny day.  He stayed still long enough for me to get this closeup shot.

Hawaii is a tropical place and you can find chameleons, geckos and all sorts of other critters.  Most of them are not harmful.  We don't have snakes and other life-threatening creatures to worry about.

Just keep an eye out for centipedes and scorpions.  We don't see them often, but either can sting you and it hurts!

Have a great day in paradise!

Aloha, Mike

Oahu MLS

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 saying the freefall is over and home prices are stabilizing.  Why does he feel the worst is over?  Housing starts and permits are picking up in a big way!  Housing was down for so long and he's now a real estate buyer.  As Larry Kudlow…

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 price is $649,900.

There's some work to be done.  Countertops and cabinets were removed by the former owner, along with the appliances.

I looked at this house in 2008 for a customer and made a video.  Please disregard the MLS number in the video, the new MLS…

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 drivers to prove to a judge that they should not have gotten a ticket.

The fine is $67 for a first offense.  There is no grace period, so be aware that starting on July 1st you can get a ticket for something that many Oahu drivers do daily! 

HPD defines a…

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.  That's a 31.2% reduction in sales from a year earlier.

This year lenders have slowed prospective buyers, putting a big dent in condo and townhome purchases.  Some of those issues include:

- For several months, Fannie/Freddie guidelines demanded that a…

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 measured in two ways.  The old way, also known as "Hawaiian Style" measures the wave from its back.  The more common way to measure waves these days is by the face.  Typically, the face of the wave is twice as big as the back.  So a two-to-four foot day (Hawaiian…

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 properties for sale at Diamond Head and Kahala these days are off the market.  Even those vacant land parcels are not listed.  Hmmm.

Diamond Head beach

Well, there certainly is sandy beach in the area, here's a picture I took near a home a customer looked at last… 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, I was not much interested in this show.  Now, decades later I love to watch it.  Why the change?  Because Hawaii Five-0 was filmed all across Oahu and sometimes on the neighbor islands.  I think it's so cool to see McGarrett drive down the street, past…