Kona Kohala Blog

May be just a spike or coincidence but we're had 6 new escrows opened in the last 24 hours.  With the exception of one condo all were under $400K and three of them were under $300K.

Lower end properties remain of interest to first time home buyers.  Investors are still waiting while occasionally sticking their feet in the water with low offers.  For most investors, the rental market is too soft right now with a plethora of properties waiting for tenants.

Once the overall economy begins to pick up and people go back to work we'll see more demand for rentals.  A lot of the transient laborers will show up again to work in the various trades mainly associated with building.  These people and their families won't want to buy but will want to rent.

There will be a small window of opportunity from the time the recovery begins until the investors start buying again to get a nice proeprty for a reasonable price.  Expect prices to continue downward for a while here; we still have to catch up (or catch down) with the mainland before our prices are seen as good deals.  The other thing to watch is interest rates.  I've been wrong before, a lot, but I expect to see interest rates begin climbing around the end of the year with a substantial jump next spring.

Timing is everything so if you're one of the people standing on the side lines waiting for just the right time then you should contact us.  By getting signed up on our Prospects List, you will be notified whenever a property meeting your criteria comes on the market.  We can also put you on the list for our weekly newsletter, Aloha Friday.  Other than updates and a newsletter, we won't be bothering you and we do not share email addresses with anyone.

If you're interested, email me at Robert@FerrariPacificRealtyl.com.