Kona Kohala Blog

Before we talk real estate in West Hawaii I'd like to bring up something for you to consider.  I am not attempting to draw any parallels between our current administration and any that have gone before but there are some troubling occurrences taking place.

Up until recently, the White House Press Corps was the main source of information making it's way out of the White House.  The president or various department heads would call a press conference and word would get out to wee the people about what's going on in the ivory towers we call Washington D.C.

On the surface, this new means of getting out the information may not seem scary, that is until you think about all the implications.  The Obama administration has it's own film department complete with directors, writers, cameras, sound stages and all that goes with turning out first rate movies, news clips and promo pieces.

The White House Press Corps has nothing to do with this new department and is seldom asked to participate in any of it's dealings.  An example of the new news is a piece that came out on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, a well produced and directed video that was meant to introduce her to the country.  The one problem is that there were no reporters involved in this production, no questions asked from neutral parties and no answers given that weren't scripted and prepared.

This was nothing more than a pro-Kagan mockumentary put out by the White House to sway the thinking of the American public.  At the same time, the White House announced that any interviews of Kagan or her family would have to be cleared with the White House.  The one formal request that was made, a request to interview her brother, a high school teacher teaching Constitutional Law, was denied by the powers that be.

Does it bother you as much as it bothers me when the free press is no longer allowed to vette a candidate or any other public figure for that matter?  I remember reading about politics in Germany in the early 1930's when similar methods were used to "educate" the public on that leader's agenda.

When an administration takes over the media by side stepping the free press and presenting only that which they want us to see and hear and only in the format they want us to see and hear the topic in, I grow concerned.  We have been lied to for a long time by this administration and that was done through a very friendly press corps.  Now it seems that even those clearly on the side of the administration can't be trusted to paint the correct picture, now they have to rely on in-house productions to tell the story they want us to hear.  Makes me wonder what the real story is.

On to real estate; our market continues in the same vein it's been in and that is declining prices and increasing sales.  The fact that the banks have a huge "shadow inventory", properties waiting to be released onto the market, is keeping the available property numbers about the same regardless of the fact that the number of sales is on the rise.  This means the low end of the market, properties under about $250,000, will continue to be well stocked for the foreseeable future.

Interest rates remain low with 30 year fixed rates under 5% with just a point up front.  There's no sign of any increases in these rates until there are strong signs on inflation.  Don't expect to see that until the employment picture changes and don't expect that until either the administration ceases it's "spread the wealth" campaign or we have a conservative house and senate.

Now is a good time to investigate property ownership in Hawaii.  Both North Kona and South Kohala have great deals on condos and homes.  With many newer condo complexes in both districts your choice is wide open.  So now you have choice, low interest rates and low prices, a perfect storm and indications of a strong buyer's market.  Come on in, the water's fine.