Kona Kohala Blog

 . . . are a'changin'.  Last year was a crazy and unpredictable market and this year is starting out to be even more so.  We have a society that reacts to every tidbit of news whether it's earth shaking or just a loud mouthed sheriff making his opinions known.  No matter what happens it seems to shake the very roots of our economy, whether it does or not.

People seem to be looking hard for a good investment; the stock market is near all time highs so it's bound to "correct".  The bond market isn't giving any returns worth a darn and precious metals carry a stigma that's hard for people to get over and go ahead and invest in.  This all brings us back to real estate.

Hawaii prices are very low compared to historical levels.  Interest rates are bouncing around between 4% and 5% but seemingly holding there.  The banks are loosening up a little but not much making borrowing harder than ever even for qualfied buyers.  But loans are happening and there are plenty of cash buyers out there so the market is bouncing upwards but ever so slowly.

Hawaii Island wide sales are down <36.4%> from January of 2010 for Single Family Residences (SFR's) and up 3.45% for condos.  In South Kohala SFR's are down <27.3%> but the condo sales are up an amazing 42.9%.  In North Kona, SFR's sales are down a whopping <69.6%> and condos down <19.1%>.

This is good for median prices as they continue to decline making buyers happy and sellers a little gloomy.  Island wide for Hawaii county SFR's are down <6.3%> and condos are down <25.8%>.  South Kohala is mixed with their SFR's up 1.56% but condo prices down <14.4%>.  North Kona SFR's are up 10.2% but condos are off by <24.3%>.

All in all a good time to buy Hawaii.  Nation wide, prices were off about 26% from their all time highs in 2006 while Hawaii was down nearly 40%.  That means Hawaii has much more to regain.  Todays prices may climb a whole lot more as the economy recovers and we see more and more money going back into the real estate market.  So many people have lost homes or are waiting to buy that the rental market is heating up.  Buying an investment property now could make a lot of sense for investor types out there looking for a good place to put their money.