I still do not understand why there are so many buyers that are still on the fence and not taking the plunge into the market.  With home prices having dropped substantially and interest rates as low as they are, homes are on SALE.  The economy of course is not in very good shape, but people still need a roof over their head right?  If you don't own a home you are going to rent somewhere...why pay rent to someone when you could purchase a home and pay the same amount (or very close to it) monthly.  I have spoken to a good number of buyers who have money in the bank (which is losing money) and could easily purchase a home, but they are stuck on the idea that the economy is going to get much worse and prices are going to fall another 50%... The economy is obviously in terrible shape and ev... 03/03/2009

Saturday February 28th marked the last day existing owners were able to complete their reservations and have their priority on the owners list. As such, it was absolutely wild around the sales office! At 4:30 pm on Saturday when I left with my clients I believe there were 10 people in the office who were waiting to meet with the marketing staff. I was both startled by the crowd and glad that we were time stamped with the last of our reservations. With the unofficial tally estimated between owners and new purchasers combined at 70+ including my last three, the marketing staff is well on their way to having over 200 reservations by the Sale Event in June. Those are impressive numbers for a sale event that was started at the end of January and was promoted from the ground up by the market... 03/01/2009

Centex sent out a press release on Feb 26th, 2009 announcing their final sales event at the Beach Villa's at Ko Olina to the general public. Note the fine print: Editor's notes: Please note that Centex reserves the right to (i) cancel, modify or postpone the Sales Event, (ii) continue to sell villas prior to the Sales Event, (iii) adjust the villa inventory and prices available at the Sales Event, and (iv) to provide priority reservations for current villa owners, Centex employees and others. This does not constitute an offer in any state where prior registration is required. Project Broker- Centex Homes dba Centex Destination Properties. So there is always the possibility that Centex could cancel the sale if there is not enough demand. I wonder what would happen then? -- Please allow m... 03/01/2009

Today's Dallas Morning News was touting Mexico as being a great place for baby boomer migration. Before I purchased at the Beach Villas, we also looked long and hard at Mexico as one of our options. So what made us choose Hawaii? 1 - It is the United States of America. 2 - No other place in the world is like Hawaii, not just the physical part like the beaches but the people and the "Aloha" spirit that is shared with visitors and residents alike. 3 - The ongoing drug violence in Mexico – more than 6,200 people killed last year. When the Chief of Police in Rosarito and other high ranking officials were beheaded with their heads placed on the sand at the beach, we decided no. The article continues to mention that 78 million American baby boomers are racing toward retirement, Mexican and A... 03/01/2009

Now that the shouting is over and the new Stimulus law has been passed, I think many of us are wondering what it all means. As REALTORs I think it's very likely that we will receive many benefits from legislation that is at least partially concerned with improving the housing market. Just being knowledgeable and knowing where to send our friends and clients to look is often the best approach. Real estate 101 tells us that we are not tax experts and we always give the caveat to not rely on us for tax advice, but it's always nice to have a source for them to go to for their own information. Below, you will find a link that I think is a good source of those basic parts of the Stimulus plan. There are a lot of moving parts in this program and I think one for us to be sure to mention is the ... 02/19/2009

Well the obvious answer is that the economy is down, no one is spending money and that unfortunately for Centex their build/sell cycle was about one - two years too late. A fellow homeowner friend who works in the financial markets came up with a techincal answer which was really interesting so I thought I would share: 24 jan:  Centex 3rd quarter orders down 80%. Probably caused a breach of their covenant on their credit facility stipulating a minimum tangible net worth.  Net worth fell to 2,037m down from 4,259.87 a year earlier.  29th Jan:  reduces credit facility from $1.35b to $500m. Again changing the covenant.  Their corporate paper was also down graded from BB to BB- in November.  My take is they are in trouble but need to dump inventory and make cash immediately to stay afloat. ... 02/19/2009

At first glance, the answer would be yes. To me, the HOA dues are high, I have a hard time accepting them, (this is my first time of purchasing at a resort). So I decided to do a little research: Believe it or not, compared to other places, they're not so bad. The HOA fees at Wailea Beach Villa's are around $3,500.00 per month, more than double the fees here. (Their villas are larger). Look at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, ---------------------------------------------- Ritz Carlton Kapalua           * 1 Bd-Average cost/yr (COA, taxes, insurance, FF&E=$4,119/mo): $49,428          * 2 Bd-Average cost/yr (COA, taxes, insurance, FF&E=$6,278/mo): $75,336 ----------------------------------------------So the Ritz Carlton Kapalua HOA, taxes, furniture replacement reserve and insurance run $6,278.00... 02/18/2009

The backlash from companies holding expensive junkets and conventions while receiving federal bail out money is taking it's toll on hotel revenue as groups cancel their conventions in droves.Wall Street Journal ArticleThe interesting point made here is that "Hotels are Businesses Too". All of these cancellations are going to take their toll on the employees who will be laid off as hoteliers try to decrease their overhead as their revenue numbers decline.The silver lining for us homeowners at the Beach Villas at Ko Olina (who rent out our villas) is that we were never setup for conventions and groups so we don't have this business to loose. To attract group bookings we need the food & beverage component along with conference rooms.The bulk of our business comes from individual families o... 02/17/2009

With my very informal analysis (feel free to correct me if you know the actual #) I believe that there are around 40 villas for rent out of the 125 or so that have already been purchased. Talking with homeowners, I think this number is going to increase as people who previously would not have worried about their monthly expenses are now considering rentals to offset their expenses. Think people in the financial sector for example.(Of course the down side to renting out your place is that you are going to have wear and tear. We repaint and patch up the place once a month along with touching up the furniture periodically to keep the place in tip top shape.)So if more people need to rent out to help with expenses, let's say the number will rise to 50% or 60 villas or so.The unknown in all ... 02/17/2009

A Short Sale Strategy for Ko Olina and Kapolei HI  For additional information and resources, visit my short sale website at :                                         Short Sale website I wonder if there isn't a convergence of events where one needs to anticipate the future in order to best choose a strategy for the present. If one considers the following potential assumptions based on the current political climate: 1. The Foreclosure process is going to be dramatically changed over the next several months, potentially making them more difficult and time consumptive. 2. The lenders are going to have ever increasing numbers of non performing loans and greater and greater needs to convert non performing loans to their cash equivalents3. Values are going to continue to decrease over the sho... 02/15/2009

       In a recent article sourced from Realty Trac, January foreclosure data in Hawaii and the mainland was reported. As a state, there were 337 filings in the month, more than double than the Jauary 2008 count of 123. Before August 2008, the average monthly amounts had been 149. As you can see from the chart, August launched the increase in filings and is directly attributed to the crisis that occurred in the national and global financial markets.                             Of the state totals, Oahu (Honolulu County) had the highest count of filings at 152 but the lowest per household of one per 2,203. The other counties had per household filings of closer to one per 1,000 households. As a total of the national filings, we continue to be a very small amount with the National total a... 02/14/2009

Target Kapolei Telephone #: (808) 457-3679 The new Target at the Kapolei Commons Shopping Center has opened. They started hiring employees about a month ago. They plan on hiring up to 1,200 people for this location and the Salt Lake location. People camped out overnight to be in line for the jobs. The new Target is located one exit down from the Ko Olina exit where the Ko Olina Beach Resort is located. About a five minute drive. It is going to be so convenient, great for all of the new Beach Villas Resort home purchasers if they are lucky enough to get their hands on a new Beach Villa at the June 6th & 7th Sales Event. I wish Target had been open when we purchased our Villa's last year. Now, you'll be able to get your dishes, silverware, toaster, vaccum cleaner, towels, shower curtains,... 02/12/2009

Costco Kapolei Telephone #: (808) 674-3900 The Costco in Kapolei has opened! It is built on 17.75 acres and the warehouse is 159,019 sf. A gas station is also here. At full build out they will employ 200 - 300 associates. 50 employees have transfered over from the Waipio location to get things going. The great thing is that the new Costco is only one exit down from Ko Olina. About a five minute drive, it is right across the street from The Home Depot. If you don't have a Costco Warehouse membership, it is worth the money. I think I only pay around $50.00 - $75.00 per year. You'll save that on one trip. According to Costco, one out of every two people in Hawaii have a Costco membership. This location sells USDA Prime steaks, we BBQ'ed a couple of Rib Eyes and they came out outstanding. T... 02/12/2009

Thursday, February 12th, 2009 What you can do: You can live here full time or use your place as a second home and leave it empty when you are not here. If you wish to rent out your place, you have the option of renting the place out yourself, hiring a management company (as approved by the board) or hiring the on-site management company to manage the place for you. I can talk with you individually about your options and the pros and cons of each choice. What you can't do: Resort Management has the exclusive right to provide "First Class" services at the property. Bell Services, Concierge, Housekeeping, the Beach Bar, etc. (Resort Management is owned by Jeff Stone, the owner of the entire Ko Olina Resort.) We pay fees to them twice. The first as part of our first class services included ... 02/12/2009

Thursday, February 12th, 2009 Good Question! What you own: Of course, homeowners who purchase their villa's own their property. This is defined as the airspace inside of your Villa. This is typical of Condo projects. What you don't own: Unlike other condo projects, we don't own the public areas such as the pools, fitness center, beach bar, etc. This is owned by the developer, Centex. Jeff Stone, owner of the Ko Olina Resort has first right of refusal to purchase these common areas. I have not figured out all of the repercussions and angles of this provision. If there are any lawyer types out there who have purchased or are thinking about purchasing, I would welcome your thoughts. -- Please allow me to represent you as your buyers agent on selection day. There is no cost to you and your ... 02/12/2009

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 Your Expenses I had another thought this morning; new buyers are going to pay 25% - 35% less than I paid for my villas. So a villa that would have cost $1,500,000.00 with a 20% down payment would have a $1,300,000.00 mortgage with a payment of $7,794.16 per month at 6%. Now that same villa could cost $975,000.00; with a 20% down payment, the mortgage on $780,000.00 will have a payment of $4,676.49 per month at 6%. That $3,100.00 difference covers HOA fees, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. with money still left over.On my villas, I put a large enough down payment so that I did not have to borrowed more than $625,000.00 on my first mortgage to keep me under the upper limit before you have to pay jumbo mortgage interest rates. If you villa appraises out well... 02/11/2009

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 Question: Will Rentals Cover HOA (Home Owners Association) dues and other expenses? I currently receive enough rental income in both of my units to cover HOA. (A two bedroom villa and a three bedroom villa.) I have listed the monthly HOA dues below. It currently takes about three nights of rent per month to cover the HOA. An additional three nights rent per month for property taxes. The cable bill is $80.00 which covers phone, cable & internet. The electric bill runs around $350.00 in the two bedroom when the unit is occupied. It runs around $480.00 in the three bedroom when the unit is occupied. I don't know what it runs when it is unoccupied as we have never had a month where we didn't have paying guests. The HOA dues in our three bedroom are around $1,700... 02/10/2009

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 A client asked me this question yesterday, I thought I would post my response in case it might help others. In my first post I mentioned that the Centex will be lowering their prices 25% - 35% or more from their last published price at the final sales even on June 6th - 7th. Their goal is to sell 100% of the remaining villas, (about half, or 125 villas) and are planning to lower their prices enough to achieve this goal. We'll see. Hi J,Here are my thoughts: (Sorry for the long email again, it's just what came off the top of my head from experience) 1 - The Real Estate Market in Hawaii:Buying when the market is down is an almost a sure way to make money in Hawaii Real Estate. In Hawaii, real estate always rebounds. Always. It's cyclical just like every where ... 02/10/2009

Monday, February 9th, 2009 Your view from the Beach Front, Beach Tower Villa and Ocean Front, Ocean Tower Villa. The Beach Tower is closest to the water with the Ocean Tower right behind the Beach Tower. When standing on the beach, the right side of the Ocean Tower has unobstructed views to the water. The left side of the Ocean Tower is behind the Beach Tower and has partially obstructed views. Beach Tower, Beach Front Villa: Ocean Tower, Ocean Front Villa: First Class Amenities: Webcam Click to view Webcam -- Please allow me to represent you as your buyers agent on selection day. There is no cost to you and your purchase price is exactly the same. What you select and how much you pay will make a big difference in your profitability; both from an appreciation standpoint and if renting, ... 02/09/2009

  News Flash - February 1st, 2009 The property developer of the Beach Villas at Ko Olina has announced that they will liquidate, sell at deep discount, clearance out, fire sale, what ever you wish to call it, all remaining villas at the Ko Olina Beach Resort at a final sales event on June 6th & 7th. Rather than sell a few units each month, Centex Corporate has decided that their Centex Destination Properties division is to sell off all remaining units at low enough prices to move 100% of their remaining villas. The discounts will be significant, the minimum original price point was around $1,800,000.00 at the start of sales. Now the estimated starting price point will be around $600,000.00 or so. Units that have previously sold for $2,000,000.00 with really amazing views will be had fo... 02/09/2009