Pets and Hawaii Kai Real Estate

Getting your Hawaii Kai property ready for sale involves more than cleaning and staging the home. If you have pets, their welfare needs to be considered - but so does their effect on potential buyers.

In Hawaii, we love our pets but they don't always help a sale. Not all buyers like cats - or dogs. Some Hawaii Kai condos are grandfathered only for the pet in residence, not future ones. Here are some tips if you are considering selling a home in Hawaii Kai, and you own a pet:

1. Get rid of pet odor - like kitty litter, hairs, dog smell in carpets. This should be part of your cleaning process.

2. Don't show the home with the pet in residence. Cats may hide, but dogs want to be found. Take them for a walk or, at the very least, step outside with your dog while buyers preview the property. If you work, consider doggie day care.

3. Also hide pet toys, food bowls, etc. - if buyers don't like pets, they won't like the evidence that your property has one.

4. Some folks have allergies to pets. If they want to see your Hawaii Kai home even after you have advertised the resident pet, then be as accommodating as you can and remove the pet during showings.

5. No pets at home during open houses - it just isn't worth the risk of your losing your best friend through a door someone left open.

6. Realize that when you clean before closing, you will have more work and expense to remove all pet odors and hair from your home. Plan and budget ahead.

Visit my web site pet page for informative pet links and news about the pet scene in Hawaii Kai and Oahu. Also featured are ways you can help homeless pets, and pets for the deaf.

Contact me with any questions about the Hawaii quarantine process, if you are relocating to Hawaii Kai, and the real estate market in Hawaii Kai or East Oahu.

Barbara Abe

Hawaii Kai Realtor

barbara@barbarashawaii.com

http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/

808-226-2537

4th Annual Discover Recycling Fair Scheduled

Sept. 25-27 in the Blaisdell Arena will be the site of the 4th Annual Discover Recycling Fair sponsored by the City & County of Honolulu. The pilot program of curbside recycling in Hawaii Kai and Mililani launched last October has been so successful, that the city will expand the program in November to 40,000 more homes, including East Oahu neighborhoods from Kuliouou to Kapahulu and Manoa.

Living on an island, there is no reason NOT to recycle! It keeps our garbage costs down, keeps our communities even more beautiful, and keeps our real estate values high.

To encourage support of recycling, Mayor Mufi Hannemann started the Tour de Trash to lead residents on tours of the waste-processing and recycling facilities on Oahu. Upcoming tours will focus on recycling of yard trimmings, tires and cooking oil; recycling of construction and demolition waste, and metal car parts and appliances; and the H-Power garbage-to-energy plant, which disposes of more than 600,000 tons of trash every year while producing enough electricity to power 45,000 homes.

Other efforts the City of Honolulu is making under his leadership for a greener Oahu include Earth Hour March 29, and implementation of a fixed guideway transit system, from Kapolei to Ala Moana. Stay tuned for more information on this important transportation project.

His efforts to make a difference in the fight against global warming certainly help our real estate market. We all should be supportive.

Barbara Abe, Your Hawaii Kai REALTOR
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
http://www.barbarashawaii.com/
http://www.barbarashawaii.blogspot.com/

Use RSS Hugger for Blog Syndication

rssHugger is a new website developed to help bloggers promote their blogs, and to help visitors discover new blogs that write about subjects that the readers are interested in. Through the power of the internet and viral marketing, rssHugger looks to bring blog writers and blog readers closer together. If you own a blog, you can get your own page on rssHugger for 10 years for giving an honest review of the site on your blog. If you want to join rssHugger but do not want to review the site, you can pay a one time review fee of $20. rssHugger will be the first ever quality, spam free, and viral rss directory strictly for bloggers. Visit www.rsshugger.com

I've added my blog, so stay tuned for results!

Barbara Abe REALTOR
www.movetohawaiikai.com
www.barbarashawaii.com
www.barbarashawaii.blogspot.com
barbara@barbarashawaii.com

Real Estate Market Statistics: Hawaii Kai, April, 2008

View from the most expensive home on the market currently, in the Portlock area of Hawaii Kai, looking toward Maunalua Bay.

Boat slip at the most expensive Hawaii Kai condo currently on the market, the Kalele Kai complex, looking southwest to the ocean.

Here are the real estate sales statistics for Hawaii Kai for April, 2008 compared to last year:

Single Family Homes in Hawaii Kai

in 2008

8 sales in April with a median price of $994,500

54 sales year-to-date with a median price of $917,500

in 2007

19 sales in April with a median price of $859,000

68 sales year-to-date with a median price of $839,000

Conclusions: the number of home sales in Hawaii Kai has decreased dramatically, but prices are holding.

Condos in Hawaii Kai

in 2008

19 sales in April with a median price of $523,000

71 sales year-to-date with a median price of $538,000

in 2007

22 sales in April with a median price of $539,000

70 sales year-to-date with a median sales price of $542,500

Conclusions: not much change from last year in the condo market for April in Hawaii Kai.

For details on actives, sales, and escrows, broken down by price, visit my web page on the Hawaii Kai real estate market: http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/Hawaii_Kai_Market_News/page_1893904.html

The Honolulu Board of Realtors releases very comprehensive sales statistics for the entire island of Oahu monthly. Please contact me for a copy.

Barbara Abe, REALTOR

barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
808-226-2537

Worldwide Appeal of Hawaii Real Estate

Lately I've worked with "mainland" buyers who have seriously considered investing on Oahu, but have flown back home without committing. Their comments ranged widely:

• Hawaii prices are too high
• the market hasn't bottomed
• financing options are fewer
• a recession may be coming
  

While we don't have the gloom and doom reports for real estate on Oahu that so many markets hear on the mainland, buyers can't shake off the constant news reports of hard economic times.

We are so lucky here to have a somewhat isolated economy. Our prices are certainly affected by transportation and supply from the mainland, but real estate prices don't always follow their trends. Now, for instance, many cash buyers from around the world - Malaysia to England - are investing in Hawaii real estate, because the dollar is so weak worldwide.

In most countries, even against the Euro and Canadian dollar, an investment in U.S. currency seems very attractive.

So if you are from Maine or Nebraska, I certainly understand your concern. But if you are using foreign currencies, email or call for information on some great buys in our Islands. Remember, they can't make any more Hawaii waterfront property - the demand will always be there because the supply is limited.

Aloha,

Barbara Abe
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.barbarashawaii.com/
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
808-226-2537

Our Aloha Spirit is Alive and Well

The closing on March 31 of Aloha Airlines saddened many in the Islands, not just the ex-employees, but the dozens of stranded travelers, whose reservations on the airline were cancelled.

Yes, the airline was an important asset to interisland transportation - and in recent years, to the mainland - for 61 years. But this is not the first time an air carrier has gone out of business in Hawaii. In recent memory, MidPacific and Mahalo were two airlines that couldn't compete with the bigger carriers, even as Aloha said it couldn't compete with the smaller carrier Go. But folks will still fly outer island to visit or vacation, and there are two airlines left to service the market.

Our real estate values will not suffer because of the loss of Aloha Airlines. Our islands will still be beautiful, and island real estate - because of the scarcity - will continue to be highly prized. Subdivisions can be made on the mainland, but there will never be more waterfront land - in our lifetimes - created in Hawaii.

So make your reservations, come visit, and consider a real estate investment. Our Aloha Spirit is waiting for you.

Contact me with any real estate questions you may have and for a thorough real estate market analysis of Oahu.

Barbara Abe, REALTOR
barbara@barbarshawaii.com
www.barbarashawaii.com
808-226-2537
800-999-6090

Real Estate Sales in Hawaii Kai 10/07 - 3/08

Sales in the last 6 months in Hawaii Kai have continued strong. Here is the breakdown:

Single family - 96 sales total

34 under $799,99
23 between $800,000 - $999,999

13 between $1,000,000 - $1,199,999

19 between $1,200,000 - $1,999,999

7 over $2,000,000

The low price was $551,000, a 3-bedroom home in Kalama Valley, and the high was $15,900,000, a waterfront estate on Portlock.

Condos - 93 sales total

Prices ranged between $320,000 for a 1 bedroom in the Commodore and a 1 bedroom in Plaza Hawaii Kai, to $1,400,000 for a 3 bedroom unit in Kalele Kai.

Contact me for a complete analysis of the Hawaii Kai real estate market. I specialize in this beautiful community in East Oahu.

Barbara Abe, REALTOR
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/

barbara@barbarashawaii.com
808-226-2537
800-999-6090