Hawaii Real Estate Market Update: Old Fashion, Top Notch Realtor Service

I was speaking with Kelly Barnes—a HomeGain agent and Realtor who uses BuyerLink—over the weekend about the market in Hawaii and he graciously agreed to send me an update, which I’d like to share.

Hawaii Real Estate Market Update

Every year a large number of military families relocate to Hawaii. In addition a good number of people relocate in Hawaii just to live in paradise. The good news is the value of Hawaii’s residential properties are still holding strong, unlike many areas on the mainland which have seen dramatic decreases in recent times.

On Oahu, although the actual “number” of residential real estate sales has slowed down, overall prices have been staying fairly steady. For instance, the difference in values of single family homes between this time last year and now is only a decline of 4.4%. Sales of 740 single-family homes and 1,121 condominiums were recorded in the April-to-June period this year.

Compared to the same time period last year, the 2008 sales figures showed a decline of 28.6% for single-family dwellings and a 30.7% decrease for condos. When these second quarter sales numbers were compared to the first quarter, we saw increases of 10.0% and 8.1%, respectively, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors. read more

Posted by Louis Cammarosano on Jul 07, 2008 under Regional

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Delivering Bad News

There is almost nothing more rewarding in the business of real estate then making the call to first time home buyers to tell them their offer has been accepted. In today’s market, calling sellers and telling them their house is sold can also provide an “I’m so glad I’m a Realtor feeling”.

Unfortunately, delivering bad news is also part of the job and I’ve been delivering it in large doses of late.

Despite the local facts and statistics, national print media headlines and on air reporting by the talking heads, many sellers believe their home is worth more than it is. It is my job, as the friendly local Realtor, to be welcomed into a seller’s home, burst their bubble, and otherwise ruin their perfect day.

Delivering bad news doesn’t come easy and is a learned skill. Having been through 3 market corrections over 3 decades, I have had a fair amount of practice in delivering bad news. I once had a seller burst into tears and although I appear tough, it was an effort to remain professional and not start bawling right along with her.

Hey, I don’t like this market either. Sniffle.

This week I’ve had the opportunity to take the wind out of the sails of two future sellers. As I delivered my CMA at possible listing #1, Mrs. Seller just stared and never said one word. Mr. Seller escorted me out read more

Posted by Linda Davis on Jul 05, 2008 under Realtor

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Melbourne and Brevard County Florida Real Estate Market Update

Mitch Ribak of Tropical Realty of Suntree, Florida provides mid-year update

Mid-year Brevard County Real Estate Internet Marketing Numbers are in!

Well it’s been a crazy year so far here in Melbourne, Florida and my real estate agents have been as busy as ever. Even though the real estate market is terrible here in Brevard County, Florida, Tropical Realty of Suntree is holding its own and is neck and neck with two other companies for first place in total closed transactions.

As most you out there, I’m sure you are showing a ton of customers just to get one home buyer. They are certainly taking their time making their home buying decisions. Where are those old glory days?!

Since I’m always talking about Internet Marketing, Lead Capture and Lead Conversion, I figured I would share with you our stats for the first half of the year. There are two reasons I want to share this info.

Firstly, I am proud as a father of my Agents and my staff (my kids). They have worked their tails off this year to keep their careers in line. They don’t want to hear about a bad market, they are making the best out of it. In fact, we wrote 35 homes for sale contracts this month which is a new record since our opening in 2005!

Secondly, I want you all to see the possibilities of what happens when you really dedicate your business to Internet Marketing. And yes, HomeGain’s Buyerlink program is a big piece of our success. Gone are the days where I spend two hours each day managing my keywords. So thanks to my awesome Agents and thanks to HomeGain for having the BuyerLink program!

Ok so here is what we got: read more

Posted by Mitch Ribak on Jul 03, 2008 under Regional

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Savannah GA real estate market: are you finding the same thing?

I will be cutting back on my contributions here because of time constraints, but I wanted to offer what I have found in the Savannah, GA real estate market and see if others are experiencing the same thing.

Looking at the first six months of 2006, 2007 and 2008, I used new home sales for each year from west Chatham and Effingham counties—where most of the new construction is taking place.

This year there have been 186 homes sold with an average sales price per square foot of $110.75 with an average sales price of $222,363, 145 days on the market and a 98% sales price to listing price.

In 2007 there were 350 homes sold with an average sales price per square foot of $119.05 with an average sales price of $220,410, 130 days on the market and a 100% sales price to listing price.

In 2006 there were 421 homes sold with an average sales price per square foot of $114.63 with an average sales price of $212,633, 131 days on the market and a 100% sales price to list price.

The biggest changes have been the number of homes sold and sales price per sq ft. Buyers are getting much more for their money, but fewer buyers are buying.

I then looked at resales in midtown Savannah to see how resales compare with read more

Posted by Mike Farmer on Jul 01, 2008 under Market Trends, Regional

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