November 2010

Private Equity Firms Buying Allure Waikiki, Honolulu Highrse Condos

According to "peHUB" and a Press Release from "Tomson Reuters", "A group of private equity investors have teamed up to buy Allure Waikiki, a 35-story condo tower in Honolulu. ST Residential, which is managed by Greenwich, Conn.-based Starwood Capital Group; Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG Capital; WLR LeFrak and Perry Capital partnered on the deal, though no financial terms were released."

"Allure Waikiki is a 35-story condo tower in the heart of Honolulu's Waikiki beach that was completed earlier this year. Allure was completed at a time when there was a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the economy, especially with high-rise residential real estate."

"Allure Waikiki is a

Weekly market charts that run through November 21st for houses, condos, TICs and 2-4 unit buildings:

Listings Accepting Offers: last week, the number soared to the highest level since the April tax credit rush.


Percent of Listings Under Contract: highest in 6 months.

New Listings: declining rapidly as we head into the holidays.

Listings Actively For Sale: slowly declining

Real Estate Values and Cultural Number Preferences

A University of British Columbia study has found: "Chinese number preferences can drive real estate prices of certain addresses up or down in neighbourhoods with large numbers of ethnic Chinese residents."

Furthermore, the study concludes:  "This shows that the address of your house can be more of a selling feature in some markets."

Read more Cultural number preferences impact real estate prices: UBC study.

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Honolulu Luxury Condos: Recent Sales Activity in Keola Lai

Here are the latest statistics for sales in the last six months for the Keola Lai, Honolulu Luxury Condominiums.

Number of Units Sold:  14

Price Range:  $460,000 to $1,950,000

Average List Price:  $651,827

Average Selling Price:  $643,000

Percent of Asking Price:  99%

Average Cost per Square Foot:  $671019

Average Days on the Market Before Sold:  65

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Brett Graff l Bankrate.com

Good news for Americans facing eye-popping property taxes: You can fight city hall, or whichever government body sends you this annual economic albatross.

When real estate boomed, property taxes often followed suit. So why aren't they dropping now? First, local governments may go for years between re-assessments, so lower values may be overlooked. Also, a blanket reduction in assessments would mean less revenue for local governments at a time when most are strapped for cash.

The National Taxpayers Union estimated earlier this year that up to 60 percent of the country's real estate is assessed too high. Here's how to make sure you don't pay too much.

Know Where to Go

While getting your property taxes lowered is

Study Says Honolulu One of Country's Safest City

According to "Pacific Business News", a study done by CQ Press, 2010-2011 City Crime Rankings, put Honolulu at 272 out of 400 cities looked at.

Read more of the "Pacific Business News" article.

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Honolulu Distressed Properties: Some Definitions Part 3

Today, many buyers are interested in bargains and some focus on distressed properties that may be a short sale, in foreclosure or is bank owned.  Many are confused by these different terms and situations so I thought I would define three common situations and terms.

Today, let's take a look at lender owned properties:

Lender Owned Properties - These are properties that have been foreclosed on by the lender.  At public auction, there were no buyers, so as a result, the property is now owned by the lender.  Typically the lender's asset managers will list these properties with real estate agents.  When they come on the market, they are identified in our MLS as "Lender Owned.

Also referred to

Honolulu Distressed Properties: Some Definitions Part 2

Today, many buyers are interested in bargains and some focus on distressed properties that may be a short sale, in foreclosure or is bank owned.  Many are confused by these different terms and situations so I thought I would define three common situations and terms.

Today, let's take a look at foreclosure properties:

Foreclosure Properties - These are properties that are in the process of being foreclosed on by the property owner's lender.  In the State of Hawaii, all foreclosures are a judicial process.  When a property owner falls behind in their mortgage payments, at some point, foreclosure proceedings begin and the process to place the property for public auction begins.  If the property

By Janna Herron, AP Real Estate Writer

NEW YORK — Rates on fixed mortgages jumped from their lowest levels in decades this week.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for 30-year fixed loans rose to 4.39% from 4.17%, the lowest level on records dating back to 1971. The 15-year loan also climbed to 3.76% from 3.57%, the lowest since that survey began in 1991.

Rates rose because Treasury yields climbed to their highest level since July. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.

The yields rose mostly because traders dumped Treasurys they bought up before the Federal Reserve announced its $600 billion bond-buying program to spur the economy. Republican economists and lawmakers have criticized the Fed program, saying it could

Honolulu Condos and Distressed Properties

Today, many buyers are interested in bargains and some focus on distressed properties that may be a short sale, in foreclosure or is bank owned.  Many are confused by these different terms and situations so I thought I would take a moment and define three common situations and terms.

Today, let's take a look at short sale properties:

Short Sale Properties - Short sale is the process a homeowner attempts to go through to prevent foreclosure.  They ask the lender to forgive the debt since they are selling the property for less than what is owed.  This is also known as a short pay. The sale is contingent upon approval by the lender. There is no guarantee that the bank will accept a short sale even if the