April 2011

WASHINGTON — More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, but sales were uneven across the country and were not strong enough to signal a rebound in housing.

Sales agreements for homes rose 5.1% last month to a reading of 94.1, according to the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index, released Thursday.

Signings are more than 20% above June, the low point of the housing bust. But the index is below 100, which is considered a healthy level.

Contract signings are usually a good indicator of where the housing market is heading. That's because there's usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.

Meanwhile, fixed mortgage rates dipped this week, with the average rate on 30-year loans

"Hawaii Renovation" Magazine Online

I was just surfing online at the "Honolulu Star Advertiser", our local newspaper and ran across a link to an online version of "Hawaii Renovation" magazine.

"Hawaii Renovation" magazine is published every week and is a great resource for those homeowners interested in redmodeling, home improvements and other related projects.

Now you can access the magazine online here!

Mahalo For Reading.

     I am so happy to report that today the new owners of the 360 Residences in downtown San Jose have been given the green light to become rental units. This should bring in a slew of about 350 to 400 residents to the downtown area. As predicted by the company present at todays city hall meeting. There was not much hesitation to make this gorgouse highrise complex into rentals for the time being since the city will be getting about $790k in instant cash from the new owners to help pay some of the old owners bills. They have also agreed to pay the $1.7M if they ever convert them back to for sale condo units. There is no expectation of this happening for at least the next 3 to 5 years but the new owners could never turn them into for sale if they like

Honolulu Condo Sales – April 2011 Statistics

Number of Sales:  Condominium:   442 (+4.2%)

Median Sales Price:  Condominium:   $315,000 (+1.6%)

Days on Market:  Condominium:   46 days (+10 days)

Inventory:  Condominium:   1,948 (-5.3%)

All statistics are compared to same month last year.

Mahalo For Reading.

RISMEDIA, April 21, 2011—Sales of existing-home sales rose in March 2011, continuing an uneven recovery that began after sales bottomed last July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.10 million in March from an upwardly revised 4.92 million in February, but are 6.3% below the 5.44 million pace in March 2010. Sales were at elevated levels from March through June of 2010 in response to the home buyer tax credit.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, expects the improving sales pattern to continue. “Existing-home sales have risen in six of the past eight months, so we’re

While making my way to take pictures of the San Jose Penthouse in Axis Highrise I found a new restaurant that had great food. If you like Pasta Pamodoro or the Spaghetti Factory you will love Paesano Ristorante Italiano! 

This great eats is located next to the Hi-Life BBQ spot in one of the newly renovated historical homes, or the corner of Julian. It has a wide, wraparound front porch with seating on warm days and nights. Inside, the look is classy with dark wood floors, white tablecloths and black-and-white photos adorning the walls, showing people on Vespas and men in bowler hats playing bocce.

They were busy when I went but it was a lunch rush and the location to downtown makes it convenient for the central San Jose office workers. 

This

Hawaii Foreclosure Counts to Rebound?

According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser newspaper "It's been relatively calm on Hawaii's home foreclosure front during the past several months, but the storm could soon return."

"Foreclosure activity in Hawaii real estate declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling 37 percent from a year earlier, according to a report industry research firm RealtyTrac released yesterday."

Read the rest of the article.......

Mahalo For Reading.

Great Sales History for Keola Lai Luxury Condos in Kakaako Neighborhood of Honolulu

Here are the latest statistics for sales for the last Quarter for Keola Lai, Honolulu Luxury Condominiums.

Number of Units Sold:  8

Price Range:  $464,500 to $1,810,000

Average List Price:  $799,600

Average Selling Price:  $769,562

Percent of Asking Price:  89%

Average Cost per Square Foot:  $683.45

Average Days on the Market Before Sold:  89

Allure Waikiki Condos - Renovations?

Although this new condo building, Allure Waikiki, located in west Waikiki was just completed a little over a year ago, after buying bought out by a private equity group, I've been reading "rumors" concerning planned renovations.

I say "rumored" because I have not been able to verify it through the Allure website or sales office, but have read news reports about it online.

Evidently, not only is the luxury Waikiki condo building, Allure Waikiki, going through some price restructuring, but may be planning a reported $3 million in renovations to help move the remaining 100 or more unsold condo units there.

Renovations could inlude lobby, community rooms, pool deck and the BBQ areas.

.