It’s Halloween again (can you believe it?) and there is no shortage of ghosts, ghouls and other scary staples around town. However, not all of the season’s scary things are in costume knocking on your door asking for candy. Some of the scariest things of all are happening right here in our Hawaii real estate market….let’s have a look:
The median single family home price for Honolulu County just eclipsed $700,000….. again. This is actually a wonderful piece of news if you’re looking to sell your house because you’ll walk away with more cash in your pocket. However, the flip side is that as the local market gets more expensive, more buyers are kept on the sidelines. If you’re in a hurry to sell your Hawaii house quickly to avoid foreclosure, pay taxes or other situation, then you want more buyers able to buy your house, not fewer. In that scenario, you should explore selling your house to an investor (hint: that’s us!) who has cash and isn’t saddled to get big bank loan.
If you’re a buyer, then rising prices aren’t helping you get a foot in the door, especially if you’re waiting to get your financing approved (see below). You’ll want to find that perfect home sooner than later.
Another scary item? Squatters. We recently ran into this with a property in Ewa Beach. Unfortunately, there are some less-than-honest people out there and it took some legal action to finally get these people out of the property that they decided to break into one today and declare their home (without paying us any rent, of course).
Want another? How about the new mortgage rules as of this month. While they are in place to help protect the loan process for all parties — obviously a very good thing — there will inevitably be some time added to the loan process for those buyers getting financing. If you’re in a hurry to sell your house quickly, then a cash investor like us might be your best bet. Don’t expect a quick closing with a buyer getting financing. That was never really the case, but it’s definitely not the case now.
While the above may be some troubling items, overall the Hawaii market is still strong. Yes, you’ll always find the online news polls that rank overvalued markets and put our beautiful state at or near the top, but we all know Hawaii is a unique place. The big picture right now is a healthy market.
Related Posts:
5 Ways to Attract Multiple Offers in a Seller’s Market in Hawaii
Tax consequences when selling a house I inherited in Hawaii
Costs of Listing With An Agent in Hawaii
How Hawaii Landlords Are Dealing With Tenants Who Don’t Pay Rent
What are Closing Costs Exactly in Hawaii?