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By , February 11, 2010 3:55 am

You might be one of those people that have long dreamed about investing in Hawaii real estate but don’t have enough funds to finance the property.  Well it’s not a futile case if you think about it.  Yes, real estate properties here in Hawaii carry an extravagant price tag, but did you know that you can still invest in these properties even with your average salary range?  Since a lot of the real estate properties here in Hawaii are very costly, you might as well consider seeking the help of a good realtor, as well as a reliable banker, and then weigh your options very carefully afterwards.

Your banker

A competent and trustworthy banker will be able to assist you in the assessment of the properties that will fit your budget.  In determining a suitable monthly payment option, your discussion with your banker must include other financial liabilities such as credit card bills, monthly car amortization and your children’s tuition fees.  You must also take into consideration your other smaller responsibilities like your monthly bills – be it utility bills, telephone and internet.  Besides these monthly payments, you must also make allowances for emergency situations and establish a budget that you must set aside should these situations occur.  You might want to ask questions such as how much you are willing to give up in order to pay bigger monthly instalments, the risk you are willing to take in setting aside less for savings in order to allocate more for your real estate investment, and whether you like to spend most of your savings in the down payment or pay less and just pay the higher interest rates.  Your banker can help you decide the best course of action on all these questions and more.

Your realtor

A realtor is someone who can guide you into looking at properties which are determined by the preferences or standards that you have discussed with him/her previously.  Preferences such as your budget threshold, parking space, floor area and other related matters will help your realtor find the most suitable piece of property for you.  Since the Oahu real estate is quite limited when it comes to space, making a decision on how much area you want can be quite a hard task.  You might want to ask yourself a few questions like whether you want to focus on location or on the space of your property, and how much you are willing to give up in acquiring a residence in Hawaii.

While you are looking at your choices for real estate property, it is not unusual that your preference might change.  Sometimes, it may well be worth getting out of your price threshold in order to get a better home that truly suits your needs.  Most sellers will have an asking price, but more often than not, these asking prices are pretty much negotiable.   This is especially true for properties that have been in the market for quite some time or if the seller fails to make a deal with his previous price offerings.  It is in this negotiation process that your realtor can provide you with great help.

Take advantage of the economy

A slow economy translates as a buyer’s market, although not every seller is willing to lower down their prices.  There are a lot of people in Hawaii who are patient enough to wait for favourable market conditions before making negotiations with the property they are shooting for.  If you are lucky, you might encounter sellers who need to sell their property in a rush – this usually means that the seller is willing to accept offers below the asking price.  This is one way of acquiring a decently priced property in Hawaii, an offer you wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise.

Heads up!  Should an offer for a real estate property seem very expensive for your price range, then consider it that – expensive!  So try to maintain a good distance from these properties.

Acquiring a residence in Hawaii is quite expensive, although it is really not far from being achievable.  If this is really one of your dreams in life, then you might want to do some research on some available properties and who knows, you might get a good deal!

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By , January 21, 2010 4:14 am

An expanse of land stretching across the coastal region in New Hampshire, the Seacoast area, as it is commonly called, has, like many markets, seen a shift in residential real estate over the past couple of years. Prices had risen to all-time highs in the pre-housing-burst period, and once the bubble popped, values came tumbling back down, hurting many mortgage holders.

The year 2009 however, has seen some relief on the Seacoast real estate market. In November, according to the Northern New England Real Estate Network, the area saw 1,652 homes sold, an increase from last year at the same time, when that figure was just 998, but lower than 2005’s figure of 2,062.

Homes for sale on the Seacoast are also spending about the same time, on average, on the market. In November, the average was 144 days, up slightly from 141 during November 2008, but lower than figures in earlier months of 2009. The uptick in sales volume has been largely attributed to the government program offering tax rebates to those who purchase new homes, but as foreclosures mount, more and more homes are coming on to the market as well.

Prices of real estate on the Seacoast have fallen from their highs, though not as hard as in other areas on the East Coast. The median sale price of a property sold on the Seacoast in November was $188,000, down slightly from last year’s $190,000, and down more from 2006’s high of $227,000. The average selling price per square foot for homes was at around $128/square foot in November, also down slightly from last year’s mark of around $132.

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By , January 21, 2010 3:25 am

The market for real estate in Marin County, California, is typical of the larger U.S. housing market. Though prices have fallen steeply from their peaks around 2006 and 2007, the market seems to be stabilizing and it has been helped by the government’s stimulus program offering up to $8,000 in tax credits to qualified home buyers, which has spurred activity in the area in recent months especially.

In November, sales of single-family homes in Marin County surged, up by nearly 77% when compared with sales activity at the same time last year. Despite a strong showing this month, however, year-to-date, sales of homes for sale in Marin County is off by 0.2%. December statistics will determine whether 2009 was a better or worse year for the market than 2008.

Marin County real estate saw a decently sized increase in its home prices during October 2009. According to the California Association of Realtors‘ data, in October, the median price for homes sold was $648,000, up 8% from October 2008, when it was just at $599,750.  In November, however, the median price was down 7.1% from October’s figures, down 5.7%. The November figures were 14.8% lower than November 2008 figures.

According to The Real Estate Report, a licensed California broker run by CPA Ron Parks, the median price for a single-family home in November in Marin County was just $702,000, compared with $755,880 in October of this year and $824,000 in November of last year. The market saw 161 sales in November, down from 171 in October but up decidedly from last November’s 91 sales. Days on the market were down in November, to 92 from 96 in October, but those figures are up from November 2008, when the average number of days on the market was 88.