Kona Kohala Blog

I took some time off from this blog after losing some steam due to certain criticisms.  I decided that some of the critics may have been right and that a real estate blog is no place for political opinions.  I decided to keep this just real estate and go elsewhere for politics but then, changed my mind.

Politics is a part of who I am.  I have always remained a part of the silent majority or minority but have always voted.  It's only since the current administration arrived inside the beltway that I grew concerned, scared out of my socks, actually.  So, I will continue my political blog right here but it will always be after the real estate portion.  That way, if you'd rather not read my rant of the day you can stop.

If such an approach is still offensive to you then we probably wouldn't have gotten along well anyway.

REAL ESTATE IN WEST HAWAII:  Our market is jumping around right now trying to find solid ground.  The bond market has been relatively stable recently and long term interest rates have never been better.  We have a decent supply of property for sale and there are many people out there taking advantage of it.

We've seen the number of sales steadily climbing since July of 2009 and only recently has that number begun to slow.  At the same time, our median price has continued to spiral downward with a slight change taking place in the last two months.

Since about 2007 we've been experiencing an average 20% per year decline in the median price in South Kohala and North Kona for both Single Family Residences (SFR's) and condos.  Beginning in the May - June time frame, that median price decline began to slow from 20% to about 14% or so.

While there remains a large inventory of property to choose from, many of the great deals on excellent properties have been scooped up.  There are still some good deals out there but it's taking a little more time to find them.  About half of the For Sale properties are either Foreclosure or Short Sale.  Foreclosures are no problem since they're handled like any other single owner sale but short sales are another story.

You'd think after the years of short sale activity that the banks would have gotten their acts together and put together a means of dealing with them.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.  We are closing them but not without months of headaches caused by the inability or unwillingness on the part of the banks to communicate with the public.  It's sad that we've given them all the tax payer money with no requirement that they improve.

In North Kona July's sales of SFR's were down <21.4%> compared to last July while South Kohala's SFR's were up 6.67%.  Condo sales activity was up in both districts, North Kona by 33.3% and South Kohala by 50%.

The median price has a tendency to go the other way with condos in North Kona declining by <6.8%> and down <36.8%> in South Kohala.  SFR's in North Kona showed a slight rebound of 6.3% but dropped in South Kohala by <5.41%>.

The end of the second quarter wasn't as kind with the median price in North Kona dropping <2.2%> for SFR's and <31.7%> for condos.  South Kohala SFR's were down <14.8%> and condos down <16.7%>.  Sales were up in all categories for both districts.

POLITICS:  We have a new supreme court justice, Ellena Kagan.  This woman has zero experience on the bench or in the real world but like so many of obama's appointees, tons of academic experience.  It's too bad the world doesn't operate like one of their social models where all variables are controlled.

Do you think for even a minute that this administration cares about your wishes?  The correct answer is no; Missouri voted against parts of the obamacare program but does that matter to the boys in power?  According to spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, "no."

Seven million California voters decided they didn't want gay marriage in their state, do those votes count?  No, the federal judge ruled against the vote over turning the wishes of the majority of the voters . . . is that how it's supposed to work here?

Over a hundred days into the gulf oil spill and it appears it's over.  The head of BP lost his job over this debacle mainly because he went to a soccer match during the height of the problem.  During the same time, obama played golf each weekend, attended three concerts and took two vacations.  Obama didn't even go to the gulf to get involved until day 50 and Bush got roasted for taking a few days to get there during Katrina.

Now that I'm back on the rant there will be much more but I'm short facts on many topics having shied away from the news for a while.  If you like the light being shown on the scoundrels in power then hang in here, as Arnold once said, "I'll be back."