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when i was buying a house here 6 months ago, i had a simular experience as the other buyers. very little inventory to match my criteria. very difficult to find a house that matched my criteria plus was in the price range. i finally had to settle for a house i dont' like that much and that needs a tone of work only becuase i like the lot. so after a year of looknig on the island, i still somewhat settled in my opinion, that's how low the invetory was and still seemes to be. and now if i needed to sell this house today, i wouldn't worry about getting a lower price then what i paid for it. i know how hard was to find even this house. to all of you sellers out there, don't sell your house too cheap, don't be afraid, fix it up a little, make it look nice, you will have buyers. this is not mainland where there is a tone of inventory. and its a warm climate, and with the weather the way its been, lots of baby boomers will be coming soon to snap up your houses. at least thats my opinion and i am sticking by it 
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quote:
Originally posted by dinulya... close to Hilo/Pahoa
This has probably been the main drawback to us selling our other house in Kapoho. The pricing is pretty good and it is being renovated more and more the longer it is listed! (MLS 241770).
Two different people fell in love with property but it was a little too far from town - both were coming to work at jobs in Hilo. (But honestly thats what I like about this area!!) [  ]
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I think part of it is that many people have criteria’s based on mainland standards, not local Hawaii standards. If I was to look at my mainland needs and compare it to availability on the Big Island, I would be hard pressed to find suitable homes outside the west side resort communities. This was evident awhile back when Angela and others on Punaweb looked over a preliminary house plan and their first reaction was basically My God, who needs a house that large on Hawaii, let alone in the Puna area? Did I need a 100 square foot walk in closet? A 150 sq foot master bath isn’t common. 3,000+ sq feet of lanai? 80 sq feet pantry? So much was based on mainland standards of living, something Hawaii does not have a large inventory of. I was basing my Hawaii needs on my mainland standards and that reduced the inventory from many to a select few.
Overtime I’ve adjusted to making my needs more Hawaii standard and suddenly a whole new group of properties were available. The more mainland, the less inventory. The more Hawaii, the larger the inventory. I guess it would be like looking for a doorman Park Avenue building on the Big Island; of course the inventory will be low.
I also started taking into consideration general appearance. I would never in a million years accept a house on the mainland with weather beaten paint. But in parts of the Big Island, a new paint job can look weather beaten in short order. Knowing that appearances can be a factor of weather and location, (even if built new, it would look that way in a year) I was able to focus less on the initial first impression dismay and concentrate on the actual property. So it didn’t matter as much what I’m seeing on the surface, it matters what’s underneath. Just like I once saw a home with a smaller catchment tank sitting in the yard. The first look at the appearance was ugly! But my RE Agent said that can be easily fixed with a Hale House built around it. If it was disguised as a structure, would that make a difference in first appearances? Now what if a concession was made to build a suitable covering?
Now, the lack of MLS inventory does not mean the lack of available properties. My Hawaii RE Agent does not provide just MLS but property list based on my needs. Many are not MLS properties but properties where the owner is willing to sell if the terms and conditions are right. One I’m currently looking at was once listed on the MLS but withdrawn. That didn’t stop my RE Agent from inquiring if the property is still available. They had it for sale once; maybe they are still willing to sell. If waiting for it to only appear on the MLS, a whole sub group won't appear.
I think the main thing is the relationship you have with your RE Agent.
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quote:
Originally posted by Bob Orts
I think part of it is that many people have criteria’s based on mainland standards, not local Hawaii standards. If I was to look at my mainland needs and compare it to availability on the Big Island, I would be hard pressed to find suitable homes outside the west side resort communities.... I was basing my Hawaii needs on my mainland standards and that reduced the inventory from many to a select few.
Overtime I’ve adjusted to making my needs more Hawaii standard and suddenly a whole new group of properties were available. The more mainland, the less inventory. The more Hawaii, the larger the inventory....
you are so very right on.
I stand by what I posted originally. In 4 - 5 months time there were over 100 houses that fit the same criteria the other poster had. There are tons of properties for sale and it is absolutely a buyers' market. You can get screaming deals right now. You are very lucky to be a buyer with all these choices.
Also agree it really helps to have a good agent who does what yours did. Our agent did not do any of the pro-active stuff like you describe. A good agent can find you a dream house even when it is not listed. Instead we had to do all the research and networking to find the houses and the realtor got us in to see the places we had found. But by doing all the work and putting the word out everywhere to everyone we found our house by word of mouth.
I think some of the criteria may need to be Hawaiian-ized a bit and maybe some dropped (as Bob Orts suggests in his post), but with all these houses available it is a shame not to be able to find one that fits for you.
hawaiideborah
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Oh yes the "CYCLE" of the big island. I just purchased some property in Hawaiian Beaches. For the price I paid I don't see how it could get much cheaper. We'll see. I didn't want to miss the prices going back up. I think that it still will continue to drop. I don't think the big island has seen the bottom yet. But it's getting close. Esp, when you can buy a 'decent' lot in Nanawale Estates for a few thousand or buy lots in fern forest for 9K with SSP paid. but... that's just my take.
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I don't think our criteria was in any way mainland. Quite the opposite, we wanted an "island" house and originally were surprised by the number of mainland-looking ranch-style houses. Deborah is right, there are plenty of those on the market. If, however, you want something different, it becomes trikier to find for the price we wanted to pay.
We had to compromise - my husband had to let go of an idea of county water, I had to settle for a smaller bathroom and kitchen that I would like, as well as a lack of a walk-in closet. But we were not willing to compromise on privacy, character, great construction and enough land. And no roosters or mean dogs next door, thanks you very much. If we do get this house, there are a lot of cosmetic renovation to be done, but the vibe is good, the property is great, the neighbors are nice and there is a room to expand.
HPP has a large inventory of the "our of the box" houses, but this is not what we wanted, and we did not look at any of them. I think, actually those proterties would fit better with the "mainland standards", but we did not want that.
quote:
I would never in a million years accept a house on the mainland with weather beaten paint.
Why not? The paint is easy to fix..
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quote:
Originally posted by Kapohocat
quote:
Originally posted by dinulya... close to Hilo/Pahoa
This has probably been the main drawback to us selling our other house in Kapoho. The pricing is pretty good and it is being renovated more and more the longer it is listed! (MLS 241770).
Two different people fell in love with property but it was a little too far from town - both were coming to work at jobs in Hilo. (But honestly thats what I like about this area!!) []
I love Kapoho, but I will have to work in town. If only I was retired...
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Even if you are retired, that long drive to town to buy essentials would be a real pain. Kapoho is nice but it's too far from anything. Maybe in 20+ years that will change and that will improve property prices. Nice houses, lots of land, etc but too far from conveniences.
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Pahoa has the cheapest gas prices on the Island.
The best restaurants on the East Side.
Malama Market is now competitive on prices because of Long's.
I only drive to Hilo to go to the Airport.
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We're selling our land in central Florida, been on the market for 3+ years, and just now activity is starting to pick up. Still, the offers are coming in at less than 60% of asking (and we're asking 20% less than recent comparable sales), so we haven't sold yet.
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