Aloha!
We have a wonderful assortment of articles, Big Island Calendar of Events, resources, tips and industry
updates for you this month and we hope you enjoy. Some of these include:
In addition to Kelly's Blog (www.HawaiiBigIslandBlog.com),
you can now also follow him on Twitter @hilobrokers!
If you are having any difficulty reading the newsletter below, you may view
the current (and past) newsletter here:
http://www.hilobrokersnews.com
In addition to the featured articles, don't forget to dig a little deeper
for additional articles located in the "Daily News & Advice" area, as well
as the "More Articles" section.
Mahalo,
Kelly & the Hilo Brokers, Ltd. Team
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Some Articles Copyright © 2009 Realty
Times
All Rights Reserved.
Hilo Brokers, Ltd.
400 Hualani St.,
Bldg 21
Hilo, Hawaii, 96720
Office:
808-969-9400
Direct: 808-938-5757
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Quality Big Island Real
Estate Service & Experience
for Over 20 Years!
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Your
Big Island REALTOR®:
Kelly H. Moran
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 Hawaii
Market Reports - How Can I Get Them?
- By Kelly
Moran
Wondering what the market
conditions are here in Hawaii? Wondering if it's a
good time to buy or invest here? How about specific
towns on the Big Island, like Hilo, Pepeekeo, Keaau or other
favorite places?
Of course, you can always call
or
email me and I'll provide you with a personal
consultation, or, you can obtain some of this information
yourself.
Market
Conditions Reports
I will be posting periodic
Market Conditions Reports to my blog that provide a
summary overview on various areas on the island. If you
sign-up to
receive blog updates automatically, these will be
included.
Two new reports have been added recently, including a
Big Island summary report and a Hilo report.
Market
Snapshots
Market
Snapshots is a great tool we've made available to our
clients and visitors and it's FREE. You can plug-in an area
on the Big Island and receive all types of market reporting.
Some features include:
-
Create a personal automated
schedule to receive reports
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Price graphs, tables, charts
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List prices vs. sold prices
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Recent activity in the area
(homes for sale, sold, newly listed)
-
Community information
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School information
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Interactive maps
Move-Down Buyers Can Be Eligible for Tax Credit Too
 Move
up, move down, move sideways; it just doesn't matter.
Whichever direction you move, financially, you may still
qualify for the new tax credit available to current
homeowners. It is unfortunate that the credit has too often
been characterized as a credit for "move-up" homeowners. The
phrase carries the implication that the new home must cost
more than the sale price of the former one. Indeed, even the
November 6th White House Press Release said that the credit
would be available to qualified homeowners who "wish to step
up to a new home." Same implication.
So, it is worth emphasizing
that the credit is equally available to homeowners who are
moving down, cost-wise. The move-down homebuyer is not
an unusual phenomenon. For years retirees ....
CONTINUED >>> |
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Mortgage Rates
U.S. averages as o December 24, 2009:
30 yr. fixed: 5.05%
15 yr. fixed: 4.45%
1 yr. adj: 4.38%
View current rates
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Featured
Listing
564
Spectacular Acres
Hilo Paradise! 564
spectacular acres with streams and huge waterfalls
just 6 miles north of Hilo. Fantastic Mauna Kea
Mountain and Hilo Bay views. Large parcels like this
are rare to find so close to Hilo! The large size of
this parcel offers a variety of potential uses, the
diversified agriculture potential is unlimited, and
the property has its own airstrip.
Click
Here for More Info
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Hilo Brokers iPhone Real
Estate Search Application
- By
Kelly H. Moran
We’ve
created a customized, FREE, iPhone application that
allows you to search hawaii real estate from your iPhone.
Read More or Download Here
Real
Estate Resolutions 2010
 Sure
you can lose weight, get in shape, launch a business or
find a new job. But haven't you also procrastinated long
enough about buying a home?
How long has it been since you upgraded your home with
a new roof, spiffed up landscaping or pulled some other
home improvement?
And that post-World War II ranch home of yours could
certainly use a few energy efficient do-overs.
Look to low mortgage interest rates, bargain home
prices and other favorable market conditions to give you
the resolve to consider home sweet home in your list of
must-dos next year.
-
Join the
nearly 18 percent of Americans who say they've resolved
to become a first-time homebuyer in 2010, according to a
new Move.com survey. That's both a smart move and a
timely one. Mortgage rates are at record lows, prices
are down and the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit
has been extended until April 30, 2010. It's also been
expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit ....
CONTINUED >>>
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Real
Estate Investors Returning to Market
 Savvy
investors are always the first to jump in a potentially profitable
housing market and a new survey indicates things are heating up.
More than 12 percent of homebuyers today
plan to purchase a home as an investment, compared to less than
half, only 5.6 percent, just seven months ago, according to a recent
Move.com Homeownership Survey.
Foreclosure buyers account for 25.3
percent of consumers interested in purchasing a home and 42 percent
of potential foreclosure buyers regard their purchases as
investments, while 57.6 percent plan to live in the foreclosed home
themselves.
"This latest Homeownership Survey
validates what many had hoped to see in the housing markets --
affordable prices and ample inventories are restoring the appeal of
real estate to investors while providing opportunities for first
time home buyers to enter the market," said Move, Inc.'s chief
revenue officer, Errol Samuelson.
Interest rates below 5 percent for much
of the year and low home prices, which may be at or near market
bottom, are also bringing investors back to the fold.
The survey of 1,004 consumers, conducted
from October 16 to 18 this year, found:
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Foreclosure buyers are confident they
will profit from discounted purchase prices, as well as healthy
appreciation rates over the next five years.
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Most foreclosure buyers, 58.2 percent,
expect to pay 20 percent or less than market price for a
foreclosure, while 38.5 percent expect a 25 percent or greater
discount.
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Expectations are high -- 73 percent
expect their properties to appreciate ten percent or more in five
years, 28 percent expect their purchases to appreciate 20 percent or
more.
Given the current market of flat and
falling home prices, that may sound like high hopes, but
RealtyTrac.com explains that lenders want to unload overhead-heavy
inventories of repossessed and foreclosed home. That forces lenders
to list their homes below market and offer properties at a discount,
giving the buyer some built in equity.
In some markets, especially resort and
vacation rental markets, where rents are higher, conditions bode
well for investors who want to enjoy positive cash flow as they wait
for equity to build. "If you find a well-priced property located in
a ....
CONTINUED >>>
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Enroll Today!
Kelly's Blog
is now available.
Read online, RSS feed, or receive easy email notifications of
new posts. Just use the handy Subscribe links in the
blog's right hand column.
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How to Save to Buy a Home
It
can be one of the hardest things to do -- save money for your first
home. But now, more than ever, there's incentive to buy. Government
housing tax credits have been extended and that's sparking buyers'
interest.
Reports show that U.S. homes sales increased 10 percent
in October to the highest level since February 2007. The tax credit,
less expensive homes, and lower mortgage rates are being credited.
However, while the government is helping to support the purchasing
of a home, many Americans still can't afford to buy one.
"Most Americans are spoiled. Most Americans spend a lot
of money on discretionary items," says Eric Tyson, co-author of Home
Buying for Dummies, 4th Edition. "What it really comes down to is
you have to be motivated to look at where are you currently spending
money and what discretionary spending can you cut off," says Tyson.
So how do you get in a position to buy a home? For some
the process can seem nearly impossible. First-time homebuyers are
often fearful they'll never be able to accumulate a down payment now
that stricter guidelines are being enforced for taking out home
loans. Tyson says to look over your finances and see where things
can be cut
CONTINUED >>>
Wondering
What
Your Home is Worth?
Let us show you
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate
market today, find current interest rates, or browse the
extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some
of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
Market Snapshots Are Here
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Upcoming
Island Calendar of Events
 BOB
FEST CONCERT AND AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Date: 2/7/10
Place: Mooheau Park Bandstand, Hilo
Admission: Free
Contact: (808) 216-7372
Rasta people and everyone who likes good music are invited to
this event, celebrating the legacy of reggae icon Bob Marley.
Big Island and off-island bands, locally-grown foods, seeds and
trees to plant, children’s activities and more.
  SEARCH
FOR THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Dates: Tues - Sun through 4/2/10
Times: 1:00 pm & 3:00pm
Place: Hilo’s high-tech Imiloa Astronomy Center planetarium
Contact: (808)
969-9700 or visit
www.imiloahawaii.org.
This dynamic new planetarium show takes you into space to learn
about the Interplanetary Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, which
is drawing a new map of our solar system and Milky Way galaxy.
 NIAULANI
NATURE WALK & FOREST TOUR
Dates: 2/1/10 - 2/22/10
Time: 9:30am
Cost: Free
Place: Volcano
Art Center in Volcano Village (corner of Kalanikoa & Old Volcano
Roads)
Contact: (808) 967-8222 or visit
www.volcanoartcenter.org
Take a one-hour guided nature walk through an old-growth
Hawaiian rain forest on an easy, half-mile loop trail. The walk
introduces individuals, families, and groups to the native
plants and birds of Volcano.
HAWAIIANA LIVE
Dates: Wednesdays, 2/3/10 - 2/24/10
Time: 11:00am
Admission: $5 (children free)
Place: Palace Theater in Hilo
Contact: (808) 934-7010 or
www.hilopalace.com
A unique 45-minute cultural tourism program onstage. Experience
Hawaiian history, traditions and culture through storytelling,
film, music, oli and hula. Topics change weekly as the program
revolves around the Hawaiian lunar calendar. Newly restored pipe
organ featured.
 ARTISAN FARMS
TOUR
Dates: 2/1/10 - 2/28/10
Time: By appointment only, 8:45am-12:30pm
Place: Ahualoa,
Northeast Coast of Hawaii
Contact: (808) 775-1000
or (808) 775-1171 or visit
www.hawaiianartisanfarms.com
Ahualoa, on the Hamakua Coast, has long been an active
agricultural region of Hawaii Island. Come visit three working
farms and experience three of the unique local flavors of
Ahualoa. The morning starts with coffee and fresh baked banana
bread at Long Ears Hawaiian Coffee. Next you will drive just up
the road to enjoy tea and goodies at Mauna Kea Tea Garden.
Finally, another short trip up the road will bring you to
Volcano Island Honey Company, where your morning will end on a
sweet note. By appointment only.
 CHINESE
NEW YEAR BRUSH PAINTINGS ON SILK EXHIBIT
Dates: 2/5/10 - 2/25/10
Times: Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri: 8:30am-4:30pm; Weds:
Noon-4:30pm; Sat: 9am-3pm
Admission: Free
Place: Wailoa Arts and Culture Center at Wailoa State Park in
Hilo
Contact: (808) 933-0416
Well-known Hawaii Island artists Jane and Linus Chao and their
students celebrate the Chinese New Year in this show of this
specialized Chinese-style silk-painting artistry as well as
watercolors.
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