Princeville condo (and house) update for the week of Aug 3rd to 9th

Aloha,

It’s been a busy week for me, especially since I’m still catching up after coming back from vacation. There seems to be quite a few buyers out there looking and I’ve seen more and more offers being written. Sellers that are going into escrow are probably taking less than what they were hoping for, but at least they are getting offers. My sellers often ask me if I think the offer they’ve received is a good one. Sometimes I think it’s good and other times I honestly feel their property is worth more but the answer is pretty much always the same and that is “It doesn’t matter what I think. I’m not the one making you an offer.” My next question is along the lines of “Is this enough money for you to do what you want to do next?” i.e. move onto your next property, go back to the mainland etc followed closely by question #2 which is “Are you interested in getting out of your current property now?”

Sometimes sellers struggle with if they should counter an offer by another $5000 or $10,000. Most cases I tell them that if they up the price by $5K or $10K and the buyer walks, they will never forget the offer they lost whereas if they just take the offer that is in front of them, (assuming the answer to the previous two questions is ‘yes’) the perceived loss of funds will soon be forgotten in the excitement and energy of their next move. In other words, don’t get all wrapped up in negotiating for more money you don’t really need to move on with your life as you may find you lose that opportunity over a relatively small amount of money. On to this weeks update:

Copyright 8/9/2008 by Hawaii Information Service

NEW LISTINGS
214648 T A 2 4-5-3-6-22-2 FS $2,195,000 Kaiulani Of Princeville #2 2,843 #2 3/3.5
214486 T A 5 4-5-4-5-18-89 FS $425,000 Puamana #24D 1,532 #24D 2/2
214427 T A 5 4-5-4-5-17-23 FS $599,000 Alii Kai Ii Hanalei #10G 1,037 #10G 2/2

CONTINGENT SALES
208668 T C 142 4-5-4-12-5-28 LH $635,000 Pali Ke Kua Incr I, ii, iii #210C 1,127 #210C 2/2

SALES
202868 T S 269 4-5-4-5-16-3 FS $649,000 Alii Kai At Hanalei #1103 1,085 #1103 2/2
SOLD 7/29/2008 for $595,000 (EXCH) DOM 269

WITHDRAWN
211530 T W 67 4-5-4-12-11-24 FS $1,888,000 Puu Poa #210 1,700 #210 2/2

PRICE CHANGES
211984 T A 53 4-5-3-6-22-71 FS $885,000- Kaiulani Of Princeville #71 1,901 #71 2/2.5
207580 T A 166 4-5-3-11-1-20 FS $955,000- Villas On The Prince #20 1,767 #20 3/3
209244 T A 131 4-5-3-6-22-63 FS $985,000- Kaiulani Of Princeville #63 1,901 #63 2/2.5
210059 T A 117 4-5-4-5-27-18 FS $390,000- Hale Honu #9B 1,085 #9B 3/2
210027 T A 125 4-5-4-5-30-6 FS $399,000- Princeville Mauna Kai #F6 1,400 ##5 3/2
211355 T A 85 4-5-4-12-5-5 FS $879,000- Pali Ke Kua Incr I, ii, iii #105A 717 #105A 1/1
212117 T A 65 4-5-4-5-39-175 FS $995,000- Cliffs At Princeville #8201 963 #8201 1/2
207864 T A 162 4-5-4-11-3-32 FS $1,099,000- Hanalei Bay Resort #H26 1,324 #H26 2/2

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed.

Ka’iulani #2, a developer’s unit, is our first listing which has been listed twice before for $1.850M, once from 12/06 to 8/07 and again from 5/08 to 6/08. This time the listing price was increased to $2.195K. ( I guess the developer knows something we don’t..) Puamana 24D, purchased for $268K in 9/03, was previously listed from 4/05 to 8/05, starting at $499K and increasing to $525K before it was withdrawn. It is now listed for $425K. Ali’i Kai 10G is our only new listing this week, having last sold for $129,500 in 6/89. It comes on the market at $599K.

Only one unit went into escrow this past week and that is Pali Ke Kua 210, a leasehold unit listed at $635K. This unit was in escrow once before from 6-6 to 7-23 but fell out. This unit has great views but it still surprises me that buyers choose this unit over 238 which is listed in the $300’s or unit 130 which is listed for $555K. Hopefully, it will stay in escrow this time.

Pu’u Po’a 210 came off the market this week, listed at $1.888M. This seller apparently wants to wait for a better market as it appears they have the equity to reduce if they wanted to, having purchased the unit in 5/99 for $338K.

As usual, we have plenty of price changes. First up is Ka’iulani #71, which reduced from $899K to $885K. This unit recently sold for $825,990 in 6/08. The next two units, Villas on the Prince #20, and Ka’iulani #63 are both owned by the same seller who is a real estate agent. Villas #20, purchased in 3/02 for $495,172 reduced from $989K to $955K while Ka’iulani, which sold in 3/08 for $975K, went from $989K to $985K. Looks like this Ka’iulani will end up being a tax write off. Hale Honu 9B reduced from $425K to $399 and was purchased in 4/04 for $355K.

Mauna Kai #5 reduced from $430K to $399K. This property is already a short sale, having sold in 11/04 for $431,650. Pali Ke Kua 105 went from $995K to $879K. This unit sold in 8/07 for $795K which, at that time, was a full price offer. However, the unit was previously listed for $995K for over 600 days with no takers, when the sellers suddenly reduced a full $200K which brought in the current owner. It’s interesting how some sellers forget the circumstances of their own purchase. If they wouldn’t buy it a year ago for anything above $795k when the market was somewhat more robust I wonder what makes them think a new buyer will pay more when the market is even softer than it was a year ago.

Cliffs 8201 reduced from $1.195M to $995K having been purchased for $1.075M in 4/06. This sale back in 06 pretty much set the upper limit for Cliff’s sales. It is a premier unit with almost 360 degree ocean views but I don’t think the market will support these high prices at this time. Hanalei Bay Resort 5201/02 is our final reduction, going from $1.250M to $1.099M. The last sale of this unit was in 11/03 for $507,290, leaving this seller with plenty of room to negotiate.

Here is your market update for Princeville homes this week:

Copyright 8/9/2008 by Hawaii Information Service

NEW LISTINGS
213887 RS A 5 4-5-3-12-4 FS $2,395,000 4035 Aloalii Dr 9,415 sqft 3,407 3/3
214429 RS A 1 4-5-4-16-41 FS $945,000 4136 Kekaulike Ln 10,500 sqft 3,024 3/3
214432 RS A 3 4-5-4-21-5 FS $1,199,000 3722 Albert Rd 13,401 sqft 2,218 3/2

BACK ON THE MARKET
199054 SH A 329 4-5-4-16-22 FS $365,000 4080 Kaa’humanu Pl 9,731 sqft 2,460 4/3.5
199057 SH A 93 4-5-4-16-22 FS $375,000 4080 Kaa’humanu Pl 9,731 sqft 2,460 4/3.5
199055 SH A 377 4-5-4-16-22 FS $375,000 4080 Kaa’humanu Pl 9,731 sqft 2,460 4/3.5

PRICE CHANGES
197400 RS A 416 4-5-3-11-46 FS $1,795,000+ 4140 Aloalii Dr 18,188 sqft 3,469 3/3
200239 RS A 351 4-5-3-12-12 FS $1,795,000+ 3985 Aloalii Dr 8,554 sqft 3,340 2/3

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed.

I promised to share a few of the pictures from my trip—below is a bull moose we saw while on the way to the Eastern entrance of Yellowstone.

The moose seemed as amused and entertained by us (several others also stopped by the side of the road) as we were with him. Remember to call or email before you buy or sell. Don’t go into any transaction without all the statistics and history on your side. Have a great week!

Aloha Elaine

PS Here’s one of the many gorgeous views as we rode through Glacier National Park in Montana.

Elaine Schaefer (R, GRI, ABR)
Broker in Charge – Princeville Resort Office
Graduate, Realtor’s Institute
Accredited Buyer’s Representative
Top Producer 100% Club

RE/MAX Kauai
Princeville Resort Office
POB 223632
Princeville, HI 96722
cell: 808 639 2935
home fax: 1 808 440 4552
email:soldonkauai@yahoo.com
website: www.kauairealestatenow.com
blog: www.blogs.alohaliving.com/princeville-condo-sales

……you can have your own piece of paradise
ask me how!

August 10th, 2008