Ocean Pointe townhouse - someone please steal it!

It's no secret that prices in Ocean Pointe have gone down a bit in the last year. With inventory in the Ewa and Kapolei areas up 7.6% since last year, and prices down 5% in the same period, no wonder it's been harder to sell a house in Ocean Pointe.

I've written a lot about this great new community, which isn't that new but is still growing. The builder, Haseko, is still adding new properties, which is making it hard to sell the resales. Recently Haseko has offered to pay about 3% in seller concessions, which adds up to a lot of points paid for a great interest rate! With median prices in Ewa around $535k, paying 3% is a lot! Also, the builder is now offering full upgrades on everything and full landscaping. Builders never want the price of real estate to go down, so instead they go crazy with upgrades and when things start going south on them, they start buying cars and furnishing, even vacations. A client of mine just closed on a purchase in Ocean Pointe, and the builder agreed to give them a 3 car garage instead of a 2 car garage. They also paid 3% in seller concessions so they could have a killer interest rate.

I currently have this great townhouse listed in Ocean Pointe for $389k. It's 3bed, 2.5 bath, and has a huge garage. It sits right across from the new elementary school, Keonelua. So this house is perfect for people who want to be close that school and have a price target of $400k or less. In fact of the 18 listings in this complex, we are the cheapest one. And it shows great! Homes in Ocean Pointe are always pretty nice inside, since they are only a few years old, and this one is no exception. Great kitchen, upgraded floors, the works. We had originally listed the house at $409k, but with the market slowing the mortgage crisis hitting Oahu like everywhere else in the nation, we knew it was important to get sold quickly, so we reduced the price this week to $389k. I'm kind of surprised that we didn't sell in a day or so at this price, but I'm sure this weekend will bring us a lot of showings and buyers, and ultimately, offers!