I bought my house in 2007, knowing full well that the market bubble was about to burst. Why did I do that? Because I wanted to live in this house, the one I still live in 15 years later. I paid $1.2mil for the house in 2007, and at one point the value fell to about $1.1mil, but now it's worth well over $3million.
I tell you that because even now, as the market has softened and the number of sales since January has dropped nearly 40% since last year - there are signs of opportunity in Hawaii real estate. While prices are still 9.5% higher than they were a year ago, there is one number in the November market report that hints at opportunity: The percentage of sale price to list price.
Last year, buyers were paying 3-10% over asking prices, but this past month, for the first time in what seems like forever, that number has dropped under 100%, to an average of 98.4%. That's the average for all single family homes, but in the $600k-$700k range, the average home received 93.8% of list price, and it was only 90.2% in the $450-600k range.
Now you can't buy much in those "lower" ranges in Hawaii, but it shows that sellers are accepting offers nearly 10% below asking price! It also happens to be pretty low in the range over $3mil, at 92.4%. A nearly 8% reduction on a $3mil house is $240,000!
And since most sales are done with a seller credit these days, that means sellers are actually getting an even lower price that doesn't show in those market stats.
If you've been waiting to buy - now is the time to get nearly 10% off a house, when you add in the 3% seller credit that you're going to ask for, which can buy down your interest rate into the 4.75-5% range.
Now is the time to strike! And yes, I'm trying to buy more real estate for myself as well!