I received a shocking message from a new client this morning.  Just last Thursday I was with a delightful couple looking for a retirement home on Kauai.  We looked for 2 days and they found one that lit up both their eyes in excitement on the 2nd day.  Then first thing this morning I received a message that the husband had died suddenly and his wife is returning to the mainland with his body.  It gives me chills just to write about it.  I'm so sorry their dream couldn't come true while Randy was here to enjoy.  I offer my condolences to his wife and my thanks for allowing me to work with them those 2 days.  I'm so glad that I took a video of them in their home-to-be that day and gave them a copy.

Thanks for listening...

The Honolulu Advertiser newspaper reported today that work has begun on the Kukui'ula clubhouse and spa in this high-end project billed as the best development on Kauai.  Certainly it's scale is grand and it's prices aren't for the faint of heart.  The project currently plans for 1500 homes and homesites with prices ranging from $1.5 million for a lot and $2 million and up for a plantation cottage.  The full article can be read HERE.

The project is located on Kauai's South Shore adjacent to the Koloa/Poipu area.  The upward-sloping land will provide many of the homeowners with stunning ocean views.  Construction of the Kukui'ula retail complex is well underway and is planned to open it's high-end stores sometime next year. 

Contact me for details on purchasing a home in this new upscale community.

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 Engineering Hawaii Dreams Today--Helping Buyers Find Dream Homes & Sellers Find Buyers

Our Kauai newspaper reported today that tourism is down sharply.  August visitor arrivals in August dropped 25% compared to August 2007.  Similar figures were seen on the other islands with August declines of 18% for Oahu, 23% for the Big Island, and 21% for Maui.  The bright spot was Canadian tourist arrivals which was up 8.5 partially offsetting U.S. West Coast declines which is the largest on record.

The article said the decline was due to departure of 2 of 3 NCL cruise ships, rising fuel prices, the economic crisis and declining consumer confidence.  The full article from The Garden Island newspaper can be read HERE.

Tourism is Hawaii's mainstay and we hope the downturn is short-lived.  Clearly now is the ideal time for tourists to come visit.  We hope to see you island-side soon.

Advanced Excel Charts Explained

One of my posts on 9/24/08 had 2 Excel charts showing 12 and 24 month history of condo sales in my area.  The charts had some advanced features including a secondary axis, trendlines, line formatting, and a background picture.  I received some requests for assistance on how to do this as well as feedback that the details I initially provided seem complex.  To keep this post simple, I'm just showing the end result.  If interested, the details are here.

Happy Charting To All! 

 Search Kauai/Big Island | Search Maui | Email | About Me | Visit Website |

Engineering Hawaii Dreams Today--Helping Buyers Find Dream Homes & Sellers Find Buyers

I recently attended a great class on investment real estate financial analysis.  We were provided with some basic spreadsheets to assist in the analysis.  It was suggested that we might want to consider purchasing "ProApod" software which is supposed to be more capable. 

Does anyone have any experience with this software and if so, what did you think of it?  Also, I see on their website that they have several versions with prices ranging from $150 to $280.  Any insight into their versions would be appreciated also.

Mahalo & Aloha,

Richard Dolbeare

Visit www.KauaiRocks.com for Hawaii real estate information

I've regularly attended new listing caravans on Kauai for 4 years without seeing much change in procedures.  When I started traveling to Maui I saw that their caravans are handled a bit differently and I liked the change.  Kauai publishes a list of properties and a time frame for agents to stop by.  Somtimes we carpool with friends but often we drive alone.  On Maui, the caravan starts with a meeting for exchange of information where everyone gets a chance to speak (briefly) and then we leave to see the properties.  Carpooling is a snap since we all start at the location of the meeting.  I like the Maui way because it gives a great opportunity to network with other agents.  That's especially important to me where much of my experience was elsewhere.

I'm curious how other areas do their caravans and am soliciting your inputs.  I'm sure there are some great ideas out there that we haven't thought of here in Hawaii.  Your ideas are appreciated.

Aloha,

Visit www.KauaiRocks.com for Hawaii real estate information

Since my office is in the Koloa/Poipu area, I track condo sales there very closely.  The 2 charts below show a 12-month history and a 24-month history.  Each chart shows median sales price and the number of units sold.  Data is for fee-simple, full-ownership properties on Kauai's South Shore.  The bold lines are trend lines and the dashed lines represent the underlying data.

Data shows the number of sales has continued to decline while median sales prices are relatively flat.  Data represents what is selling and not necessarily the value of an individual property.

Aloha,

Visit www.KauaiRocks.com for Hawaii real estate information

I have made prior posts of Kauai Absorption Rates (click link for latest).  Now that I'm active in the Maui market as well, I'm posting the Maui absorption rates.  It's quite interesting that, like Kauai, the lowest absorption rates are in the area that is the center of commerce.  I can't help but wonder whether that shows a desire to live in less remote areas.  I'd be interested to hear from others as to whether they are seeing any correlation between remote areas and high absorption rates.  Here is the Maui chart.

Aloha,

Visit www.KauaiRocks.com for Hawaii real estate information

Flip Video Samples--See Below

Flip Video Sample--Inside/Daylight

Flip Video Sample--Outdoors @ Beach Park

Flip Video--Outdoors @ Hanapepe Town

The above samples illustrate the quality of the Flip Video.  Simplicity is a key feature that people seem to like.  There are no adjustments for quality, none for exposure, and no zoom.  One just hits the red button to record and again to stop.  Then it can be uploaded directly to You Tube without needing an intermediate step of downloading to the computer hard drive.  So far I like it and see it playing a big role in my real estate business.

Had the Minio model been available on Kauai, I'd likely have purchased that one instead of the Ultra.  As far as I can see from the specs, the models are pretty much the same except that the Minio has a build-in charger so that throw-away AA batteries are not required.

While the simplicity is appealing at first, I'll go out on a limb and predict that as it becomes mainstream, many users will want more control.  It will be interesting to see where Pure Digital goes with this.

Aloha!

Visit http://www.KauaiRocks.com for Hawaii real estate information

I heard rousing testimonials this month about the new Flip Video used for real estate.  One source was a CRS instructor in Honolulu and another was a presenter at the Hawaii Pac Rim conference in Kona.  I vowed to go order one.  Well this is Tuesday and I have it already.  I was at Costco and they had the Flip Ultra model in black, pink, and orange.  I'm not a pink or orange kinda guy so I picked up the black one for $124.99 (MSRP is $149.99).  Pure Digital makes 2 other models and the minio has a built-in charger saving on disposable batteries.  However, in Hawaii, shipping is often almost as much as the product cost itself so buying one of the other models from the mainland is not a good option.  Thank goodness for Costco here on Kauai!

It is as simple to use as was described to me.  There is one slider switch to turn it on and off and a red button to record and stop recording.  Then a flip-out USB plug attaches it to your computer and you can upload it direct to You Tube. 

OK, it's dark here but I had to try it out so I posted a short test video on You Tube.  Brightness is excellent although the image lacks sharpness.  I'm guessing that will improve in daylight conditions and I'll find out tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here is the test image taken indoors at night.

Aloha,

Richard Dolbeare

Visit http://www.KauaiRocks.com

Congratulations!

I'm pleased that my clients just closed on their lot in Poipu Beach Estates on the island of Kauai.

Sales price was $675,000 for a lot of 16,208 sf in a brand new community just minutes from world-famous Poipu Beach

Congratulations to the new owners, Steve & Carla, and mahalo (thanks) for allowing me to assist in making your dream of Hawaii real estate ownership a reality.

Contact me if you would like to consider a purchase in Poipu Beach Estates or a similar community on Kauai.

Visit www.KauaiRocks.com for the latest in Hawaii real estate information. 

The following information compares median sales prices for the outer islands of Hawaii for the year 2008.  Note that this reflects what is selling and can be heavily influenced by new product coming on the market.  Data has been taken from REsearch and Paragon multiple list reports.  Kauai and Maui markets remain somewhat comparable while prices on the Big Island remain substantially lower.  The Big Island has more land and issues such as lava flows, VOG and earthquakes.

Reported Median Sales Prices for Outer Islands

(year-to-date through August, 2008)

Outer Island	Residential/SF Homes	Condominiums
Kauai County	$645,000	$567,000
Maui County	$600,000	$585,000
Big Island County	$350,000	$415,000

Disclaimer:  Data herein is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.  Both REsearch and Paragon have data disclaimers.

Visit www.KauaiRocks.com for Hawaii real estate information

The 2-day Hawaii Association of Realtors (HAR) convention was held on the Big Island this year on September 18 and 19, 2008.  It was held at the Hilton Waikola Village which at times seemed like a miniature version of Disneyland with its train and boat services for getting around the huge 62-acre complex.

The 2 days were packed with information from HAR, motivational speakers, & technology experts and included a brand new NAR risk reduction course, a tradeshow and more.  It was well-organized with excellent speakers and was filled with ideas for raising client services to the next level.  I came away with a list of items to implement, some of which are already underway.  Because of the parallel sessions, I was not able to personally attend all of them.  Some key presentations I DID attend were:

• An update on the Hawaii Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act (MRFPA) with definition of a Distressed Property Consultant
• Future real estate trends by Stefan Swanepoel
• New NAR course on risk reduction in international business by Tony Macaluso
• Economic update by Paul Brewbaker, Bank of Hawaii Chief Economist
• Social Media and the power of blogging" by Bob Steward of ActiveRain
• An excellent technology course by Doug Devitre featuring the Terry The Tyrannosaurus animation

In addition to the presentations, the 2 days were full of networking opportunities and a trade show.  This is the time to meet agents from the other islands and renew acquaintances from the past.  Such networking is invaluable for market comparisons, referrals, and promotion of unique properties.

The HAR convention was preceded by a 2-day CRS course on creating wealth through real estate investments which I attended.  This course presented a methodical method of evaluating investment real estate complete with forms and spreadsheets making the calculations easy.  Our instructor Chris Bird did an excellent job and kept the attendees fully engaged throughout.

Aloha,

Richard

Visit http://www.KauaiRocks.com

Here is the updated Kauai real estate inventory chart.  It includes homes, condos, and land, both fee simple and leasehold.  Data is from Hawaii REsearch and has not been independently verified.

Looking in a rear-view mirror, it's easy to see when boom times ended and inventory started climbing steeply from late 2005 to late 2006.  Since that time our inventory has continued to increase but at a much slower rate.

For additional information, visit http://www.kauairocks.com/news/.

I don't own a flip video yet but will soon be ordering one.  Just within the last month I have encountered multiple enthusiasts who love their simplicity and easy computer interface for uploading videos to You Tube and similar sites.  The flip-out USB plug eliminates the need for wires to transfer your movies to your computer.  The original models had expendable batteries while the new ones have a built-in charger.  Nope, I don't have a business relationship with them except as a new customer.

I'd enjoy hearing from some of you who already have one.

Last week's Pacific Rim conference on the Big Island of Hawaii was chock full of great information.  The presenter at the closing session, Doug Devitre, discussed a free online resource that some may not yet be aware of.  That resource is Google Docs.  It's an online document storage resource that allows one to post documents which can be referenced via a URL.  Documents can be shared or kept private for your own personal use.  And it's FREE requiring only a Google email account which is also FREE!

Those of us in Hawaii awoke Friday morning to the following headline from our major newspaper, the Honolulu Advertiser "Hawaii slipping into recession, report says".  Click the link to the left for the full article which references data from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO).  UHERO has revised their data downward and is forecasting a decline in jobs and income. 

The article explains that much of the downturn is driven by the falloff in tourism.  While this is unfortunate for our local economy and our residents, it could be an opportunity for mainland visitors who can enjoy their visit in a quieter environment.  Now is a great time to come visit.

Visit the referenced sites by clicking below.

I attended the Hawaii Association of Realtors PACRIM conference on the Big Island this past week.  I'll comment more on the events soon but meanwhile I wanted to post a link to a You Tube video used by the closing session presenter, Doug Devitre.  It's his interview with Terry the Tyrannosaurus and it's quite fun to watch.  Doug is from the St. Louis area and his website is http://www.dougdevitre.com/.

Now, on with the show!!!

Terry the Tyrannosaurus