Any one point may not tell you anything but when you put it all together….here’s what it looks like

Roberta’s Real Estate Hotwire

Around the State:

According to Pacific Business News (4/23/2010 edition) Bank owned properties(REO’s) in the State of Hawaii hit a total of 934 in Q1 of 2010, up from 160 in the same period 2009. Interestingly, the lion share of these are located on O’ahu and the Big Island with only a total of 60 REO properties here on Kauai. While this may not seem like a positive number it shows the resolution is underway for all the toxic loans out there are finally resolving.
Indicators are pointing at a reviving economy in the State. Unemployment forecasts did not prove to be as bad as predicted. Less bad is good news. It has to slow before it turns…right?
There was a spike in retail jobs which was not due to anticipated growth but is a reaction to actual increases in retail spending.
Statewide visitor arrivals tallied in the positive column and Kauai saw more than its proportionate share.
The auto industry is actually in the first growth cycle in four years.
Real Estate volume is up 12% statewide
General Excise Tax collections, while still statistically lackluster for Q1, experienced a dramatic spike in March which seems to be gaining momentum. This is a bit ahead of the forecasts which predicted we would not see this till Q2 at the earliest.

Here on Kauai

Sue Kanoho of Kauai visitors bureau recently presented an update outlining the greater growth of visitor arrivals enjoyed here on Kauai can be directly attributed to the outreach work done in key arrival areas across the country. Representatives from the Kauai visitor industry, cultural groups and government officials made the rounds to key Canadian and US cities and recent arrivals on Kauai directly reflect the goodwill generated in that effort.
Makai Properties produced the first and only sale at Kukui’ula in the last 1.5 years
Condo values at Poipu Kai have been on the slow decline due to lack of real buyer interest. Q1 2010 revealed several sales which have effectively reset the market in several areas. New negotiations which will show up as an increase in closings within the next few months.
First time Kauai buyers are flocking to the market to take advantage of the tax credit for homebuyers scheduled to sunset by May 1, 2010. The entry-level inventory is being rapidly absorbed making room for a faster market turn that typically spills over into the investor markets.
With visitor arrivals on the upswing, so goes rental revenue in the transient vacation rental plant. An uptick in rental revenue offsetting more of an owners fixed costs, will prompt “wanna-be” buyers to take advantage of sufficiently softened resort property values on top of low interest rates. The best deals are at the leading edge of any market shift!

Kauai Real Estate Blog