AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

The Hawaii real estate market is, not surprisingly, somewhat eclectic due to the presence of four rather heavily populated islands, each with unique market traits and trends. Overall, the Hawaii real estate market was not particularly hard-hit by the nationwide economic recession that began in earnest during the year two thousand eight. This does not, of course, mean that the Aloha State was wholly unaffected by the bursting of the real estate bubble. On the contrary, a number of highly publicized projects have been foreclosed, shut down, or auctioned off because of a lack of funds and the changing market conditions.  Foreclosures have flooded the local markets on most of the islands, but most notably the Big Island and Maui, while home prices have generally fallen across the state.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reported on September 8, 2009, that “real estate sales mixed on 2 isles”. The article whose headline is found above, Dave Segal, went on to state that “The real estate markets on the Big Island and Kauai continued their trendless ways last month as prices and sales once again posted a mixed performance.” This is an indication of what Hawaii homes for sale can expect – a constantly changing market that often lacks consistency either over geographic barriers or over different periods of time. Unfortunately, it seems that the Hawaii real estate market may soon slip into territory that it has previously not trod upon.

A September 10, 2009 article in the Honolulu Advertiser found that “Hawaii property foreclosure filings increased in August by their smallest margin in a year, but were still second highest following a record set in July. A report by real estate research firm RealtyTrac said there were 869 foreclosure filings in the state last month.” This was the same report for real estate in Hawaii that was covered by the Pacific Business News on September 10, 2009, which stated that “the Hawaii foreclosure rate had one filing for every 583 households.” The article by Randi Petrello also found that “Hawaii ranked 20th in the nation for foreclosures in August, down from 15th in July.”