Hard Duty in Waikiki

It's hard duty being a Realtor in Honolulu. Part of our job is meeting new clients and sitting down to disucss their home buying or selling plans. Sometimes we meet folks in our office. Sometimes we meet in their home or if they are a buyer, where they are staying when they are on-island for only a short time while house hunting.

This afternoon we sat down by the pool at the beautiful Waikiki Sheraton to talk to a buyer.  I enjoy going to energetic Waikiki.  The photo above shows the pool, the ocean and Diamond Head in the distance. If you haven't been to the Sheraton, it's a great place to consider staying.  Besides the beautiful pool, they have fine and casual dining. There are hula lessons, an ice cream shop, tiki carving, a spa, lots of stores for shopping, and many daily activities.

Oh, and it's a pretty good place to have an al fresco meeting too!

Flood Insurance Rates May Increase January 2011

It's not something we like to think about while sitting on the beach, but if you own a home on Oahu near the water, your flood insurance rates may increase this month. You can prevent an increase, but you will have to move quickly.

Here is some handy information:

The National Flood Insurance Program's new digital Flood Insurance Rate Map for Oahu will become effective on January 19, 2011.  Areas that are affected by the change include Hawaii Kai, Ala Moana-Kakaako, Ewa Beach and Makaha.

Oahu property owners are encouraged to purchase flood insurance at current rates before the change is implemented.  For more details, read FEMA's news release  HERE. Also, visit the official National Flood Insurance Program website at http://www.floodsmart.gov/

P.S. If you live in a condo, check with your AOAO.

 

Honolulu Winter Day

Aloha! This afternoon is a pretty winter Honolulu day.  The sun is out, the temperature is 76 degrees and there are light trade winds and puffy scattered clouds.

After the recent week of rain, even the side of Koko Crater is turning emerald green.

January is a great off-season time to spend a few days in Hawaii. The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, the weather is mild and the surf temperature is around 76 degrees. Our tourism statistics prove that a lot of people come here to enjoy the island.  In December our visitor arrivals were up 7%, in November visitor spending jumped 30%.

A quick check of the Honolulu MLS today shows that there are 1,861 condos for sale and 1,218 single family homes available. Prices range from less than $100,000 all the way up to multi-million dollar properties.

If you want to dream a little about what it is like to own a home in Hawaii, go to: http://www.coastalhawaii.com/. It's a news aggregate that is loaded with real estate news and information.

Hawaii 5 Oh!

Wow! After a weekend of non-stop football it was a pleasure to relax in the family room and turn on our favorite new show, Hawaii 5-0.

Even the cats seem interested in the adventures of McGarrett. We love to identify the locations around the island where the show has been filmed.  It's always a kick to see Danno and Steve speeding around the island with the background scenery whizzing by.  Did you know that the speed limit on our H-1 freeway is 40-50mph?  On the two lane roads where most of the TV action takes place the speed limit is only 25.  It's fun to see the actors pretending to drive so fast.

Years ago, when cars had real bumpers, I used to see this bumper sticker a lot, it said, "Slow Down, This Ain't the Mainland!"  Guess 5-0 cops are exempted, even if it is pretend.

If you are considering buying a home in Honolulu our office has the Kahala home of Daniel Dae Kim listed for sale.  It is a 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 3,354 sf home one block from the beach.

  Here is a photo taken of the tropical morning sunrise glow from the pool area. The home is priced at $2,430,000.000  Way to go Chin Ho!