Hawai'i banks unfazed by financial storm

Take a quick stroll among the palm trees and commercial towers in Honolulu's financial district and names like Washington Mutual, Bank of America and Wachovia are nowhere to be found.

Banks and other lenders that purchased or made bad mortgages by the billions got away from the fundamentals. Not so in Hawai'i.

Not only are the banks here conservative, so are many borrowers. They largely stayed away from risky mortgages from outside lenders that underwrote mortgages with very little down, changing rates and no income verification.

Hawai'i foreclosure rate at 1.67%, 22nd lowest in nation  . Hawai'i's mortgage delinquency rate was eighth-lowest in the U.S. at 4.04 percent.

The great thing about real estate, when the price is right, there is always demand.  Evidently, the buying public feels like the prices are now right.

Did you read this article: It May Be Time to Think About Buying a House

The New York Times explaining why this may be the best opportunity you will have in your lifetime to buy a new home. The key point is that waiting makes no sense.

Oahu Condo prices increase over November 2007

The November stats are out and here is the simple summary – number of sales down, prices flat.  The media will crow about how terrible things are, but look a little closer and they aren’t that bad.  Here we go:

-         Number of Sales down for both SFH and Condos.  No surprise here.  SFH at 170, down from 243 in October and 245 in November of 2007.  Condo sales at 201, down from 316 in October and 379 in November of 2007.  This large drop in sales was magnified by the seasonal drop in sales this time of year.

-         Condo Median Price was $316,200, down from $325,000 in October and “UP” from $315,000 in November of 2007. 

-         Days on Market up for SFH and Condos: SFH DOM were 57 in November, up from 52 in October 2008 and 53 in November of 2007.  Condo DOM at 68, up from 53 in October 2008, and up from 42 in November of 2007.  This is the highest DOM for condos for the year, but just about average for SFH for the year.

-         Inventory down for both SFH and Condos.  SFH inventory of 2,096 was down from 2,107 in October of 2007, and up from 1,952 in November 2007.  Condo inventory of 2,655 was down from 2,663 in October 2008 and up from 2,442 in November of 2007.  Both of these numbers are consistent within the year.

-         Months of Remaining Inventory – down for both SFH and Condos:  SFH MORI of 8.6 is down from 9.8 in October of 2008 and up from 7.4 in November of 2007.  Condo MORI of 8.4 is down from October 2008 and up from 5.8 in November of 2007.  We are still in a healthy range for Months Of Remaining Inventory.  Remember, in the 6 – 10 month-range, prices remain flat.