Trulia Voices Real Estate Q&A in Honolulu

Andrew
Andrew
Real Estate Pro
Honolulu

What's going on with Moana Pacific? Good to time buy while rates are low or wait.

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Frank Diaz, MBA,…
Frank Diaz, MBA,…
Real Estate Pro
Honolulu
Mon Apr 28 2008, 18:40

Rates have been fluctuating widely (and wildly) recently. It's tough to watch them, but the 10-year Treasurey note tends to help a little.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?d=t&s=%5Etnx
FreddieMac is also helpful, but tends to trail the market by a week or two:
http://www.freddiemac.com/dlink/html/PMMS/display/PMMSOutput…
Don't try to time the market too much. An uptick of 0.5% in the rate can cost you a lot of money. If you can afford to buy, go find that great bargain, get the most up to date comparable sales date (not just in the Board of Realtors) from public records and make a decision. Be sure to compare similar sized units since square footage varies a lot and so will price per square foot. As an example, three units that are within 10 suar feet of each other just sold between $663,000 and $830,000.

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Libby Lum
Libby Lum
Real Estate Pro
Honolulu
Sat Apr 26 2008, 15:08

As one of 14 agents who were on the original Moana Pacific sales team since 2003, I think now is a great time to buy. I've seen the values come down significantly since March of last year when the West Tower just began to show it's first resales after completion, though sales in the builiding are now starting to pick up. If you're buying for an investment, I think there are better alternatives out there in terms of cash flow and asset appreciation, but if you're buying to live in it you've got some terrific options. I just closed on #1204 in the East Tower last week and I got my seller his full asking price and got him in escrow in less than 2 weeks. On my other two listings in the building I've seen an increase in the showing requests and it seems like the buyers who've been sitting on the fence are now getting ready to make the jump to putting in offers. Keep in mind that they just had a 32% increase in their maintenance fee (not uncommon with new projects since original estimates are almost always different than projected actual use of utilities and common areas) and that there are a few things in the condo documents that you'll want to know about that have been areas of concerns for new buyers.

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Scotty Wong
Scotty Wong
Real Estate Pro
Honolulu
Wed Mar 5 2008, 16:10

Our Company President wrote:

It is now a "buyer's market"! Buyer's have been waiting for years and now it has shifted from a seller's market to a balanced market to a buyer's market. The remaining months of inventory is 8.4 months and there may never be a better time to purchase than today! Interest rates are great, the economy is stable, selection of homes are good and seller's want to sell. The only way anyone can tell when the bottom occurs is when we passed it!

Moana Pacific is a great place and a few of my agents are having good traffic for their open houses. Lots of buyers coming out and looking in that building.

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Marshall C. Mow…
Marshall C. Mow…
Real Estate Pro
96814
Wed Jan 30 2008, 17:50
FIRST ANSWER

With lots of inventory - a total of 30 active listings in the complex (as of this writing), and interest rates where they are today, it could be a good time to buy at Moana Pacific. Look at the 3-bedroom opportunities. There is a low floor unit that came onto the market just ten days ago for $685K. That's just $567.99 per square foot - actually quite good for this great location.

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