Ron Margolis Real Estate Podcast

Ron Margolis
Ron Margolis Real Estate Podcast

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, get all the information and the latest updates, tips, and tricks from Margolis Team - your professional Real Estate Agents.

  1. 10/02/2020 · VIDEO

    Q: Which Mistakes Should You Avoid as a Home Seller?

    Here are the mistakes you never want to make as a home seller.   If you’re thinking about selling your home anytime in the near future, today I want to offer some advice. Here are seven critical home-selling mistakes that you should avoid if you want a smooth, successful, and  less stressful home sale: 1. Picking the wrong agent. Pick someone with experience who knows the market and has comprehensive marketing knowledge to highlight your property in the best light. You also want someone who is a great communicator, not only with you but also with other agents. “You’ve got to be level-headed as a seller.” 2. Overpricing the property. Consumers are more savvy these days than ever. They can get all of their information online to get a much better idea of what your home is actually worth. If it’s overpriced, they will know and many may not even come and look at the home. That may lead to a stale listing which can lead to lower offers and price adjustments. 3. Only considering the highest offer. There are many terms that make up an offer. Price is important, but it’s not the only thing you should consider. Don’t just automatically go for the highest price, look for the offer that offers the most value to you. 4. Failing to prepare your home. If there are simple fixes we can make, like painting or power washing, we want to do that before you start showing the home and put it on the market. You don’t necessarily have to remodel anything, but you do need to make your home shine. 5. Falling to declutter the home. Depersonalize the home so that a buyer can envision their family in the home. You’re going to be moving anyway, so why not get a headstart on moving by packing away those personal items. 6. Getting too emotional. A real estate transaction is a business transaction, and for some people, it’s one of the largest purchases they’ll ever make. You’ve got to be level-headed and detached emotionally so you can make sound decisions and manage the situation more effectively. 7. Not being flexible with showings. The easier it is to show the home, the better your opportunity to sell it, especially right here on Kauai.  If you have any questions for me about selling your home or about Kauai real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone, text or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

  2. 09/17/2020 · VIDEO

    Q: Where is the Kauai Real Estate Market After Six Months of COVID-19?

    As we make our way through September, the market is gaining momentum.   I hope this market update finds you safe and healthy. Here in Kauai, it’s been about a month since we’ve had any new coronavirus cases. Hopefully, this trend will open up the island to tourism on October 1 and accelerate the real estate market! Ever since the pandemic shutdown began about six months ago, our market has stayed stable. At 0:47 in the video, you can see that sales dropped in May and June, but things rebounded in July, and we ended August with 46 sales. As of the recording of this video, we’ve seen 22 single-family homes close during September. A year ago, we saw 24 closings during the same time frame, so it’s clear the market is regaining momentum.  Like the market in general, prices have stayed stable too (except for some vacation rentals). At 1:38 in the video, you can see that the median sale price of single-family homes has risen almost $100,000 compared to August 2019, which is a reflection of more expensive homes selling—particularly on the north and south shores. The volume of sales for single-family homes has also risen compared to August 2019, but the volume for condos has dropped, and the volume for vacant land has stayed relatively the same.  “It’s clear the market is regaining momentum.” Since real estate pricing is based on supply and demand, there will likely be downward pricing pressure for condominium projects that saw a significant rise in inventory with limited demand.  For example, back in March, there were just three active listings for the condotel project known as Ashton Islander on the Beach on the east side, but now there are 16. Just one of those has gone under contract in the last six months, and none have sold. Prices are commensurate with previous vacation rental income, so we know that these prices will need to adjust. These income properties won’t be producing what they did last year, and neither will they in the near future. Down the coast at the Kauai Beach Resort, another popular condotel with 35 units, there are 16 available units, and prices have started sliding downward. There were a number of sales in the last six months, but since they were all from one investor, that’s an exception to the rule. We see sales in the condo market for people who are coming to live here or don’t need to rent, but for the segment of buyers who are thinking about income to offset the cost of their vacation rental, the situation is different because it’s unknown how quickly tourism will recover.  In any case, it’s a great time to sell if you can price your property correctly. If you need help pricing your property, my team and I would be happy to provide you a price analysis. If you’re a buyer, the good news is that interest rates are still low. As I said, Kauai has regained some momentum because mainland buyers (primarily from California) want to move to more rural areas. We’ve had a number of transactions in the multi-million dollar market due to this trend. If you have questions about our Kauai market or are thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to email me. A hui hou!

  3. 07/22/2020 · VIDEO

    A Conversation About ADUs, ARUs, and Additional Housing with Kaaina Hull

    In our live stream conversation with Kaaina Hull, we discuss Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs), Additional Rental Units (ARUs), and the planning department’s efforts to help create additional housing on Kauai. Like many areas throughout our nation, affordable housing is a challenge on the Garden Island. According to Housing Director Adam Roversi, Kauai needs 5,000 new homes to meet the needs of its current population. Through a variety of projects, programs, and developers, there are numerous projects currently on the books in the near term including: • Ele’ele: Lima Ola – 650 units –Hoping to break ground on infrastructure work in the summer of 2020 • Kapa’a: Hokua Place and Kealia Mauka – Developments that’d provide housing in accordance with Ordinance 860 –Developers are working through a process still years out if approved • Kilauea – 2 acres – still in an investigatory phase in partnership with HPHA • Koloa: Koa’e Makana has 133 units is currently taking applications • Lihue: The ‘Ohana Zone –22 units – Lihue – targeted demographic needing social services – anticipated completion by end of 2020 • Lihue: Pua Loke  – 53 units – Lihue- anticipated completion by end of 2020 • Waimea: Hua Kai –  67 units – under construction –primarily a Habitat for Humanity project assisted by County financing. Rentals and for purchase will be available. As you can see, the projects above constitute less than 1500 units so we have a lot of work to do to mitigate our housing challenges. Of all the angles on building affordable housing that I have seen in my fifteen years on the island, Habitat for Humanity has architected the most affordable way to build homes.  On Kauai’s residentially zoned parcels, the county allows for options to add additional housing units and in the interview, we discuss the process, review the density, and costs. The ARU is a relatively new ordinance, released in 2019,  designed to add small rental units on properties either attached or detached. You can view the ARU ordinance here. The graphic below provides a definition of the dwelling unit types. On A-zoned property (agricultural) ARUs are not currently permitted. Feel free to send me questions regarding these expansion options and my team and I will get the answers for you promptly.   Dwelling Unit Count by Parcel Sq. Ft. Threshold

  4. 05/08/2020 · VIDEO

    Housing is not causing our recession this time - it's a health crisis

    Today I brought on two of my team members to talk about why the Kauai Real Estate is likely to be different than the one in the great recession back in 2008-09.     Here are four good reasons why this economic slowdown we’re experiencing does not necessarily equal a housing crisis: 1. Buyers’ credit is scrutinized more heavily today than in 2008. It was much easier to get a mortgage during the Great Recession than it is today, which we can see by studying the historic data from the mortgage credit availability index. After the crash, however, lending standards tightened up a lot. In fact, since the pandemic and the resulting volatility in our stock market, the criteria for getting loans have gotten even tougher. When buyers are qualified for loans today, that means they’re serious, capable buyers. 2. We have a shortage of inventory in parts of our market. Unlike during the Recession, we have a shortage in our markets around our median price which is close to $600,000. A normal real estate market has approximately six months of inventory. Anything more than that is an overabundance that causes prices to depreciate; anything less than that is a shortage that will lead to continued appreciation. Despite over a month of stay-at-home orders, in many areas of Kauai, the housing demand still outpaces the supply. That’s a formula that may keep prices from dropping. 3. Home affordability is better now. Affordability is determined by three factors: the price of the home, the income of the buyers, and the mortgage rate available at the time. In 2008, prices were still high, wages were lower, and the interest rate hovered around 6%. Now, prices are high again, but income is also higher and interest rates are almost half of what they were 13 years ago, hovering around 3%. According to the mortgage credit availability index, the average family today pays less of their monthly income toward their mortgage payment compared to 13 years ago. 4. Homeowners are equity-rich—not tapped out. In a run-up to the housing bubble, many people used their homes as ATMs, only to learn a painful lesson. Today’s consumers are treating equity in their home much more cautiously. Over the last five years of appreciation, over 50% of American homes have more than 50% equity. In 2008, prices dropped rapidly, leaving some people underwater. That distressed housing market brought prices way down, but with the equity that homeowners have now, they’re less likely to walk away from their homes. That said, is now a good time to buy? If you’re already in escrow and are buying for the long term, the answer is yes—especially if you’re financing the purchase. With inventory having been in such short supply for so long, and with interest rates at historic lows, it’s hard to predict what type of slowdown we may have in Kauai’s real estate market. Certainly, March and April sales don’t tell us much, as many of those are closed sales that began before the pandemic hit.  It’s likely that interest rates may start to climb as the economy starts to recover, and anything you might achieve from saving and the lowering of prices could be offset by rising interest rates. Remember that for every 1% increase in rates, you lose 10% of your buying power. “With inventory having been in such short supply for so long, and with interest rates at historic lows, it’s hard to predict what type of slowdown we may have in Kauai’s real estate market.” When Kauai was first quarantined on March 25, economists predicted a V-shaped recession; that opinion has morphed some over the last several weeks. Now, the consensus is a U-shaped recovery. We know that housing is in a much stronger position now than it was in 2008, but nobody knows where this is all headed for sure—we’ll all have to discover what’s in store together. If you’d like to keep your finger on the pulse of today’s Kauai real estate market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy! A hui hou.

  5. 04/16/2020 · VIDEO

    What’s Going on With Mortgage Rates?

    Mortgages rates reached all-time lows, then immediately started to climb. Here’s why that happened.   Rates have been dropping over the last month, and many people have been refinancing their mortgages to lock in lows of 3.25% and 3.5%. They’ve been dropping in response to the volatility in the stock market and the fear of the economy slowing down in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Last week, however, rates started to climb back up. Why did that happen? Usually, when the yield on the Treasury goes up, mortgage rates go up too, and when yields go down, mortgage rates follow suit.  Currently, the yield on the Treasury is as low as it’s been in recent memory—well under 1%. Counterintuitively, rates have risen though, and that’s due to several factors. One of the largest factors is that lenders are overloaded. A flood of applications has come their way, and they simply don’t have enough operational capacity to process all of these in a timely manner. This problem will be only exacerbated by the need for more people to work from home. “The best thing you can do is get pre-approved now so you’re prepared to take advantage when rates drop again.” An artificial rate hike allows lenders to curb the volume of refinances (if a sizable chunk of existing mortgages was paid off through refinance, lenders would see less in profits).  There’s a lot of uncertainty, but we’re likely looking at low or negative growth in our economy over the next six months, which supports the theory that, without any underlying inflation, mortgage rates should remain stable and low.  If you missed the wave of low rates, you’re more than likely to have a second chance. When everything settles down, and once the banks have a chance to process their loans, we’ll probably see another dip in the rates.  The best thing you can do is get pre-approved now so you’re prepared to take advantage when rates drop again. As always, reach out if you have any questions on this or other real estate topics. I hope you stay safe, and I look forward to hearing from you.

  6. 02/14/2020 · VIDEO

    How Did the Kauai Real Estate Market Perform in 2019 & What's Ahead?

    SALES STATS 2ND HALF OF 2019 As we mentioned in our market updates at the beginning of last year, we anticipated a slowdown in sales of single family homes at the mid-to-lower price points. We anticipated, like with most of the nation, that the lack of inventory would keep prices strong. We anticipated that the luxury space (above $1M) inventory would continue to grow, with more sellers than buyers, and sellers needing to become more flexible to get their properties sold. The slowdown did not really materialize as low interest rates, low supply, and high demand sustained throughout 2019, helping to keep the market strong in the mid-range of the market. The high-end of the market did, however, lose some of its velocity.  Sales of homes on Kauai were down 3.01% from 598 units sold in 2018 to 580 units sold last year. Sales in the Kapaa-Wailua areas, however, were up 6.74% and in Lihue (the closest thing we have to an urban town-core area) sales were up 12.74%. But in the Hanalei District (Princeville, Hanalei and beyond) sales of single-family homes were down a whopping 21.97%, from 132 sales in 2018 to 103 sales in 2019. Princeville is often the area of highest appreciation when the market is rising. Has the market topped in Princeville? Or did the devastation from the 2018 floods have an effect on the North Shore in general? My notion is that both contributed to the reduction in sales. The slowdown in condo sales were more pronounced with a 15.8% drop from a total of 481 condos sold in 2018 to 405 condos sold in 2019. Sales of condos were down in the Lihue, Kapaa and Princeville areas. In Poipu however, the number of condos sold was almost identical, 149 in 2018 to 148 in 2019. The main reason: the Pili Mai project by the Kiahuna Golf course is almost sold out. Many units which had been pending for a year, were completed and the sales closed. In fact, because the project is now sold out, we are starting to see resales of units for 10-15% above their original costs in 2018 and 2019. INVENTORYThis inventory graph shows the number of active listings in the main categories (we are not including businesses or commercial) and we have continued to hover under 700 listings for most of the last year. September was the month with the lowest inventory for 2019,  January 2020 shows an inventory slightly up from 2019 January levels. Active inventory in February shows only 618 properties island wide with 217 listings under contract after the first week in February SALES PRICESReal estate statistics are a great way to take the pulse of a particular market but knowing what the number you are looking at represents can sometimes be confusing. There are two main stats regarding selling price. They are  Average and Median prices. Average and median are both measures of central tendency, but the average can be skewed by very large or very small observations. The median is basically the point in the middle of all the properties. Literally, half the properties are less than the median price and half are greater than the median. The average is, of course, simply the average. Take 10 sales, add up their volume, divide by 10 and voila, you have the average. People like to know the average price; however, the median is a better reflection of the market because the  median is less likely to be skewed by outliers, like a $24M sale on Hanalei Bay for example.  OK, that was a mouthful and maybe more than you wanted to know. You can google “average vs. median price real estate” to find other variants of the definition! The average selling price for a home is down 2.8% from last year. The median price is up 14.4% to $715,000. However, of the 277 single-family homes for sale, only 34 of them are priced at median or less.  For condos the average price moved up from $628,573 to $635,007 a modest change of 1% and the median condo price has dropped steadily since peaking in September. Since fall is typically our slower time of year, I can’t yet say this is a trend, especially since the median price is up 3%. DAYS ON MARKET The days on market is the number of days a property has been on the market until close of escrow. In many larger markets, San Diego, Silicon Valley, even Honolulu, the days on market have grown indicating a market slowdown. Here on Kauai, that number vacillates from month-to-month but there is no big trend there that we can see. Normal financed sales take 45-60+ days, so on average homes and condos are frequently on the market up to 100 days before they go into escrow. Listings priced accurately in the area of the market with strong demand helps to bring the days on market down. There are plenty of buyers waiting for the right property, and interest rates continue to be low, so if you have ever considered selling your property, it’s a great time to do so. As always, if you have any questions about real estate in general, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you any way I can. Aloha and a hui hou!

About

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, get all the information and the latest updates, tips, and tricks from Margolis Team - your professional Real Estate Agents.

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada