|
|
|
|
|
Aloha Kauai Lovers:
Several weeks ago I was talking to Phil on the phone and
suddenly he says "There's a white bunny running through our
backyard!" so I say "Oh my Gosh, hurry and go catch him!"
"Click" he hangs up the phone. When I got home that
evening I had forgot about the whole thing until I saw Phil
and he said with a smirk "There's a little something in your
office". I opened the office door and there was the cutest
little white fluffy bunny with ears hanging straight down
munching on a celery stick right under my desk looking very
much at home. I knelt down to pet him (or her - honestly
hard to tell on a bunny) and it came right up to me and
sniffed my fingers. Wa-la! Instant bunny love! I'm a dog
person (as you know by now) but there is something about
little bunnies that would make anyone melt especially when
they're friendly and seem to like you. Phil and I talked
about the bunny "Do we keep it?" and for about 30 seconds
that option seemed attractive, and then I noticed these
little black poo-poo balls and a couple of puddles of
pee-pee on my wood floor very far from the white pee pad
that Phil had put down. Uh, oh... "Nope,definitely have to
find the owners" I said firmly. Phil looked sad but agreed.
We decided to keep him the night since it was too late in
the evening to do anything. We moved him to the bathroom
downstairs and papered the entire floor with dog pads, fed
him some apples and vegetarian dogfood (liked that!) and
gave it a little bunny puppet we had in the toy box to sleep
next to. The next morning I put a sign in our yard that
said "Rabbit Found - call 652-3511" in big letters. Not
more than 30 minutes later I got a call "I think you've got
our bunny. It ran away yesterday". I knew the neighbor
that was calling and I knew his house was at least 20 houses
away from ours and at least two streets away. That little
bunny had crossed two roads and travelled thru 20 backyards
yards to get to us. I fought the feeling that maybe he was
my bunny in another life and had come to find me. "Yes, we
have your bunny. Please come get him" I said sadly. We
found out his name was "Buster" which seemed appropriate
since he seemed to like to "bust" out of his cage. A few
days later I heard Phil yell from the back yard "Buster is
back!" Okay, now I was mad. Why couldn't the owner of this
little bunny keep him in his cage and safe? At the same
time I was really touched that of all the houses to go to
Buster had come back to ours. Since we have 3 dogs, he
either really liked us, or wasn't too bright. I decided not
to jump to conclusions. We rescued Buster yet again but
this time we didn't call the owner right away. We
considered perhaps Buster was not in a happy home. Perhaps
Buster was being subject to Bunny abuse. We even
rationalized perhaps we should "save" Buster from his
unhappy home life. Phil started talking about how he could
build a pen for Buster and how we could teach the dogs to
love him. Yeah right! love to eat him! As we were going
thru these exercises in our mind I got a phone call from
Buster's owner asking if I happened to have him since our
neighbor next door had seen us chasing him around our yard
and had taken the incentive to give him a call. Grrrrr....
"Yes", I said "I have Buster but to be very frank with you
I'm very concerned about Buster's well-being. Why can you
not keep Buster from busting out? I don't want to drive down
my road someday and see little Buster as bunny roadkill
because you can't keep the darn bunny safe in his bunny
cage". He explained something about how he put a piece of
coral in the pen and Buster jumped up on it and out the
top.. "Yeah, whatever" I said. I was about to say "Do you
have a permit for that rabbit because I'm the block watch
captain and I could turn you in....". anyway I didn't go
there. "Come get your rabbit and keep the darn thing in
your own yard" A couple more days go by and I get another
phone call. It's Buster's owner. "No! Not again! Look I
don't have your sad little rabbit and you're a terrible
person who shouldn't have pets!" Click! We found out a few
days later than he found his bunny and it's been about a
month now and no more break outs reported. I guess it's for
the best but I still look every day in my backyard and I'm
guilty of leaving a few little celery sticks and a water
bowl out on rainy nights.. Just in case.
Regarding real estate....October had a nice bump over
September with 58 total sales vs 49. We sold 26 house up
from 16, vacant land stayed steady at 11 units sold for each
of the last two months, and condos also stayed steady with
21 in October and 20 in September. Houses on the North
Shore bumped up from 3 to 8, vacant land bumped from 1 to 3
and condos went down from 4 to 2. The east side had a huge
number of homes sold 16 vs 9 in September, Koloa and Poipu
area sold zero houses in October and sold only 2 the month
prior. Waimea did not sell a single piece of property all
month. We are averaging 45% above last year's (2009)
numbers.
For Sales Volume we were at $29M vs $25M in September. All
the volume numbers were up across the board except for
Princeville condos. Those were extremely down. We sold
only 2 condos on the North Shore last month for a total
volume of $495K... gulp! Year to Date we are 28% above all
of 2009 Volume numbers and that equates to 16% above in home
sales volume, 113% above in vacant land volume and 19% above
in condo volume. As you may recall we sold very little
vacant land for the the last two years annd now that number
is really starting to pick up as prices have gone very low
on some good vacant land deals on Kauai. Our YTD volume
numbers for North Shore shows we are still struggling as
homes are 14% below last year's volume and condos are 12%
below. Vacant land is 195% above last year's volume
numbers.
For Median Price we are still fairly level on average with a
median home price of $550K, that's up from $497K the month
prior, and up almost $100K from last year when we were at
$456K for October 09. Overall home prices show that we are
only about 6% above last year's prices when you look at the
YTD numbers. Our YTD "average" shows $480K for a home for
2010, and our YTD "average" for 2009 by October was $450K so
slow but steady progress on the pricing front. Condos show
a 15% decline YTD from last year. The median price of a
condo in October was $287K, and our median price YTD was
$345K.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you are
celebrating and if not have a wonderful "Fall Celebration
Day" or "Eat a lot on Thursday Day", whatever) and to
Angelina Jolie who I read is against the Thanksgiving
holiday entirely because she felt like the Pilgrims should
not have taken America from the Indians and then had a big
party I hope she has a lovely day too. Whatever you're
doing or whatever you're personal beliefs are I think it's
always a good idea to stop once in a while and say "Thanks"
for the simple blessings in our lives. For example I'm
really thankful I don't live in Afghanistan, forced to wear
a long hot black sheet, and not leave the house without a
male chaperone and I'm thankful my eyes work so I can read
about people that do live like that and send them my love
and prayers. Thankful to be living on beautiful Kauai is
always at the top of my list of blessings. If you don't
live on Kauai and want be here remember I can help you with
that goal. Just give me a jingle or drop me an e-mail on
what you are property type you looking for or when you are
coming to the Island and we'll put a plan together.
And...if you happen to see me around town with a little
white dog with big floppy ears munching on a carrot it is
definitely NOT Buster and I have no idea what you are
talking about. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Warmest Aloha from the Garden Island, AnnMarie Hamilton BIC,
Kauai Tropical Properties, 808-652-3511
|
|
|
|
The
walls are closing in. Your teenagers are
warring over closet space and you long to
have a real office room instead of camping
out at the kitchen table. What's the best
solution? Should you improve the house or
move to another?
The answers to four primary questions are
a good place to start in the dilemma to
improve the house or purchase another.
Homeowners who are happy with their current
neighborhood and school district (usually
the top two owner' priorities) are wise to
weigh answers to the following:
1. How long do you intend to keep
the house?
This initial question has impact on
several levels. First, it makes little
financial sense to pour money into a house
only to sell it. Second, if you've ever
lived around and through a remodeling
project, you know that the emotional
upheaval you suffer during construction
needs to be offset by enjoying the benefits
once the improvements are complete.
|
|
|
|
If
you're shopping for a new home, chances are,
whether you cook or not, the kitchen is an
area of great interest. The bathroom is also
likely high on the list to inspect. That's
because we spend a lot of time in both of
these rooms, socializing and taking care of
the, ahem, important stuff.
These two areas of homes are so vital that
there's even an association to educate,
certify industry professionals, and promote
ideas for these rooms. The National Kitchen
and Bath Association (NKBA), founded in 1963
as The American Institute of Kitchen
Dealers, has nearly 40,000 members. Earlier
this year it released its top trends for
kitchens and bathrooms for 2010.
Finding what you like in a home is most
important but if you're considering a resale
in the future, understanding what appeals to
the masses can help. Here, then, is a look
at some of the top trends from NKBA.
Concealed Kitchens. This doesn't mean that
you walk into a home and can't find the
kitchen. Instead, the kitchen area blends
with other areas of the home. Formal dining
spaces often aren't used much. But when a
home has a kitchen that opens to a great
room, it allows far more flexibility for
people's lives. What may be concealed are
items such as commonly used appliances.
|
|
|
|
|
Selling
your home can be like a single person trying to get
the attention of a prospective date--got to clean
up, pour on the charm, and emphasize all those great
assets.
However, if you can't get the prospective
candidate to even notice you (or, in this case, your
home), there sure won't be a date and that goes for
the selling of your home, too (no closing date).
There's been much written about staging homes,
adding curb appeal, clearing clutter, even adding
subtle fragrances to help put prospective buyers in
the mood. When it comes to getting a home noticed,
especially in these market conditions, you'll want
to pay close attention to get the deal done before
the end of the year.
Daily News and
Advice
Read
about the events shaping the Real Estate
market today, find current interest rates,
or browse the extensive library of advice
and how-to articles written by some of the
top experts in Real Estate. Updated each
weekday.
|
More
Articles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|