Well there is some good and bad news to report. It all depends on whether you are a seller or a buyer. The good news tends to favor the buyers in the current market conditions. If you are a buyer you are able on average to purchase a home on Oahu for about 13% less than a year ago according to the sales stats for closings comparing April of 2008 to this year. With the fact that interest rates are at an all time low, it looks like a great time to buy a home here on Oahu.

We are seeing the activity pick up here on Oahu as far as offers and properties being put into escrow. These are all signs that the bottom may be near. Inventory has to shrink before prices can stabilize. It appears that is what may be happening.

There is some good news for sellers. It you have your property priced correctly with the recent increase in activity, you have a better chance of getting your home sold. I am hearing the same thing from real estate agents on the Big Island Hawaii, Kauai and Maui. Karen on Maui has informed me that investors are looking at Maui homes and condos again as investments. Russell on Kauai reports that they are looking for Kauai forecloseres or just a really good deal. He says there are plenty of them on Kauai at the moment.Looks like the confidence is definitely picking up and some buyers are starting to feel like this is a great time to get a piece of paradise.

Jim Cramer from Mad Money has been suggesting right now is a great time to start getting into real estate as an investment.

Here are some interesting numbers from April:
April of 2009 had approximately 184 SFR sell compared to 255 sell in April of 2008. The average sells price in 2008 was $731,361 compared to $640,000 in April of 2009. That is about a 13% decrease in price.

On average buyers have been able to pick up properties for 96% of list price for SFR and 95% of list price for condos.

Nobody can predict the exact bottom of the market, but with the decease in both the prices and interest rates it is definitely a good time to consider getting a piece of paradise.