#millennials

Ryan O.

Feb 2, 2019
1 min

Time Value

30-year fixed rate inched up to 4.46% with an average of .5 point this past week. In comparison to a year ago, our mortgage rates were at 4.22%. Mortgage rates, like the stock market, fluctuate on a daily basis. Home prices can change, but not as frequently as mortgage rates. With mortgage rates expected to rise over 5% this year, it’s important to take advantage of “cheap money” and a softening housing market. For example, let’s say you want to purchase a $350,000 condo late

Ryan O.

Dec 15, 2018
2 min

Pinching Pennies

Owning a home is a big responsibility. It’s common for most first-time homebuyers to question if they can really afford it. For many, it boils down to “needs vs. wants.” Here are two ways you can pinch some pennies without drastically altering your lifestyle. Go Digital When was the last time you checked your cable bill? Most people don’t realize how much they are paying per month. If you don’t watch much TV, it might be best to cancel your cable subscription and opt for chea

Ryan O.

Oct 26, 2018
2 min

Three Mistakes You Can't Afford To Make

I’m Going To Wait Wait? For what? Lower interest rates? Mortgage rates just jumped to 5%. We’re still in a “low” mortgage rate environment, but we’ll probably never see a sub 4% rate again. If you wait, don’t be surprised if mortgage rates jump to 6-7%. A one-to-two percent increase might not seem like a lot. However, say you wanted to purchase a $300,000 condo and you you put 20% down at a 5% interest rate. Your principal payment would be $1,288/month. If you purchased the s

Ryan O.

Sep 27, 2018
2 min

Is It Time To Buy?

Are you looking to purchase your first home? If so, here are three things you should consider. Rent Your rent is paying someone’s mortgage. For example, say you’re renting a 1-bedroom condo in Kakaako for $2,300/month. That’s $27,600/year or $82,800 for three years. This is money you’ll never see again. Did you know that rental vacancy rates have been declining? This means landlords can increase rent, so investors get a better return. Say you wanted to purchase a $425,000 con

Ryan O.

Aug 29, 2018
2 min

Are Millennials Buying Homes?

What’s preventing millennials from buying homes? Millennials, especially first-time homebuyers, face a difficult housing market. First, home prices are rising. When I meet with millennial first-time homebuyers, many get sticker shock. According to the Honolulu Board of Realtors®, the median sales price of single-family homes, in July 2018, was $785,500. This was a 5.3 percent increase from the same time last year. In addition, the median sales price of a condo, in July 2018,

Ryan O.

Jul 30, 2018
2 min

Key Questions

There’s no shortage of licensed real estate agents in Hawaii. When you’re looking to purchase your first home, it’s important you hire a real estate agent who is right for you. As you interview prospective agents, here are a few questions you can ask: 1. Is real estate sales your fulltime profession? Everyone has that relative who is a part time real estate agent. It’s probably in your best interest to work with someone who eats, breathes, and sleeps real estate. Our housing

Ryan O.

Jul 6, 2018
1 min

Are You Ready To Buy Your First Home?

You hired a Realtor. You got prequalified by a mortgage lender. As you shop for your first home, here are three things you should know... Understand What You Are Signing What contingencies allow you to cancel for a full refund? If you sign the As Is Addendum, does that prevent you from asking for a concession during your home inspection contingency? Is your earnest money deposit fully refundable? The purchase contract is 14 pages long. This doesn't include the added addendum

Ryan O.

Jun 30, 2018
2 min

Appraisal Problems

You've been searching for a home for months. You've submitted numerous offers and got outbid. You decide to get more aggressive and you submitted an above asking price offer. Your offer gets accepted and you make through all the major contingencies. Then the appraisal comes in...and it's short. What do you do? In a hot real estate market, buyers and sellers are usually concerned about the appraisal, especially when there are offers over the asking price. When your appraisal c

Ryan O.

Jun 13, 2018
2 min

Your Home Buying Experience

No one wants to have a bad experience when they purchase a home. However, sometimes things don't go as smoothly as planned. Here are three things you can do to make your home buying experience better: Tune Out The Crowd When you’re buying a home, you need to tune out all the distractions. Purchasing a home can be stressful. Things can compound when you listen to bad advice, especially from well intentioned family members and friends. “Why did you do that?” “When I bought a ho

Ryan O.

May 30, 2018
1 min

Post Closing Tasks

You just bought your first home -- congratulations! Before you plan your house warming party, here are few things you should do: 1. Rekey You should feel safe in your home. The first step to ensuring your safety is to rekey all the doors. This should be done regardless even if you live in a condo or in a gated community. You never know who has an extra key to your home. It's that simple. 2. Save Your Closing Documents On the day your transaction records, escrow should send yo

All I Want For Christmas is...A New House.

Ryan O.

Jan 8, 2017
1 min

All I Want For Christmas is...A New House.

I recently had a new client meeting. While discussing the purchase process, my friend asked, “Does real estate slowdown during Christmas break?” The Honolulu Board of REALTORS® recently released December’s housing statistics. Interestingly, single-family homes and condo sales increased 14.8% and 23.8% respectively from the same time last year. In addition, to no surprise, the median sales price for both single-family homes and condos increased as well. People are speculating

Ryan O.

Dec 18, 2016
2 min

The Leeward Migration

According to the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, the median price for condos, on Oahu, was $395,000 during the month of November 2016. This is a 13.7% from the same time last year. With prices increasing, I believe some Buyers are expanding westward with their home search. The demand to live in town still remains high. However, not many home buyers can afford the hefty price tag. As I survey my own clients, many of them started their home search in Honolulu. Realizing how expens

Ryan O.

Dec 4, 2016
1 min

Getting Rid Of Student Debt

Student Loan Payoff Refi, a new refinance program offered by SoFi, allows homeowners to pay back their student loans in a creative way. Since interest rates are low, this program allows homeowners to refinance their student loans into their existing mortgage. This program is backed by Fannie Mae. Student loans are the bane of my existence. At 6.8% compound interest, I'm counting down the days until I payoff this debt. I guess everything is relative. I know people who borrowed

Ryan O.

Nov 2, 2016
2 min

Investing In The Right Condo

I recently read a CNBC article that said owners who purchased 5 years ago have doubled their equity in their home. This got me thinking. Real estate is an investment too. Like investing in the stock market, the buy-and-hold strategy seems to be the most efficient way to turn your home into a sound financial investment. Scrolling through the MLS, I chose three condos to analyze: (A) 1133 Waimanu; (B) Country Club Village; (C) Royal Palm at Waipio. Here is was my search criter

Ryan O.

Oct 26, 2016
2 min

Buying With Mom & Dad

In a span of a couple of weeks, a few of my clients informed me that they will no longer be purchasing their first home...alone. Rather, these clients have decided to purchase their first home with their parents instead. In the past, I've had numerous Buyers who received gift funds from their parents. According to a recent MarketWatch article, 66% of millennials are expecting some type of help from their parents when it comes to purchasing his or her first home. In addition,

Ryan O.

Oct 4, 2016
2 min

How Much Should I Offer?

"Eh Oda, how much should I offer?" is question I often get asked by my clients. When it comes to money, it's been said that millennials are looking for deals and discounts. In Oahu's competitive real estate market, is it possible for a first time home buyer to find a sweetheart deal? Lets take a look at the statistics. According to the Honolulu Board of REALTORS, 99.8% of single family homes, that sold during August 2016, received its original listing price. This was a .2% de

Ryan O.

Jul 9, 2016
2 min

Is Affordable Housing Really Helpful?

There’s a large following of people who question if affordable housing is actually helpful to first time home buyers. Here are the concerns: - The gap to qualify is tiny. The HCDA and HHFDC have their own respective formulas to determine if you financially qualify for an affordable housing unit. As one of the Kapiolani Residence salesperson told my client, “there isn’t much wiggle room.” - Shared Appreciate Equity (HHFDC) and Shared Equity (HCDA). Many prospective Buy

Kapiolani Residence - My Initial Thoughts

Ryan O.

Jun 17, 2016
2 min

Kapiolani Residence - My Initial Thoughts

In the past few days, I recently took a handful of my clients to the Kapiolani Residence sales center. Here are my initial thoughts: - The units at Kapiolani Residence are significantly larger than Ke Kilohana’ s. At Kapiolani Residence, the smallest 1-bed unit 671 SF; that’s almost 200 SF larger than the smallest unit at Ke Kilohana. - Given I’m not an interior designer, I feel that Kapiolani Residence has better finishings than Ke Kilohana. - Projects like Kapiolani Residen

Ryan O.

Jun 9, 2016
2 min

Will History Repeat Itself?

The other day, while in the office, my coworker showed me a CNBC article about "no-doc" mortgage loans. Just to summarize in a nutshell, no-doc mortgages are loans that require little to no documentation. Many argue that no-doc mortgages were one of the reasons why the 2008 housing bubble occurred. With the housing market booming--single family home prices on Oahu continue to increase--lenders are trying to find ways to get millennials to purchase their first home. Recently,

Ryan O.

May 17, 2016
2 min

Millennials & Home Ownership

Millennial Friendly Cities: Bloomberg News recently reported that millennials are dominating the Des Moines real estate marketing. The article noted that “roughly 60 percent of borrowers who used a mortgage to buy a home in Iowa’s capital city during the first half of 2015 were aged 25 to 34.” According to Bloomberg, here are the top ten cities for millennials: Des Moines, Iowa Provo, Utah Baton Rouge, Louisiana Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Lafayette, Louisiana Grand Rapids, Mich

Ryan Oda