The key to this tight real estate market will hinge on the ability to find off market properties. What am I talking about? In case you have not been following the Hawaii real estate market, there is a severe shortage of inventory. No, I mean there is a REAL shortage of inventory. A balanced market would be about a lot more single-family homes for sale in Hawaii and its many suburbs.
To illustrate the problem further, when you speak with buyer’s agent on my team, they’ll tell you that they are working with 5,10, or 15 clients who cannot find a home to buy. They either can’t wait for new construction or can’t afford the new construction prices, so their only hope is to buy a re-sale. These folks in most cases have put in anywhere between 5 and ten offers on homes for sale and did not win the bidding war in any of them. Talk about frustration! Here is what we are doing at The Hawaii Team to combat the problem and provide a solution for our buyers.
- We have become experts quickly in the last two years at finding our clients off market properties. We start by asking our buyers in a perfect world to tell us which neighborhood or subdivision they want to live. We then instruct all of our agents to go into those areas and find someone willing to sell. We do that with door knocking, circle prospecting, letter writing, and networking our sphere of influence. More times than not, we are successful in finding our clients an off market property. Better yet, the buyers do not have to compete against 15 or more offers since the house was never advertised for sale. We can come in and negotiate a fair deal without all the crazy escalation clauses, waiving of inspection and appraisal, etc., etc. It ends up being a win-win for everyone.
- We have become experts in temporary housing. We have heard a few thousand times that so and so would be willing to sell, but they just don’t know where they will go. They need time to look for their new home or build a home. For that reason, we have someone on our team that is just dedicated to finding temporary housing solutions for our clients. Listen, we understand that moving twice can and will be a major hassle, but you need to weigh that against the upside. Being inconvenienced can be soothed quickly with the highest purchase price of your home than you could have ever imagined. Our team gets people in month-to-month rentals, 6- or 12- month rentals and even 30-day, fully furnished one-bedrooms with maid service. Then you can take your time and find the right home, and your offer won’t be contingent on the sale of your current home.
If your Realtor doesn’t specialize in off market properties like we do, then maybe we should talk. Off-market properties will be a large bulk of our sales this year. If you would like to talk to us about buying or selling in this crazy super low inventory market, please contact us at the information below.
Dan Polimino is a Broker/Owner with The Hawaii Team, Keller Williams Realty Maui.
