Bad Real Estate News In Perspective

Richard F. Gaylord, President of the National Association of Realtors, said it best in the January 2008 issue of Realtor Magazine, "Every foreclosure is a tragedy, but when newspapers talk about foreclosure spikes, they ought to provide context. The problem is predominantly with subprime loans, which are held by less than 10 percent of home owners. Most subprime loans will never go into foreclosure, and not all those that do will be foreclosed on. The foreclosure rate on prime loans is only 0.6% In addition to low interest rates, most areas of the country are experiencing employment gains, inflation is under control, and the gross domestic product is growing. " Maui for the most part is a second home destination and purchase. Hawaii lenders scrutinized local loans differently than mainland lenders thereby resulting in lower Hawaiian foreclosures. The Maui real estate economy is different, and it will not be long before the typical buyer figures this out. The Wailea multi-million dollar condos continue to sell on Maui. Do the people who can afford these condos see the "doom and gloom" touted by the media differently? After all, if there were to be downward pressure on the market of 10% or more, those would amount to big loss numbers for the wealthy. These buyers don't believe Maui will fall victim to large price adjustments. It is different on Maui, as it attracts a different buyer over those buyers found in the mainland suburbs.