Maui Real Estate

Tired of waiting for a buyer for your house? Frustrated because you can't move to the place you'd rather be?

Well, most home owners who have their homes for sale are in the same situation. And although they are the very potential buyers for you home, they are not actively looking until they get an offer to their home.

This vicious circle can stopped, or at least slowed down, with the Maui Property Exchange System.

I'm creating a database of properties available for exchange.

Right now, I have a house in Livermore, CA, that's for sale for $998,000 and its owners would like to move to Maui, preferably in the South Side.

I have another one in Oahu, whose owners are currently renting in Kihei because they couldn't sell it.

Another homewoner in Paia, who would like to move to Oregon.

And the list is growing.

If you would like to have your house listed in this database, please, contact me at alohafromvivian@aol.com

Aloha!

Vivian

The Realtors Wishing Well for Maui Students project has raised $250,000 in money, goods and services in its first year.

When a group of committed Maui Realtors joined efforts to provide Maui Public schools with much needed money, supplies and different items, great things started happening.

The closing of a hotel in Wailea and the remodelling of another, resulted in hundreds of items distributed among all schools. From TV sets, to room refrigerators, desks, chairs, tables, lamps, rugs, plants, paintings, even a full exercise room!

This is just the beginning. The Realtors Wishing Well project is now recognized as a non-profit organization, and donations to its cause are tax deductible.

To receive a donation form or learn more about the project, please contact Vivian Franco R(S) at alohafromvivian@aol.com

 

Prudential Real Estate ranks “Highest Satisfaction for Home Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms” in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM.

The inaugural study measures customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers with major national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining four factors for the home selling experience: agent (43%); marketing (38%); office (12%); and services (7%).

Among home sellers, Prudential Real Estate achieved a score of 793 on a 1,000-point scale – and Prudential Real Estate received particularly high ratings from customers in the marketing and office factors.

“We are very proud of this distinction, as it underscores the quality of our affiliates and their hard-working sales professionals, said Laurie Keenan, president of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. “Our sales professionals are local experts, and sellers appreciate their ability to market and price homes right -- along with providing exceptional, attentive service.”

The team at Prudential (DBA) works hard to not only meet, but exceed the expectations of its clients – sellers and buyers, explained (Name), broker/owner, Prudential (DBA). “In the current challenging market, our clients want all the expertise and market knowledge we can offer – and by leveraging Prudential’s brand strength, its wide array of product and service offerings and its strong Internet marketing programs, we can provide sellers with the increased exposure they need.”

The J.D. Power and Associates study finds that despite the popularity of home buying and selling resources on the Internet, the real estate sales professional remains key to customer satisfaction with real estate companies. A large proportion of both home buyers and sellers rely on the Internet to facilitate the buying or selling process, with 68 percent of buyers saying that they used Internet tools to help them in the purchase process and 61 percent of sellers reporting that they used a website listing to market their home. In addition, among sellers, online methods are the most important aspect of marketing.

However, the sales professional carries the greatest importance among the factors that comprise overall satisfaction among both home buyers and sellers.

According to J.D. Power and Associates, although the Internet provides home buyers and sellers with the ability to perform some essential tasks – such as listing a home for sale or researching a neighborhood in which to purchase a home – it still does not replace the importance of a good sales professional. Particularly in an uncertain real estate market, professional advice from sales professionals can be especially valuable to buyers and sellers. The knowledge and expertise provided by experienced sales professionals is an important benefit of using a full-service real estate company.

The study also finds that the average time a respondent’s home remained on the market was slightly more than six months, although home sellers represented by the top-ranking real estate companies report that their homes were on the market for slightly less time – approximately five and a half months, on average.

Satisfaction averages 794 among those customers whose homes sold within five months or less, but declines considerably to an average of 730 among customers whose homes took seven months or longer to sell, the study showed. A real estate company that provides sales professionals who are skilled at determining the appropriate market value and listing price for homes, and who can effectively market properties, can help minimize the time that clients’ homes remain on the market – which can save the seller money, inconvenience and anxiety.

Nearly one-half of respondents in the study (46%) reported using recommendations from family or friends to find their real estate sales professional. Approximately 28 percent used the Internet, 23 percent used a sales professional they had used previously and 11 percent used a printed real estate guide.

The study also reports that home buyers were shown an average of 13 homes before they made a purchase. Home sellers reported that, on average, their home was shown 11 times, and about five open houses were conducted before a sale occurred.

The 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes 3,670 evaluations from 3,205 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2007 and June 2008.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The company’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on cell phone ratings, car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance and more, visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. is Prudential’s integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Prudential Real Estate franchises are independently owned and operated. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance

records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential. Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential Real Estate’s Online Seller AdvantageSM program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with nearly 2,100 franchise offices and approximately 64,000 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of June 30, 2008.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $638 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company’s well-known Rockâ symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.

 

As many homeowners know, it’s not easy to find a buyer these days. One of the reasons is that many potential buyers are actually homeowners who can’t find a buyer for their own homes! For that reason, they are not actively looking for a new home until they have an offer on theirs. And the cycle goes on and on.

 

What if we had a database where homeowners could post their homes for sale and, at the same time, indicate where they would like to move. The new home doesn’t need to be of the same price or size. Some people would like to move to a bigger place, while others would prefer a smaller one. Some would like to move from a house to a condo, and others would like to move from a condo to a house. Some would like to move Upcountry, while others would prefer to move near the ocean.

 

As more people post their homes for sale as well as their wish for a new home, there will be more chances of finding a good match. When two homeowners find their match, they can start the process of exchanging homes. This is already happening with great success in other parts of the United States, with National databases of home exchange candidates. The key is to use the same Escrow company and plan for simultaneous closing of both parties, so that both buyers are confident that no one is going to back out at the last minute.

 

For homeowners, the possibility of finding a good match, would mean they could finally move. When people move, lots of businesses also benefit: Moving companies, Banks, Lenders, Title and Escrow companies, Interior Designers, Landscapers, Furniture Stores, Home Improvement stores, etc. etc.

 

Hawaii is the perfect place to start this system: Lots of people move between islands, and within each island all the time. And many are waiting to sell their homes so that they can move, but, as I said in the beginning, potential buyers are not shopping for a house until they sell theirs.  Likewise, there are people who would like to Mainland, and others who are waiting to sell their homes there to move here. In fact, I have a client right now who has his Million Dollar home for sale in Livermore, CA, and who would like to find a home in South Maui, and he’d love to be able to do an exchange.

 

Those who would like to exchange homes, can contact Vivian Franco, Realtor (S), P, at (808) 214-3818 or by e-mail at AlohaFromVivian@aol.com.

 

 

Vivian Franco is a Realtor (Salesperson) with Coldwell Banker Island Properties in Kihei. Vivian has a Master of Science Degree from Cornell University, with majors in Communication and Education. Before becoming a Realtor, Vivian worked for many years in advertising, marketing and market research, and she taught Spanish and Communication Theory at Cornell University. She lives in Maui with her husband and three sons.