Architects Bring High DesignTo Affordable Housing

By Ben Casselman From The Wall Street Journal Online

Public housing used to mean fortress-like blocks and soulless rows of cheaply built townhouses. But now there's a new model: privately developed homes and apartments that are well-designed, well-built and attractive enough to win over wary neighbors. A growing number of architects, from established stars to ambitious up-and-comers, are looking to such projects as an opportunity to do innovative work. read on...

Sakara >> I would love to see some of this innovative design implemented in the urban core of Honolulu. I think a modern-designed and environmentally conscious housing project in Kakaako would really serve as a model for developers in Hawaii. We need more mixed-use and mixed-income within the area. When you follow the link, be sure to see the examples of projects throughout the country, specifically the Shervin Building (as pictured above) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming...a resort town with pricey real estate...see how it can be done with limited space and still satisfy open space requirements while providing parking and neighborhood living.

Re-Use Hawaii

Remodeling or Rebuilding your Home? Donate, Not Dump All Your Reusable Building Materials with Re-Use Hawaii

Hawaii Re-Use is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "preserve our natural resources, provide an affordable building material source through alternatives to demolition, and to sustain Hawaii's fragile island ecosystem." Since construction and demolition are the largest conrtributors to Hawaii's landfill, Re-Use Hawaii provides an alternative to conventional demolition called deconstruction. Deconstruction is the systematic disassembly of a building in order to recover the maximum amount of material for reuse and recycling. Re-Use Hawaii gives you the oppurtunity to donate, not dump all your reusable building materials while offering you a tax deductible receipt for all donated materials. If you have a building or space that needs to be demolished you can hire Re-Use Hawaii in place of a regular demolition company. For more information visit http://www.reusehawaii.org/.

WANTED: Real Estate Professionals

Optimum Realty is looking for full-time, real estate career-orientated professionals to join our team on Oahu. The ideal candidate works well in a team environment and independantly as well. The following specialties are of particular interest for us:
*Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, German speaking
*Licensed as a Broker with success in managing a sales team
*Beachfront/Oceanfront Specialist
*Foreclosure/Short Sale Specialist
*Condominium Specialist

Some benefits of being on our team:
*High satisfaction rating from clientele
*Opportunities for residual income through mentorship of real estate assistants
*Staff includes marketing coordinator, transaction coordinator, concierge
*Signature client services include travel coordination, complimentary airport transportation, lifestyle service referrals

Please submit CONFIDENTIAL inquiries to Sakara K. Blackwell, Principal Broker at Sakara@OptimumWorld.com or call +1.808.542.4333

Dallas Cowboys have clinched home field throughout playoffs!

It looks like the Optimum Team will be supporting the Dallas Team during the playoffs at Texas Stadium in Jan. This will be a great chance for us to get some work done in our Dallas office and possibly make a playoff game. If all goes as planned we will follow our friends to Phoenix to watch the big one, Feb.3!!

Profile of International Buyers in the US

This past summer, NAR surveyed Realtors based on sales activities between April 2006-April 2007. For some, international buyers accounted for up to 25% of their business. The survey shows that the buyers' primary purpose in purchasing was as a vacation home for family and friends of which the typical foreign buyer spends 4.2 months in their US property.

Other interesting facts include:

• 33% of foreign buyers in the US come from Europe
  
• 13% come from Mexico (the largest share among individual countries, 12% from UK)


• Foreign buyers show a stronger preference for condos/apartments


• Foreign buyers paid a median price of $299,500 vs. National median sales price of $221,900 in 2006


• Buyers from the UK and China paid the most for their homes, Mexico the least


• 68% used mortgage financing


• 49% purchase in the South, 31% in the West


• 26% purchase in Florida, 16% in California, 10% in Texas
  

For a profile of international buyers from Mexico, UK and Canada read on...

6 Signs of a Housing Recovery

By Shelly K. Schwartz • Bankrate.com

The housing market these days can best be described as a moving target. Some metros have gone from white-hot to ice-cold in just a couple of years, while other cities are just now hitting their stride.

"There's so much going on and so many different trends across the country that when you net them all out at the national level, it really doesn't capture the wide variety of experiences going on in local markets," says Rachel Drew, research analyst for Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies in Cambridge, Mass.

Indeed, the yo-yo performance of residential real estate makes it tough to take the pulse of the nation's housing market, let alone determine where your own neighborhood falls on the recovery curve.

There's no crystal ball. But for those looking to buy, sell or renovate, there are a handful of signs that may indicate whether a recovery is just around the corner in your neck of the woods.

How will you know when the real estate slump is over in your neighborhood? Here are a half-dozen signs of a possible turnaround.
1. Fewer 'for sale' signs
2. Job growth
3. Increased affordability
4. End of price reductions, concessions
5. More new construction
6. Positive changes in your neighborhood

read on...

American Airlines begins Non-Stop Flights Today between DFW and Panama City

Whoop-Whoop

This is such huge news for us...previously our travel included either a connection in Houston (Continental) or Miami (American) in order to get to Tocumen Airport (PTY) in Panama City, Panama. If you know me, you know I'll do anything for a direct flight. I even have Hilton crying about coach now. So anyway, what previously took a total travel time of 8-9 hours will now take 4 hours and 20 minutes. That's fab.

November 2007 Market Reports :: Now Posted

November 2007 Hawaii Market Reports are now posted online at: http://OptimumRealtyLLC.com/MarketProfileHawaii

November 2007 US Market Reports are now posted online at: http://OptimumRealtyLLC.com/MarketProfileUSA