If you’ll permit, I’m going to stray from my usual real estate reporting and harangue about my pet peeve - television advertising.

Everyone knows that advertising is necessary to support the cost of delivering a TV broadcast. However, I grit my teeth when advertisers show the same ad over and over and over and over…

Take this morning, as an example.  I watched a golf tournament on a (unnamed) network station. Even if I suffered male urinary distress, I get sick watching the incessant, repeated pharmaceutical ad they televised.  Don’t they have more than a single ad for a multi-hour telecast?  And who are they targeting, anyway? I can’t just run out to my pharmacy and buy the product because it requires a doctor’s prescription. Do the drug advertisers really expect viewers to tell their doctors that they need these products?

Cars ads are another favorite target of mine.  Automobile manufacturers seem to be major sponsors of sporting events and shows, but aren’t they able to afford more than one or two ads to peddle their expensive cars and trucks.

Luckily, my plasma high-definition television has a remote that I keep handy and hit mute when any of these ads play.  Or, I can shift to another channel (don’t tell the Nielssen people!) for a minute or two.  Why do you suspect there’s so much demand for DVR’s? They have a skip button!

I appreciate a good ad, especially if it’s humorous, but not the 84th time they show it!

Last night, Hawaii Business magazine and Central Pacific HomeLoans held their second annual Top REALTOR® awards program at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. The mistress of ceremonies for the event was Grace Lee from KGMB-9 and the entertainment was provided by the well-known singing duo Cecilio & Kapono. This was the last major event held in the hotel’s Monarch Ballroom before they begin renovation.

The top REALTORS® from each island, based on total dollar volume, were announced. The winner on Kauai was Barbara Sloan, Maui was Mary Ann Fitch and for the Big Island, Richard Rocker.  The Oahu winner was Patricia Choi who also had the distinction of being the highest volume generator statewide.

Congratulations to all of these winners and also all of the top 100 REALTORS® for the state of Hawaii who received an engraved award plaque from Central Pacific HomeLoans. You can see all of their pictures and biographies in the June issue of Hawaii Business magazine which is available by subscription or at your local newsstand.

The Aina Haina-Kuliouou neighborhood has a widely varying stock of housing, including the high-end homes on Hawaii Loa Ridge. This neighborhood is geographically defined by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® as Tax Map Key, Zone 3, Section 6 through 8.

This area had one of the steepest declines in sales from 2006 to 2007. During 2007, a total of 83 single family dwellings changed hands, compared to 105 in the year earlier, a 21.0% drop. This year, however, there have been 23 sales through April, almost the same as the 24 sold a year ago.

The 2007 median price paid for a single family home in Aina Haina-Kuliouou was $990,000. This price was a 7.3% advance from the 2006 price of $923,000. The highest price paid for a home in this neighborhood in 2007 was $5,950,000, while in the first four months of this year, the maximum has reach $3,500,000. So far this year, the median price paid for a home here was $900,000.

Sales speed in this area has actually gotten better. In 2006, homes were on the market before achieving a sale for a median of almost two months, 57 days, but in 2007 this indicator decreased more than two weeks, to 42 days. Even with the cooling off of sales in the Honolulu housing market, this neighborhood posted sales during the first four months of this year in just 25 days, the quickest sales speed for any single family home neighborhood on O`ahu.

This neighborhood also bucked the trend of experiencing an inventory buildup. In April 2007, there were 45 homes available for sale, but this April the number has decreased to 38. This was a 15.6% shrinkage, compared to an inventory expansion on this island of 13.3%, and was the largest reduction for any O`ahu neighborhood. Also, median asking prices are up. The current inventory is on the market for a median list price of $2,063,500, while at the same time last year, the median list price was $1,880,000.

For further information about recent activity in your specific neighborhood, check out the information available on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.

The Fed has now auctioned off over one-half trillion dollars to get banks and investment firms through the current housing crisis.  While Honolulu housing prices are still relatively stable, many Mainland areas have experienced drops of 20+ percent in pricing, with more declines needed to move their residential properties.  The question is, how long can O`ahu stay immune to this crisis?

“If the retrenchment in house prices becomes deeper than anticipated, its effect on lenders and financial markets could further damp overall economic activity,” Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said.

Its pretty clear from this pronouncement and others that the Fed will not further decrease the overnight rate which they’ve cut to 2.0%. But, inflation is rearing its ugly head again, thanks to the huge increases in oil prices, now over $129 per barrel, which flows through the economy effecting everything. Core inflation (measured by the PPI) rose .4% in April, raising it to 3.0% for the past year, the biggest year-over-year increase since the early 90’s.

The weakness of the US dollar has led to these increases in oil prices, which trades in our currency. Analysts are predicting that oil prices will exceed $150 a barrel this year and this will surely impact our local economy which relies almost completely on imported goods.

So the answer to the original question is this: O`ahu will probably soon lose its immunity and local economic conditions will worsen due to our dependence on what happens in the rest of the world. The impact on housing, however, should be minimal, compared to elsewhere, since there will still be a demsnd for our limited housing stock.

There is a high concentration of condominiums in the Moanalua-Salt Lake neighborhood. This neighborhood is geographically defined by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® as Tax Map Key, Zone 1, Section 1.

Sales of condominiums dropped back during 2007, about the same as for all of O`ahu. There were 247 condo units that changed hands, compared to 288 in the 2006 year. This represents a decline of 14.2% for this area while the islandwide figure was 13.8%. In the first four months of this year, there were 70 dwellings sold, a drop from the 90 that sold a year earlier. Again, this was near the overall island figure of a 24.7% decline, while sales in this neighborhood dropped 22.2%.

Median prices were stable through last year, but are starting to taper off. In 2007 the median price paid for a condo in this neighborhood was $305,000 and this was a 6.6% increase from the year earlier figure of $286,000. In the first four months of this year, the median price paid declined somewhat to $285,000, or 10.0% lower than in the same time period in 2007.

Inventory counts have ramped up since last year. In April, there were 59 units on the market waiting to be sold, a 34.1% increase from the same time in 2007. Asking prices, however, have not budged. The median asked price for the April 2008 inventory was $302,000 while last year it was $301,500.

For further information about recent activity in your specific neighborhood, check out the information available on the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® website www.HiCentral.com or contact a REALTOR® in your area.