The Kauai real estate market, especially among Kauai condos for sale, saw a dramatic shift in the month of September, as the median condo price plunged drastically. According to an October 5, 2010 article from the Honolulu Star Advertiser, “The biggest swing in Big Island and Kauai home sales in September occurred in Kauai’s condo market, where the median price dropped 40 percent. Most of the median price decline for Kauai condos was attributable to sales in Lihue, where there were nine condo sales for a median $76,000 in September. A year earlier, there were four sales for a median $207,500 in Lihue, according to a report from Hawaii Information Service. For all of Kauai there were 20 condo sales last month, up 54 percent from 13 sales a year earlier. The median price, which is a point at which half the sales were for more and half for less, dropped to $299,500 from $501,500. Sales of single-family homes on the Big Island and Kauai were flat or down slightly in September compared with the same month last year. Median prices also were mixed, but in a different way. Generally, median prices moved in the opposite direction of sales, that is they rose for single-family homes and fell for condos. In Kauai’s single-family home market, there were 16 sales last month, unchanged from a year earlier. The median price was up 5 percent to $496,750 from $474,500.”

Despite a decline in the median price of Kauai condos for sale, some Kauai homes for sale helped to propel two Kauai ZIP codes to the top of a listing of expensive areas. According to an October 11, 2010 report from Honolulu Magazine, “Forbes recently released its annual listing of America’s Most Expensive Zip Codes, and Hawaii’s top-ranking zip codes raised more than a few eyebrows. That’s because, according to the Forbes list, Hawaii’s most expensive zip code is 96703, Anahola, which came in at number 60 with a median home price of $1,921,875. The second-most expensive zip code in the islands? That would be 96714, Hanalei, which came in at No. 72 with a median home price of $1,732,833.”

Many people claim they can make money in real estate, and many try to. It is true that the real estate business can be a very productive one and it can help you make money, but you also need to be vigilant because like any other business, it involves a certain amount of risk, and since it is all about money, the risk is even higher.

People who are old in the business have seen many real estate investors losing money and they have bought many properties from people who had really made a bad investment.

Hawaii real estate, like many other domains of activity, requires you to know a lot of information and to have a vast amount of practice. You always need to be cautious about what you’re investing in, and take into account all the possible risks so that nothing could surprise you.

When you make such an important investment such as in real estate, you need to know what you’re paying for, what you’re getting for your money and how to avoid any nasty surprises. You need to be careful at all times, because even the most experienced real estate investor can get deals which could drag him down to the deepest money pit.

The first thing you need to know is that whoever tells you that you can make a lot of money in real estate by putting just ten hours a week into it is wrong. In order to make your business successful, you need to work all the time and put all your energy into it.

This domain is all about marketing; you need to know what to buy and how to sell it back in order to make profit. You need to work many hours and create your own network, so that you can get publicity and you can make a name for yourself. In order to be successful, people need to know you.

You should carry your business card with you at all times, because you never know when an opportunity might arise. You have to tell everyone what you do and what you’re interested in, because that is the only way to succeed in this domain, where the competition is fierce.

Another thing you should be beware of is the rental system. Regardless of whether you work on your own or you have an entire team working with you, rentals are really frustrating because they can create a billion problems for you, from something being broken to some inspection municipal authorities want to put you through and so on.

Even if the cash flow is great, the problems are also very big and in the end you may end up realizing it is not really worth the trouble.