City anticipates brisk
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Ewa Villages sales to pay
$63.5 million loan
Star-BulletinA new broker with a fresh approach is encouraging City Council members to hope that the financial mess involving Ewa Villages will be resolved sooner than they thought.
Marcus & Associates Inc. was picked last month to help sell new and renovated homes in Ewa Villages.
The previous broker, Sheldon Zane Development Group, had only been able to sell an average of two homes a month. Experts say negative publicity from a scandal that bilked the city of relocation funds for Ewa Villages and the slow real estate market caused by the state's economic downturn were partly to blame for the slow sales.
About 48 new homes, 13 renovated and 100 unrenovated homes remain unsold. The city is counting on the sale of those homes to help pay off a $63.5 million loan incurred by the Ewa Villages Revitalization project.
Since taking over a month ago, Marcus & Associates has been able to get commitments for 10 sales, said Dale Nishikawa, spokesman for the sales group.
"That's probably better than what we'll have in the next four to five weeks," Nishikawa acknowledged.
Nonetheless, a prospectus sent by Marcus to the city says the group's aim is to sell four to six units a month.
Marcus is doing different things.
For instance, it's putting together incentive packages for buyers that reduce purchase costs by at least 3 percent, Nishikawa said.
The new homes are now selling for about $150,000 to $215,000. Nishihara said home buyers can find a number of other houses in the Ewa region but many are attracted to Ewa Villages by the plantation atmosphere and the larger lots.
Marcus is also aggressively courting outside brokers by offering 3 percent commissions.
"The brokerage community is the best source of buyers," Nishikawa said.
Marcus also is now offering its own brokers 3 percent. Previously, brokers got a fixed commission of $3,500 for every unit sold.
"I think there's a ray of hope here," Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann said.
