The Star Bulletin has an update on Hawaii. "Even Oahu's heavy rain couldn't dampen the island's residential real estate market, although it's anyone's guess why March sales volume rose from the previous year. The March rise in sales volume wasn't great enough to offset the losses in January and February. 'I would really think that it was just a blip, because the trend is down and we have passed the peak of sales,' said Harvey Shapiro, Honolulu Board of Realtors research economist. 'A rest is clearly in order.'"

"The momentum of last spring has long gone and some homeowners have found it more difficult to sell their properties at a premium, (broker) William Chee said. 'The very high appreciation rates that we once enjoyed have certainly slowed down and we've seen the number of transactions drop,' he said."

"Despite signs of softening during the past six months, prices stayed constant in March, causing real estate professionals to disavow any talk of an impending bubble. 'This market doesn't really favor one side or another, it's normalizing,' Chee said. 'It will still be good for the people who are ready to sell, but it won't be as wild and crazy.'"

"As a result of softening in the market, which began back in October 2005, buyers can more easily find inventory that suits them and negotiate a better deal than they could in the frenetic market of two and three years ago, said (broker) John Riggins. 'There are a lot more properties on the market and there is a lot more price adjustment going on,' Riggins said. 'Sellers aren't pricing property 25 percent higher than the last sale anymore, those days are gone."

"Sellers who want to fetch top dollar for their properties or move them quickly in this market must now clean, repair and stage their homes, Riggins said. 'It's going to take more to sell properties,' Riggins said."