We were all disappointed to see Lucy's disappear from our Kailua, Hawaii Dining scene, but today it was announced (thanks Ericka Engle in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser) that a new restaurant "The Grove" will be opening soon at the old Lucy's location at 33 Aulike Street. The menu is to have a "global" mix and be a nice neighborhood restaurant. The DeAngelos and Antonelis plan to open for dinner service 5-10pm possibly mid-December and bar service from 3pm early in the new year and lunch in the spring 2012. We will keep our eyes peeled for a detailed menu and reviews after they open. I'm hungry already!

Relocating to Hawaii

Honolulu consistently ranks in the “Best” lists among major magazines. Fortune Magazine rated Honolulu as the #67 best place to live in 2009.

It also rated it as the one of the Best places for a long life.

Business Week listed Honolulu at Number 1 in the US from a study done by Mercer Consulting.
No. 28: Honolulu – U.S.
Mercer score: 103.1
2007 rank: No. 27
GDP: $13.86 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 303,824,646 (total country); 380,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 78.14 years

A handy calculator shows you how to figure out the difference between where you live and Honolulu. For example, if you make $50,000 in Los Angeles, you will need to make $53,523 in Honolulu, since the cost of living is 7.7% higher here. Here’s the catch: employers in Honolulu typically pay less than employers in Los Angeles. That explains a lot, doesn’t it? Anyone that has tried to get a job here knows that pay rates are typically lower. It’s due to the sheer number of retail and tourism jobs, which tend to bring the median wage down. The closest similar income is DC – Washington.

When relocating, it’s very important to know about place where you are planning to move. Sometimes people regret relocating to a particular place, because though the place looked beautiful and tempted them to move here when they visited it as a tourist, actually staying in this place is a tough task, taking into consideration factors such as housing costs, economy, standard of living, etc. Therefore, before planning to move or relocating, one should do a thorough research about the place.

Moving to Hawaii

Maybe you’re thinking of buying your first home in Hawaii, or perhaps you’re relocating to Hawaii from another state. Either way, it’s important that you educate yourself on Hawaii before shopping for a home and mortgage. Here are some things you will need to know before buying a home here.

The first item to consider is that Hawaii homes for sale are much more expensive than the national average. The median price of a home in Hawaii (PDF) is $582,000. It appears to have peaked in the $643,500 range in 2007, with Maui peaking (and plumetting) higher (and fluctuating more). Homes in Hawaii doubled in price over the last 5 years. In hindsight, everyone sees that they appreciated at rates so high that they were unsustainable at those rates. As a result, income levels in many parts of Hawaii are too low to purchase a median-priced home with a conventional loan. This ratio, of the median sales price to median household income is known as the housing affordability index. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index: Complete History by Metropolitan Area (1991-Current)Excel file contains a complete history of the HOI by metropolitan area going back to 1991. As of the 2nd quarter of 2011, it stood at 40. The last time it was at this level was in 2005.

Aloha,

Frank

Relocating to Hawaii

Oahu Upscale Real Estate Report

October 2011

Quick Summary

Oahu Single Family Homes Sales: up 5% from last year; up 4% from last month.

Oahu Condos Sales: up 27% from last year, up 6% from last month.

Oahu SFH Escrows: up 8% from last year; up 1% from last month.

Oahu Condos Escrows: up 5% from last year; down 14% from last month.

Oahu SFH Median Selling Price: down 10% from last year; up 4% from last month.

Oahu Condos MSP: down 7% from last year; up 4% from last month.

Oahu SFH Months on Hand: 4.6, Seller’s Market

Oahu Condos Months on Hand: 5.2, Seller’s Market

Oahu Upscale Sales: down 7% from last year, flat with last month.

Oahu Upscale Escrows: up 48% from last year, down 8% from last month

Oahu Upscale Price/Square Foot: down 19% from last year, up 13% from last month.

Oahu Total Market:

The data provided in the Oahu Upscale Real Estate Report differs from that provided by the

Honolulu Board of Realtors and reported in the press because the Board includes every

property listed in the Honolulu MLS system, including properties on the other islands. We

believe that it is more accurate to look only at Oahu properties, and so we removed all non-

Oahu properties from our data.

Sold Volume

270 Single Family Homes (SFH) on Oahu were sold in September, up 5% from last year and up

4% from August. 346 Condos were sold in September, up 27% from last year and up 6% from

August.

To read the full report click on this link: http://www.elitepacific.com/upscale.pdf

This is just for fun........ I think I would go to daily spin class if this happened. I guarantee a smile on your face - ENJOY :)

Now here’s some good incentive to exercise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEH4Yum4nN4&feature=player_embedded

Currently, there are three Lanikai homes for sale on the beach in Kailua. There are other oceanfront homes in Lanikai, however, not all of these have actual beach frontage. The first Lanikai beachfront property is a newer home. Has three bedrooms, 4 full bathrooms and 1 half bath. This elegant beachfront home in Lanikai has a living area of 2,430 sq ft and 18,211 sq ft land area. This is an amazing home designed with vintage touches, including retro stained concrete floors and beautiful custom built-in cabinetry and incredible views of the Mokulua Islands. It also has a swimming pool.

Photo courtesy of HICentral MLS. Listing courtesy of CB Pacific Properties.

This second property is a beautiful 7 bedroom, 6/0 bath home, with a living area of 4,435 sq ft and 16,996 sq ft land area. This Lanikai home is also beachfront with views of the Mokulua islands. This home is two-story, with historic board and batten styling and features beautiful ohia flooring.

Photo courtesy of HICentral MLS. Listing courtesy of CB Pacific Properties.

The third home is an older home, with 3 bedrooms,4 full baths/1half bath. Living area of 2,674sq ft and land area of 8,859sq ft. Although a smaller property, it has been lovingly restored, is beautifully charming and has gorgeous views and sandy beachfront location.

Photo courtesy of HICentral MLS. Listing courtesy of John Dilks,Inc.

If you are interested in viewing any of these beachfront Lanikai homes, please call me at 808-721-8088.