Hawaii

Anybody that's been to Kailua Kona, knows which restaurant I am talking about. Probably the only Wendy's or let alone any fast food joint, with a million dollar view, in fact the view is so good, it is written up in many tour guides. It is actually in the Keauhou area of Kailua Kona, sitting high above everything, with endless views of the Ocean.

It was sad, one day they just locked the place up, put up a chain across the driveway, and we never heard anything else since then? Turns out that it was so hard, and expensive to find good help, the owner found it cheaper to just close the doors! That had to be about 3-4 years ago?

So the good news is that it will be reopening up as a Sam Choy's restaurant - that's actually great news! Sam Choy is a local chef that actually used to have a restaurant here - used to be out by Costco. He makes wonderful food, and even has a cookbook out with great local recipes. Sam, looking forward to your fine meals again - thank you.

What else is happening with Kona Restaurants?

Los Habanero's has signed a new lease over at Keauhou Shopping Center, but will be moving over to the corner with a much larger eating area, adding in a Tequila Bar, and even talk about pushing out the back of the building and adding tables outside - with that million dollar view of the ocean, Go Los Habanero's

Jack in the Box - that's right, I here Jack in the Box has broken ground on a new restaurant - right across from where the old one used to be - for you short timers, Big Island Grill is located in the old Jack in the Box that closed during the last slowdown!

Looking forward to the changes

Aloha, and have a great day

Lance Owens (RS)

(808) 936-8383

Lance@KonaHomeTeam.com

www.KonaHomeTeam.com

Aloha Kona Realty Inc.

78-6740 Alii Drive

10 Fun Things About Hawaii

1. It's long...
The State of Hawaii maybe invisible on most globes but the little bits of rock which stick up above sea level to make the islands and the reefs of the most famous surfing real estate in the world are part of a mammoth geographical feature. 132 islands, reefs and shoals stretch over 1500-miles from the ‘Big Island' of Hawaii to the Midway Atolls (famous for the big battle in WWII). If you picked ‘em up and dumped ‘em on the good old US of A they'd stretch from San Francisco to the Gulf Coast of New Orleans.

2. It's tall...
Mauna Kea on the Big Island has a snow capped (and snowboardable) summit that scrapes 14,000 feet above sea level. Below sea level it goes down another 18,000 to the sea floor; which equals a total height of 32,000 feet. Making it the biggest mountain on earth. Mount Everest, in comparison, is a paltry 29,035 feet, and to make matters worse Everest has got 4-foot shorter in recent times due to glacial melting.

3. It's been surfed for a long time...
They may have a strong claim to being the oldest surfing race on earth, having invented the whole deal, but the Polynesians/Hawaiians aren't a patch on the Peruvian goat boaters that have surfed on waveski's made of reeds since year dot. But as goat boating doesn't really count then the Hawaiians can take the honor.

4. The Union Jack is on the flag...
Odd as it seems the Hawaiian flag has the British flag in its top left corner, much the same as the Aussie Flag. The rest of the flag consists of eight red, white or blue stripes that represent the eight main islands (Nihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii). It goes back to the early 19th century when the Hawaiians agreed to be a protectorate of Great Britain. The UK didn't run the show, they ran their own affairs, but we looked out for them against the Frenchies and the Americans.

5. We've just moved in...
The Hawaiian chain was one of the last places on earth to be colonised by mankind. Earliest evidence suggests some traces of man around 100AD, but the Polynesians didn't properly colonise the joint until 400AD. First contact with the western world was made on January 19th, 1778 by Yorkshires finest- Captain James T Cook; he first hit land on Kauai. Now home to the Irons brothers.

6. There's no shelf...
It's the lack of continental shelf that gives the waves so much power on the North Shore. As the Hawaiian Islands are all volcanic islands that have grown steadily up from the sea floor there is no shelf to slow up the waves. The Big Island of Hawaii is less than 500,000 years old, cos its so new and fresh the lava reefs there are extremely sharp as they haven't had time to erode.

7. It's far...
The Hawaiian Island's are the most isolated bits of land on Earth. It's over 2400 miles to the continental USA and the other Polynesian islands in the South Pacific. 24 miles is a long way to go in a canoe. 2400 is off the scale, especially when you consider the Polynesian explorers had no idea where they were going or if there was even anywhere to go to. They must have been so glad when they finally hit Waikiki.

8. Spelling is easy...
There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet. Cool huh? The vowels: A, E, I, O, U and the consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, W. So that's why so many place names, like Waimea, Haleiwa etc have such a distinctive ring to them. It also shows that few surf spots go by their local names, Banzai Pipeline is hard to make from only those letters.

9. Good java...
Hawaii is the only state in the US that produces coffee beans. Considering how much coffee the Americans drink it's very odd. The Arabica beans grown on the Big Island that are sold as Kona coffee make for a damn fine brew. Coffee is also grown on the slopes overlooking the North Shore of Oahu between Wahiawa and Waialua ...

10. Lava lava lava...
Mt. Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world and has been since 1983. Which makes the mapmakers in Hawaii angry, because every couple of weeks they have to redraw the map of the island; as it keeps getting bigger. This might not be a problem soon as a huge fissure, known officially as the Hilina Slump, and unofficially as the ‘Big Crack' is opening up and a 4,760 cubic mile chunk of the Big Island is poised to fall off. Cue much tsunami action for Oz... At the moment it's moving four inches a year, but has moved up to 26-feet in one day.

February 8, 2010 Kauai REO, Hawaii Foreclosures, Update

Hedge rows can add lots of character to your curb appeal. Giving your yard the competitive edge with a flowering hedge row can make your property for sale stand out in a crowd. Aside from offering privacy, sophistication, and textured greenery, hedge rows can cover unsightly chain link fences and add color, fragrance and protection that buyers can appreciate.

If you live in a semi tropical to tropical environment and have a yard in need of some landscaping, you might consider planting some tropical flowering hedge rows to add some practacle pizazz to your yard. Here are some of my favorite hedges that are fast growing, easy to maintain and worth their weight in gold from a curb appeal perspective.

Jasminum Sambac: Here in Hawaii, Jasmine or Pikake(Hawaiian word for Peacock) holds an unrivaled reputation, as the Pikake Lei or flower garland is undoubtedly one of the most highly prized lei's known to modern Hawaii. Noted for it's striking resemblance to Ni'ihau shell leis, The unopened Pikake blossom is strung into pearl like strands and given as a greeting gift at special occasions such as weddings or birthdays. The fragrance of these leis can fill a room or yard and as such the Jasmine plant makes a wonderfull hedge row. There are many varieties of Jasmine but here are the creme de la creme.

Bel of India(pictured): The Hawaiian name for this variety of Jasmine is Double Pikake. Highly prized for use in leis and perfumes, this rather rare Jasmine has double pure white blooms with a tinge of pink about 3 cm round and has an intoxicating fragrance. It has abundant shiny dark green leaves and it's creeping vines cover chain link fences wonderfully. It does, however, require yearly pruning to keep the hedge healthy and vegetative.

Grand Duke of Tuscany: Triple Pikake is the name Hawaiians give this very rare and unbelievably fragrant flower. It is most often used in teas and perfumes. Resembling a densely packed miniature white rose, Triple Pikake blooms in Clusters of 4-5 cm blossoms. This creamy white flower packs an unbelievably amazing sent that will stop even the most obstinate home buyer in their tracks.

Mealy bugs are the nemisis of Jasmine so take care to isloate infested plants and spritz them in a soapy solution of Dawn and water.

Bougainvillea Spectabilis: The colorful and bright Bougainvillea is native to Brazil but is found widely cultivated throughout the tropical and semi tropical regions of the world. Bougainvilleas are noted for their vibrant color array ranging from fuchsia to orange to white. This woody vine can be grown in a container in a sun-room, green house, or out of doors. Bright light is a requirement for strong sturdy growth as well as for prodigious flowering, and over watering should be avoided. Bougainvilleas can grow very large, quickly and respond well to pruning and shaping. In addition they produce very long thorns making the drought tolerant Bougainvillea the perfect hedge candidate; offering protection and beauty to the yard. Unfortunately, the Bougainvillea has no fragrance to speak of.

Nerium Oleanders: A near relative to Plumeria(Frangipani) and a member of the dogbain family, this fast growing fragrant flowering hedge, can reach a height of 2 to 5 meters with a width of 1.75m if not pruned regularly. Easily trained into a hedge row, Oleanders come in several varieties with long and narrow, dark to medium green leaves producing clustered flowers measuring 6 cm across. Oleanders do not grow with the density of foliage found in Bougainvillea or Jasmine but make a great hedge row, none the less. These drought tolerant plants need little watering and come in several colors ranging from white to pink to red. On the Continent, Oleanders bloom from May to October, in Hawaii they bloom all year long, however, there are fewer blossoms during the Winter months.

Oleander is concidered a poisonous plant to pets but I have never heard of any cat or dog paying any interest to the plant or ingesting it. However, to be on the safe side keep puppies and kittens away from plantings.

Here's an interesting and fun albeit unrealted web site with a different perspective on hedges http://www.wix.com/HedgeWitchOracle/Oracle1

JDS Consulting- Hawaii Home Staging and Decor Design. Providing Real Estate Merchandising services including: Home Staging, Interior Decor, Turn Key, Landscaping, Remodeling, & Open House Hosting. Diamond Head, Kahala, Waikiki, Kapahulu, Kailua, Makiki, Tantalus, Hawaii Kai, Manoa, Nu'uanu, Ala Moana, Waialua, Haleiwa, North Shore, Kapolei, Makaha, Honolulu.

www.Staged.Homestead.com

Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2010

Aloha,

It was another glorious week here in Paradise, so much so that we even went for a motorcycle ride Saturday down to Lihue to take in a movie. It was equally beautiful Sunday so we went down to the beach in Kapaa (for a change of venue) and soaked up some sun.

January 2010 closed out the month well above January 2009 with 54 transactions compared to only 20 in ‘09. This is almost as much as December 2009 which ended up with 59 total. Let's hope February follows in January's footsteps. It won't be hard to outdo the number of sales in Feb 09 as there were only 26. Now on to your update:
Copyright 2/7/2010 by Hawaii Information Service

NEW LISTINGS
231596 T A 4 4-5-4-12-2-35 FS $329,000 Hale Moi #215 1,033 #215 1/2
231884 T A 1 4-5-4-6-1-29 FS $749,000 Villas Of Kamalii #29 1,825 #29 3/3

BACK ON THE MARKET
206436 T A 729 4-5-4-15-21-7 FS $265,000 Sandpiper Village I #107 1,042 #107 2/2

CONTINGENT SALES
229454 T C 48 4-5-4-5-24-76 FS $539,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #26A 1,874 #26A 3/2.5

WITHDRAWN
218650 T W 427 4-5-3-6-22-52 FS $1,749,000 Kaiulani Of Princeville #52 2,479 #52 3/3
218644 T W 427 4-5-3-6-22-11 FS $1,995,000 Kaiulani Of Princeville #11 2,864 #11 3/3.5
206918 T W 925 4-5-4-5-18-91 FS $385,000 Puamana #25B 1,532 #25B 2/2
228792 T W 85 4-5-4-5-24-72 FS $798,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #24C 1,972 #24C 3/3

PRICE CHANGES
229521 T A 80 4-5-4-15-21-15 FS $214,900- Sandpiper Village I #115 1,042 #115 2/2
230720 T A 34 4-5-4-5-27-18 FS $310,000- Hale Honu #9B 1,085 #9B 3/2
231100 T A 24 4-5-4-5-16-50 FS $486,900- Alii Kai At Hanalei #6102 1,088 #6102 2/2
229660 T A 69 4-5-4-5-24-44 FS $565,000- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #15B 1,874 #15B 3/2.5
226784 T A 170 4-5-4-6-1-12 FS $730,000- Villas Of Kamalii #12 1,825 #12 3/3

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed.

Hale Moi 215 returns to active status, having previously been listed from 4/06 to 3/07 starting at $629,900 and ending at $560K when it was withdrawn. It was listed again from 4/07 to 4/09 during which time it went from $559K to $529K when it expired with 729 market days. This time unit 215, which sold for $425K in 8/04, is newly listed at $329K as a short sale. Also back on the market is Villas of Kamali'i 29 which sold for $750K in 6/05. This unit was listed from 2/08 to 2/09 starting at $925K and reducing to $855K when it was withdrawn. It was relisted in 6/09 to 1/2010 for $839K. It is now listed for $749K.

Sandpiper 107 is back on the market after expiring listed at $265K which is still the list price. This unit sold for $365K in 9/04 and started out with a price of $419K. This is not a short sale.

Nihilani 26A went quickly into escrow this week with only 46 market days, having reduced to $539K from the original start price of $589K. 26A sold from the developer on 12/06 for $805K.

Two developer's Ka'iulani units were withdrawn this week, unit 52 listed for $1.749M and unit 11 listed for $1.995M. Puamana 25B, listed at $385K and purchased for $380K in 9/04 was also withdrawn from the market. Nihlani 24C, a resale listed for $798K withdrew from the market. This unit sold from the developer in 12/06 for $876,145.

As for price changes: Sandpiper 115, which sold for $180K in 12/01 and was foreclosed on in 7/09 reduced from $224,900 to $214,900. I looked at this unit and other day and it is surprisingly clean and tidy for a foreclosure although it could use some updating. Hale Honu 9B which sold for $355K in 4/04 reduced from $324K to $310K. Ali'i Kai 6102 went from $499,900 to $486,900 and last sold for $140K in 8/98. The developer's Nihilani unit 15B went from $585K to $565K while Villas of Kamali'i made a token reduction from $735K to $730K. This unit last sold for $750K in 6/05.

Now on to your Princeville home update:

Copyright 2/7/2010 by Hawaii Information Service

NEW LISTINGS
231558 RS A 5 4-5-3-12-4 FS $1,895,000 4035 Aloalii Dr 9,415 sqft 3,232 3/3

UNDER CONTRACT
224805 RS U 197 4-5-4-23-46 FS $549,000 3785 Moae Pl 6,894 sqft 1,199 2/2

EXPIRED
220820 RS X 352 4-5-4-13-40 FS $995,000 3618 Keoniana Rd 12,013 sqft 3,081 4/3.5
220890 RS X 364 4-5-4-18-56 FS $1,450,000 4158 Kamalani Ln 16,029 sqft 2,834 3/2.5

WITHDRAWN
226182 RS W 190 4-5-4-16-7 FS $795,000 5029 Emmalani Dr 10,500 sqft 3,304 4/3

TEMPORARILY WITHDRAWN
230076 RS T 60 4-5-4-14-4 FS $895,000 3792 Keli'i Pl 10,481 sqft 2,523 3/2.5

PRICE CHANGES
229317 RS A 83 4-5-3-11-32 FS $1,349,000- 4066 Aloalii Dr 13,511 sqft 2,784 3/2.5
227009 RS A 110 4-5-3-12-3 FS $1,888,000- 4043 Aloalii Dr 8,972 sqft 3,588 3/3.5
227993 RS A 130 4-5-4-18-24 FS $597,000- 4679 Emmalani Dr 11,128 sqft 1,861 3/3
210765 RS A 642 4-5-4-23-24 FS $629,000- 3807 Makani Kai Pl 10,386 sqft 1,535 3/2
229218 RS A 87 4-5-4-24-11 FS $649,000- 4240 Waileia Pl 12,336 sqft 2,074 3/2
227771 RS A 142 4-5-4-13-72 FS $998,000- 3661 Albert Rd 10,466 sqft 2,655 3/3.5
226733 RS A 177 4-5-4-18-10 FS $2,950,000- 4184 Mahina Pl 12,200 sqft 3,927 3/3.5

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed.

I've been seeing more buyers coming into the office and agents out showing property which I hope will translate into sales. As of today (2/8/10) there are 132 condo listings and 63 residential listings in Princeville which includes Queen Emma's Bluffs. If you've been out to look lately, you know those numbers are deceiving because there's only a few that will catch your attention. Now is the time to look though, while the choices are there. If you are thinking of buying or selling don't forget to call or email for the facts. That's it for this week.

Aloha Elaine

Late in the day at a Kapaa Beach.

Afternoon sun behind the swaying palms.

Elaine Schaefer (R, CRS, GRI, ABR)
Broker in Charge - Princeville Resort Office
Certified Residential Specialist
Graduate, Realtor's Institute
Accredited Buyer's Representative
Top Producer 100% Club

RE/MAX Kauai
Princeville Resort Office
POB 223632
Princeville, HI 96722
cell: 808 639 2935
home fax: 1 808 440 4552
email:soldonkauai@yahoo.com
website: www.KauaiRealEstateNow.com
blog: http://blogs.alohaliving.com/princeville-condo-sales/

......you can have your own piece of paradise
ask me how!