Valentine's Day--hearts, flowers, roses and chocolate. Ah, chocolate. Certainly my favorite food group. And the best place to indulge that craving is by heading over to Sweet Paradise in Wailea.

Owner Melanie Boudar opened this shop last June in Wailea Gateway Place. Once you walk in the door you will recognize that this is no ordinary store. Bright red walls, red carpets, and a piano greet you. But for me, it's straight to the chocolate display cases. They are dazzling and it's no surprise since Melanie actually spent 30 years as a diamond and gemstone buyer. Eventually her lifelong love of chocolate won out and now we all benefit from that. Just imagine the best chocolate in the world blended with the tropical flavors of the Hawaiian Islands.

Who wouldn't melt opening a box of Valentine's chocolates that look like these? Each is a work of art. You may wonder how chocolate will survive in our 80 degree temperatures--but I never give that a second thought--since mine just never seem to last that long! The chocolate is amazing and the choices almost unlimited. My favorite is the special Island-themed box of seven chocolates--coconut creme brulee, Kona coffee, macadamia nut, lilikoi silk, mango ginger, pineapple starfruit and island spice.

Sweet Paradise is located at 34 Wailea Gateway Place (the corner of Pi'ilani Highway and Wailea Iki Drive) in Wailea. You can call them at 808.661.4764 or order online at www.sweetparadisechocolate.com.

Princeville condo (and house) + short sale update for the week of Feb 5th to Feb 11th

Aloha,

We had 64 sales in Feb 2011 and are at 20 as of today’s date. You’ll see three of those sales in this week’s update along with one new listing. Right now we have 82 active listings and 30 that are currently in escrow or under contract. With numbers like that, there’s hope we’ll start to see this market stabilize. Now on to your market update:

NEW LISTINGS
250276 CND A 1 4-5-4-5-24-61 FS $469,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #21A 1,874 #21A 3/2.01

CONTINGENT SALES
243074 CND C 165 4-5-3-6-22-2 FS $1,250,000 Kaiulani Of Princeville #2 2,843 #2 3/3.01
243691 CND C 326 4-5-4-12-5-11 FS $699,000 Pali Ke Kua Incr I, ii, iii #111A 717 #111A 1/1.00

SALES
248654 CND S 60 4-5-4-12-10-20 FS $369,000 Emmalani Court #323 952 #323 1/2.00
SOLD 2/10/2012 for $325,000 (CNV) DOM 60

247837 CND S 148 4-5-4-5-24-51 FS $575,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #17C 1,874 #17C 3/2.01
SOLD 2/8/2012 for $530,000 (CASH) DOM 148

245671 CND S 182 4-5-4-5-24-22 FS $579,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #8A 1,874 #8A 3/2.01
SOLD 2/10/2012 for $515,000 (CNV) DOM 182

WITHDRAWN
249714 CND W 98 4-5-4-5-24-68 FS $425,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #23B 1,406 #23B 2/2.00

PRICE CHANGES
250122 CND A 82 4-5-4-5-39-43 FS $189,999- Cliffs At Princeville #2203 917 #2203 1/2.00
248842 CND A 53 4-5-4-6-1-36 FS $535,000- Villas Of Kamalii #36 1,825 #36 3/3.00

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed. Copyright ©2/12/2012

New Listings:
We have one new listing this week which is Nihilani 21A, a Makani townhouse listed for $469K. This short sale sold for $778,745 from the developer in 10/06.

Contingent:
The developer’s Ka’iulani 2 went into escrow while priced at $1.25M. This unit reduced from $1.55M to $1.25M on 1/31. Ocean and Bali Hai view Pali Ke Kua 111 found a buyer after 321 days priced at $699K. This unit is not a short sale although it sold for $950K in 10/05.

Sales:
Emmalani Court 323 sold for $345K while listed for $369K. This unit was purchased for $330K in 5/09. Two Nihilani units sold this week: Nihilani 17C sold for $530K cash while listed for $575K. This unit was purchased for $640K in 8/09. Nihilani 8A sold for $515K while listed for $579K. This Makani unit was purchased from the developer for $803,302 in 3/07. Neither of these were short sales.

Withdrawn:
Short sale Nihilani 23B withdrew from the market. This unit sold from the developer in 11/06 for $685,160 and was priced at $425K.

Price Changes:
Bank owned Cliffs 2203 reduced from $199,999 to $189,999. This unit was leasehold when purchased by the prior owner in 5/02 for $130K. The fee was purchased for $66,150 in 4/04 and the unit was subsequently foreclosed on in 10/11. Villas of Kamali’i 36, which sold for $799K in 5/07, reduced from $570K to $535K. It is not a short sale. That’s it for this week. Now on to your Princeville home update:

NEW LISTINGS
251972 RES A 6 4-5-4-24-6 FS $960,000 4210 Waileia Pl 8,416 sqft 2,526 3/4.00

SALES
228327 RES S 820 4-5-4-18-5 FS $735,000 4156 Mahina Pl 12,194 sqft 1,668 3/2.00
SOLD 2/6/2012 for $650,000 (CASH) DOM 820

WITHDRAWN
243409 RES W 225 4-5-4-18-43 FS $689,000 4175 Kamalani Ln 10,499 sqft 1,748 3/2.01
240016 RES W 445 4-5-4-9-17 FS $798,888 4206 Liholiho Rd 10,407 sqft 1,668 3/2.01

PRICE CHANGES
238260 RES A 519 4-5-4-23-13 FS $399,000- 4841 Moli Pl 8,270 sqft 1,530 3/2.00

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed. Copyright ©2/12/2012

If you want to know what’s happenning in your part of the market, before buying or selling, just send an email. That’s why I’m here, to make sure you have the facts before buying or selling. With interest rates at historic lows it’s a great time to buy but you need to know if you’re looking at a short sale, foreclosure or a regular sale, how long it’s been on the market and much more – before deciding to move forward with a purchase. The same is true for sellers. When you have the facts, you can make an informed decision when pricing etc.

I’ve been on the mainland for a few days but will be back on Kauai by tomorrow. Part of our trip was to visit family in Henderson NV. I’m sure if you’ve been to Las Vegas you’ll recognize the pictures below. I always love to see the dancing water at the Bellagio!

Aloha Elaine

Elaine Schaefer (R, CRS, GRI, ABR, SFR)
Broker in Charge – Princeville Resort Office
Certified Residential Specialist
Graduate, Realtor’s Institute
Accredited Buyer’s Representative
Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Certification
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/

……Making your real estate dreams
my business………

Speed dating--you know how that works--meet someone for three to five minutes and determine if you ever want to see that person again. Then meet the next person for three to five minutes and make another decision. Well, the Maui Humane Society has adapted this human event to the world of dog adoption.

This Sunday, February 12, is Speed-Dating--Dog Adoption. Starting at 11 a.m. with the larger dog breeds you are welcome to visit with the shelter dogs for three minutes each. This will be followed with a second round for the smaller breeds.

Find the perfect dog and fall in love--after all it is close to Valentine's Day. And since it is so close to Valentine's Day, as a special bonus the Maui Humane Society is offering 50% off of these adoptions.

Seems I have been writing a lot about animals lately--first the whales and my last two posts have been about dogs. You could say these are my two favorite animals. The whales needs us to protect their environment and the dogs need us to provide loving, safe homes. You can't adopt a whale, but you can certainly welcome a new four-legged member into your family this weekend.

The Maui Humane Society is located at 1350 Mehameha Loop in Puunene. For more information you may either call them at 877.3680 or visit their website: Maui Humane Society.

Aloha Friday from Maui - don't forget to eat your fish

Hawaiian Seafood Glossary

Fishes of Hawaii

List of Fish of Hawaii - Wikipedia

Maui Fishing Info

Are you fishing for a good deal on a Maui home? Let me help you land one.

Maui oceanfront MLS land and homes search

The Kapalua real estate market is moving along with nice momentum considering it is so early in the year. Last year, as of this time, the resort had just two sales for a total dollar volume of $4,583,300. This year, we have had 9 sales, with a total volume of $19,891,000.

So far, the sales in the Kapalua Resort have been concentrated at the low and higher ends of the market, with a low of $515,000 and a high of $5,000,000:

Kapalua Golf Villa 18P56: Listed at $559,000, sold at $515,000
This is a two bedroom, renovated villa on the golf course. REO

Kapalua Ridge Villa 1721: Listed at $62,000, sold at $566,000
This is a one bedroom, ocean view villa in original condition.

Kapalua Golf Villa 18V4: Listed at $575,000, sold at $575,000
This is a renovated, ocean view villa.

Honolua Ridge II, Lot 1: Listed at $1,890,000, sold at $1,600,000
Vacant land. Spectacular views.

Kapalua Ironwoods 52: Listed at $2,750,000, sold at $2,450,000
Oceanfront, two bedroom villa with some renovations.

Honolua Ridge II, 231 Kaupalena Place: Listed at $2,69,000, sold at $2,760,000
This Honolua Ridge home is a 4B/4.5B home located on just under 8 acres with oceanviews. It was a short sale.

Plantation Estates, 201 Plantation Club Drive: Listed at $4,300,000, sold at $3,000,000
This Plantation Estates home is a 4B/5.5B home located on 2.35 acres before the gate, with oceanviews.

Kapalua Ironwoods 102: Listed at $3,675,000, sold at $3,425,000
This is an oceanfront three bedroom villa, renovated.

Coconut Grove 18: Unlisted, private sale not in MLS, sold at $5,000,000
This is an oceanfront three bedroom villa with a den. Located on Kapalua Bay.

The overall resort market in 2010 and 2011 was relatively stable across the board:
Number of Sales:
2010: 41
2011: 43
Average Sale Prices:
2010: $1,944,707
2011: $2,013,133
Total Volume:
2010: $79,733,000
2011: $86,563,862

While the market was relatively stable on the whole, it's noteworthy that two high sales in the Plantation Estates ($14,000,000 and $9,600,000) elevated both the average sale price and the total dollar volume. Also, properties were on the market longer in 2011 (by 119 days) and sold at a lower percentage of list price (85% vs. 91%).

For more information on the Kapalua real estate market, please view the Annual Kapalua Real Estate Market Reports or contact me.