Barbara Abe

View from Plaza Hawaii Kai Plaza Hawaii Kai

The condo market in Hawaii Kai adjusted downward slightly in October, from 21 sales to 16. Low sale was $365,000 for a 1 bedroom/1 bath in the Heritage House on the 10th floor, and high sale, $615,000 for a 2 bedroom/2 bath in Plaza Hawaii Kai on the 9th floor.

For single family in Hawaii Kai, 26 sales closed both in September and October. This past month, the low sale was a 3/2 zero lot line detached home in Kalama Valley, and the high sale a $2,500,000 sale of a view home on almost .5 acre in Triangle.

To learn more about these condo complexes and neighborhoods, request the free reports for each on my site. I can give you current sales statistics on any community in Hawaii Kai.

Wouldn't you like to wake up to one of these views every day?

EBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam, have given the Hawaii Community Foundation a $50 million gift, believed to be the largest single gift from a living donor in the state's history.

The money will be used to start several community initiatives over six years, as well as support Pierre and Pam Omidyar's ongoing interests through the foundation's Omidyar Ohana Fund.

"Pam and I are privileged to call Hawaii home," Omidyar said in a statement. "Given the economic crisis and hardships throughout the state, we felt it was especially important at this time to expand our philanthropy in the islands."

The couple has supported several local causes and organizations in the Islands. They helped to launch Kanu Hawaii, backed the expansion of Mao Organic Farms in Waianae and most recently launched the Ulupono Initiative, which makes nonprofit grants and for profit investments aimed at sustainability.

Pam grew up in Hawaii Kai and attended Iolani School. She said, "That experience was a strong reminder of the important role community plays in every aspect of life here in the islands." Pierre attended Punahou School in the 8th and 9th grades, from 1979 to 1981. They moved back to Oahu in 2006.

The Hawaii Community Foundation plans to use the first $16 M for 3 initiatives:

1. The Omidyar Ohana Fund will provide a $4 million grant toward the Community Stabilization Initiative, an $8 million, six-year plan to help families and individuals get through the recession through use of government resources, credit counseling and mortgage prevention services. The balance of the cost must be matched by other donors, foundations and government agencies over the next six years.

2. $6 million over six years will go to the Omidyar Innovation Fund, a grant program to be launched next year that will seek to spur innovation in Hawaii's social sector and will provide matching funds for qualifying organizations.

3. The third initiative is a $6 million, six-year challenge grant, to be matched by other donors, for building a sustainable complex at Punahou School to be named the Omidyar Kindergarten-First Grade Neighborhood.

All three of the first initiatives have a matching component. Punahou School will do its own fundraising for the K-1 campus, while the foundation will work on raising donations to match the others.

The Hawaii Community Foundation, a statewide grantmaking organization that works with local nonprofit organizations, has provided more than $160 million in grants and contracts between 2000 and 2008.

The Omidyars have been very active and generous in philanthropy work. They have founded the Omidyar Network, Humanity United and HopeLab. The Omidyar Network plans to spend $30 million over three years to support global entrepreneurship, especially in India and sub-Saharan Africa.

All of Hawaii will benefit for years to come from the gifts by the Omidyars. Mahalo nui loa for your Aloha.

Contact me to learn about our island lifestyle and to consider a real estate purchase while our prices and rates are low. When folks like Pierre and Pam Omidyar choose to make Hawaii home, to come back home, we must have somethng special to offer.

(resource: Pacific Business News)

A recent poll released by Gallup and the Knight Foundation found several qualities which create a passion for the community by its residents, and Hawaii Kai fits them all.

The study, "Soul of the Community," looked at 26 places and surveyed a random sample of more than 10,000 people (Hawaii Kai wasn't included - I guess the study heads didn't want a vacation on our islands). They found that residents are most attached to their communities when they have fun places to gather (the ocean, the beach, the marina), there's a welcoming atmosphere (Aloha), and there are beautiful and green spaces (the ocean, the beach, the marina, the parks) to enjoy.

As reported by RisMedia, "'While the pain from the recession is deep, other factors far outweigh economics when it comes to determining how emotionally attached people are to their communities,' said Warren Wright, managing partner for Gallup, in a news release. Positive feelings about a community, however, do have a connection to local GDP growth over a longer-term period, according to the report.

"The study, in its second year, explores the connection between economic growth and residents' emotional attachment to their communities. Gallup has shown that increasing an employee's emotional connection to his or her company leads to better financial performance of the organization."

One of the purposes of the study was to help local planners idenitfy what residents want from their communities. Katherine Loflin, lead consultant on the project, said, "Have you ever gone somewhere and said ‘I could live there?'" I have to add, have you visited Hawaii Kai? That's about the first thing you will think of when you come.

She continued, "What keeps residents passionate about their communities are some of the things they'd show off to visitors: elements that make for a fun social life, beautiful features, or the historic town square-things that root people in a community." Hawaii Kai offers the opportunities for social life - mainly water sports, but many other activities from bridge to dog walking in our new Dog Park to running the Honolulu Marathon. We have the beauty - no one will argue that. And we have the Hawaii Kai Towne Center and the Koko Marina Center. So we fit all the requirements of a great place to live and call home.

Other findings of the survey include:

*Residents more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to have an emotional connection with their community.
*The community should be open and welcoming to college graduates.
*Having fun places to gather help community attachment.
*A creative and diverse workforce is a positive attraction.

If you are looking for a place to grow roots, for a community with a distinct and very strong Sense of Place, come visit Hawaii Kai. Now is the time to consider a real estate investment - we have a Buyer's Market here just like the rest of the country. You can find some great bargains. Contact me to discuss our community - I've lived and worked here for more than 20 years and wouldn't go anywhere else - or to get a free Relocation Package for Hawaii Kai.

Secondary schools in Hawai'i were cited in a new national report as the leaders in cutting back on sales of junk foods and beverages, such as candy and soda. The report, "Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools," was published this week in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Data were collected from 40 states from 2002 to 2008.

Last year, the report says, 88.2 percent of students in Hawai'i secondary schools could not buy candy or salty snacks from vending machines or at a school store or snack bar. By comparison, only 18.2 percent of secondary school students in Utah could not buy candy or salty snacks at school.

In Hawai'i, Dave Randall, education specialist for health and physical education for the state Department of Education, attributed the high percentage of schools not offering junk food to the state's stringent wellness policy, which was developed according to nutrition guidelines from the Institute of Medicine. A 2004 federal law required school districts to implement a wellness policy, but gave wide latitude in how strict the guidelines should be, Randall said. "As a department, we wanted to aim high," Randall said. "The group that was brought together to put together the wellness guidelines wanted to do what was best for kids."

The guidelines for the Wellness Policy should be fully implemented by 2011, and include requiremens for physical education and school lunches.

Come join our healthy Island lifestyle. Contact me for information about how you and your family can enjoy Hawaii Kai.

The Honolulu Board of Realtors has released sales figures for September, which show a positive trend upward.

Total number of single family sales for the island were 244, compared to 215 in Sept. 2008. Median sales price was $600,000, vs. 590,000 a year ago. Total sales for the first nine months on Oahu were 1,788, a decrease of 16.2% over 2008. Median price year-to-date was $575,000 for single family, a decrease of 8%.

For the condo market, 345 sales recorded in Sept., compared to 305 last year. Median sales price for the condos was $305,000, vs $296,000 a year ago. Total sales of condos for the first nine months on Oahu were 2,338, a 26.32% decrease from last year. Median price was $300,000, a decrease of 7.7% from 2008.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®, provided the following
commentary on Oahu's housing market:

"Home sales in 2009, to-date, were essentially at a 10-year low. One reason for the much lower sales can be explained by stricter mortgage underwriting guidelines. In addition, Hawaii suffers from the credit freeze that is taking place in the jumbo market and for second home purchases. However, the biggest reason for such low sales activity is likely due to fear of further home price declines.

"Consumer psychology appears to be decisively turning for the better as the housing market has been showing signs of bottoming, if it is not already past a bottom point. Affordability conditions are now at multi-year highs thanks to lower home prices and very low mortgage rates on conforming mortgages.

"The first-time homebuyer tax credit is also helping. It is no surprise, therefore, that home sales have begun to rise nationally for 5 straight months. The increases were beyond the normal seasonal uptick in spring and summer."

These statistics from the Board do not reflect sales for new construction, but only existing properties.

For Hawaii Kai, 25 single family homes sold in September with a median sales price of $830,000, compared to 7 sales last year, and a median price of $665,000. Year-to-date, 127 homes have sold in Hawaii Kai, vs. 121 last year. In 2009, median price has been $766,000 vs. $830,000 last year.

For condos, 21 sales closed in September vs. 15 last year; the median price hardly changed, $510,000 in 2009 vs. $511,000 in 2008. Year-to-date, 133 condos have sold, with a median price of $489,000, vs. 152 sales in 2008, and a median price of $541,500.

Inventory has declined from a year ago. There were 74 single family homes active in Hawaii Kai in September, vs 101 last year, and 46 condos vs. 59 last year.

Island-wide, median sales prices have risen for single family homes from $539,500 in January to $600,000 in September; for condos, there has been no change, $305,000. Median days on market has decreased for single family from 71 in January to 54 in September; condos from 59 to 51.

There are many positive signs in the Hawaii Kai and Oahu real estate markets. For a more detailed review of the September or year-to-date sales, or for a community analysis, please contact me for an in-depth report.