There has been a lot of real estate sales activity at Halii Kai in the 3 months since my last blog post about this oceanfront condo community at the Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Kohala Coast.
On the resale side, the only condos that changed hands were the two REO properties described in my June blog post: an absolute oceanfront two-bedroom 13A closed for $814,995 and 16C for $385,900. Unbelievable prices-less than half what the original buyer paid.
The developer is willing to negotiate on their remaining inventory to keep pace with market interest, although it appears only on condos in the Coconut Grove area at the back of the property. As the landscaping has filled in, the Grove has turned out to be a sweet, calm oasis, and the units with north-facing lanai have a view of sunrise over Mauna Kea. Prices are also sweet compared with the golf and ocean view.
Two closings so far this month, both two bedroom floorplans: the larger one, 1317 sq feet, sold for $499,000 and the smaller, 1082 sq ft, for $405,000 (one of the few B/C with a garage). There is also a third one in escrow with a list price of $425,000.
The sweet spot in the market more generally seems to be under $500,000. I must have a dozen prospective buyers I am working with who read one of my blog posts about Halii Kai or Kolea, or saw my short sale listing at Kolea. They either have cash or big down payments, and are mostly future retirement buyers. A surprising number do not plan to rent except possibly to friends and family.
Speaking of short sales, there are no offers on Halii Kai 14C, an oceanfront 2-bedroom listed as a short sale at $750,000, because savvy buyers were waiting for the event that occurred today. The mirror-image unit Halii Kai 14B has arrived as an REO at $755,900. Let me repeat: this is absolute oceanfront, Maui view!
What comes next? There are only a few more developer units at the $500,000 and under prices, which means the next "best buys" like this foreclosure 14B are a higher price points.
There was a front page article today from Inman News, a subscription service for real estate agents, with the headline “Where are the luxury buyers?”. The article gave a statistic of interest: According to the National Association of Realtors, the national share of home sales above $750,000 has fallen from 4.4 percent in 2007 to approximately 2.3 percent in 2009, and the months' supply of inventory has risen from 18.7 months to 41.1 months during the same period. However, the article also speculated “If you have a spare $1 million to $2 million in your wallet, this could be a good time to buy.”
They are correct, because the supply/demand balance and the sales of distressed properties puts downward pressure on prices for those who need to sell. The article also made the point that there are market segments where owners will simply wait it out and not sell at these prices. The article interviewed agents in the Hamptons and Santa Barbara. They might just as well have interviewed owners at Mauna Lani Point—or several owners I know at Halii Kai and Kolea!
In my opinion, that means that luxury buyers who are sitting on the sidelines waiting for a penthouse at Halii Kai or Kolea to hit the market at REO pricing are likely to be disappointed. Those owners will do what it takes to hold on.
A hui hou,
Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)
Direct: 808.443.4588 Email: beth@hawaiilife.com
Search the MLS at Hawaii Life Real Estate Services
The ocean-view apartments at the Regency at Hualalai in downtown Kailua Kona are not properties for sale. And aside from the fact that my mother lives there, I am surprised at how often I end up talking with my clients about our local continuing care retirement community, the Regency, and its wonderful independent and assisted living facilities.
Most of what I sell are resort and second home properties, along with ranches and acreages for active retirees to build their dream homes. Unlike most real estate agents who are always being asked questions about the local schools, I find myself answering questions for my "sandwich generation" clients about the options for bringing their aging parents with them when they move.
By the way, Hualalai is the name of the dormant volcano rising up above Kailua Kona, not just the name of the resort north of Kona where the Four Seasons Hualalai hotel and the multi-million resort properties are located! The Regency at Hualalai is located on Hualalai Road, one of the major makai-mauka connectors running between oceanfront Alii Drive in Kailua Kona and the artsy town of Halualoa.
Just how nice is the Regency at Hualalai? Let me share the words of its most well-known resident: "Its a wonderful place where you go to live a simplified life with the added bonus of assistance if needed...of the many things I love about the Regency at Hualalai, I would have to say that my favorite aspect is the people...its these wonderful people who create an atmosphere that is fun, friendly and full of aloha."
If you ever read the sports section of West Hawaii Today, you have probably enjoyed the column by Sean "Peaman" Pagett who has put on 300 fun community running, cycling, swimming events over the past couple of years. The words I quoted are from the column he wrote on the 1-year anniversary of his move to the Regency at Hualalai!
My secret tips about the Regency:
--their hair salon is open to the public and Kevin Michael, whose credentials include high end salons in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, has a long list of devoted clients.
--former Regency chef (who came from Mauna Lani Resort) Ann Sutherland has a business called Home Tours which is like a progressive dinner through four beautiful homes in different neighborhoods around Kailua Kona.
A hui hou,
Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)
Hawaii LIfe Real Estate Services
Direct: 808-443-4588 Email: beth@hawaiilife.com
Tucked in between the upscale Kohala Coast resorts of Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea, are the cottages, homes and even a few condos of the beachfront community known as Puako. Compared with the hustle and bustle of the Kailua Kona beachfront, Puako feels like an oasis, a step back in time to the Old Hawai'i. The just-renovated Mauna Kea Beach Hotel inaugurated the era of tourism on the pristine Kohala Coast when it opened in 1965, but kama'aina (local) families had been swimming, fishing, and relaxing at their tiny beachfront Puako cottages for decades before.
Puako is the kind of sheltered beach where children, turtles and surfers share the sands.
There is only one two-lane street running the length of the community, with a row of houses on the ocean side, and a row of houses across the street. Near the beginning of Puako is a small market, and next to it is the three-story building with the only condominiums in the community.
Many people first discover Puako when they rent a cottage or stay in a B-and-B there. It is a friendly community, where neighborhood children of full-time residents run between each other's houses, and people walking their dogs stop to exchange news.
What will it cost to own a vacation home or residence in Puako?
That depends on whether you need to be ON the beach, or can settle for being across the street from it!
At the top of my dream home list right now is a property that "unique" does not begin to descibe. Whereas most lots here are 15,000 sq ft, this is a true estate parcel of 1.6 acres with 355 linear feet of oceanfront and 4 anchialine ponds that encourage the native trees shading the 4-bedroom main house and 1-bedroom cottage.
If you want a modern resort-style home, there are other options at Puako in the $6.5 million price range of this historic property. The right buyer for this one is someone who cherishes the history and the simpler unpretentious lifestyle of its day.
On the off-side of the street, there are offers flying on an eccentricly remodeled foreclosure on a half-size lot offered for only $822,800! You'll pay more than twice that for the best house in that side of the street, a classic pole house on a nice lot.
Then we have the Puako condos, of an earlier vintage, but shall we say it again, where as but at Puako can you live across the street from a quiet family beach? Call or email me if you want to hear about a cute 3BR Puako Beach Condo ready for your remodel, offered at only $350,000!
A hui hou!
Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)
Hawaii Life Real Estate Services
Direct: 808-443-4588 Email: beth@hawaiilife.com
This might be t
he biggest holiday of the year for residents of Kohala. Each year on June 11th, Big Island residents and visitors converge on the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great to watch the placing of hundreds of lei on the statue in Kapa'au and the parade between Hawi and the statue that features pa'u riders in their traditional costumes.
Arrive early as the road will close by 8 am. From 10 am - 4pm following the parade, enjoy food, entertainment, educational demonstrations such saddle making and ancient Hawaiian games, and crafts at Kamehameha Park.
North Kohala is a rural community with a total of around 6,000 residents per the last official census.
Homes in Kohala range from charming "cane shacks" relocated and renovated after the sugar plantations shut down in the 1970s, to estate homes on 10 acres in oceanfront gated communites such as Puakea Bay Ranch. Sustainable agriculture is an interest of many newcomers to the community, and local Takata Store is filled with locally grown fruit and vegetables, along with grass-fed local beef.
Call or email for a list of properties that meet your Hawaii dream home criteria! Or search for yourself on Hawaii Life's Big Island website.
A hui hou!
Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)
Hawaii Life Real Estate Services
Direct: 808.443.4588 Email: beth@hawaiilife.com
My sweet friend Elizabeth is on the Board of the Kohala Community Hospital Foundation, and she just dropped off our Silent Auction winnings from last Saturday night's annual fundraiser. If you choose to live in Hawi, Kapaau, Puakea Bay Ranch, or any of the other neighborhoods of North Kohala, you can quickly find yourself immersed in the community. The spirit of aloha is contagious! Everyone seems to volunteer for multiple causes and participate in numerous non-profit organization, school, church or community events.
Although for more serious needs Kohala residents travel to Waimea's nearly-new North Hawaii Community Hospital, we rely on our own small facility for emergency care, xrays and nursing beds. The new Hawaii Island Retreat Center was a gracious setting for this years Hospital Fundraiser and attendance was high.
As is typical at events in Hawaii, there was music and hula. David Gomes entertained for the first half, followed by Nino and Gino (you can hear them at Luke's Place restaurant regularly). In real life, Gino Amar is the assistant administrator at the hospital. Retreat Center co-owner Jeanne Sunderland danced with her kupuna hula halau.
The items we won at this year's fundraiser were mainly health and wellness oriented: a 3-month membership to the Kohala Fitness Station (for my husband to try it, as I am already a regular); a session with Chinese medical practitioner Janice Ellison (we got one last year too!); a book on Living in Balance donated by authors Joel and Michelle Levey who are part-time residents of Hawi, and a 5-liter mini-keg of Konig Pilsener for our mental health (ahem).
Events like this feel like a big family celebration in our little corner of Paradise!
A hui hou,
Beth
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The vog-free sunny skies of North Kohala and the Kohala Coast resorts of Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani and Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Big Island of Hawai'i: great places to live your Hawaii Life!
E komo mai—welcome to Kohala on the Big Island! Like most of my clients, this corner of paradise is my chosen home rather than my birthplace. I live and work in North Kohala (Hawi area) because I treasure its physical beauty and the sense of community, values, and Hawaiian culture. I also love the classic lifestyle of the Kohala Coast resorts, where I worked for the developer of the Kolea and Hali’i Kai oceanfront condo communities.
I offer you the diverse skills of a “professional chameleon” to work as your trusted advisor in Big Island real estate. As a PhD economist by training, I understand markets. As an 11-year veteran of Wall Street, I understand finance. As an entrepreneur, I ran both an artistic talent management business and a membership organization providing education for high net worth families. I’ve invested in real estate and managed my own rentals since I was in college. When my husband and I became full-time residents in Hawaii in 2005, I saw real estate as a natural avenue to continue to serve the client base I’d been working with for 30 years.
It really is a BIG Island, so I concentrate on only the districts of North and South Kohala (I can refer you to great agents elsewhere on the Big Island or throughout Hawaii).
Although there are modest starter homes from the $300,000s in the Hawi area, most of our Kohala and resort properties would be in the $500,000 to $5 million+ range.
Sellers--I take listings here in the Hawi/Kapaau area as well as in the Kohala Coast resorts, and if you have a property to sell I can bring the best of Internet technology to help us find the perfect buyer. I understand how to sell land and equestrian properties.
Buyers--Whether you are looking for a carefree second home in a luxurious Kohala Coast resort community, searching for a unique lot to build a “green” residence, planning for future retirement, or seeking savvy investment opportunities, I can help you sort through the options, guide you through the transaction and get you situated in the community. We often have pocket listings or ideas of who might consider selling to the right person, so don't be afraid to ask.
Sustainable agriculture is alive and well here in North Kohala, Hawi area and Waimea. And if you are interested in an equestrian property, acreage, or ranch, my horse consults free of charge!
Beth was my real estate agent on the purchase of two condos at the oceanfront Hali I Kai community. As a real estate investor and developer, I am very particular about the quality of the properties I buy and whom I deal with. Officially, Beth was working for the developer, but I felt like she was working for me. Many real estate agents try to sell you what they have, rather than listening to what you want. Beth listened to find me the right units, and creatively addressed my concerns during the months I was under contract in a shifting market. I appreciated her professionalism and initiative.
Michael J Newell Coeur D'Alene, Idaho (re: oceanfront Kohala Coast condos)
When we first considered buying property on Big Island we contacted a number of Realtors. Beth was the only Realtor who responded to our many questions the same day, always with a thoughtful considered response. She impressed us with listening very carefully to our specific needs and requirements so we were able to use our limited time to maximum effect. Her detailed local knowledge helped us to identify a property to buy on our second visit and we still have a great working relationship. We would have no hesitation in recommending her for buyers of either land or the many types of property on the Island.
Andrew and Corinne Latham, CA and Hawi
I want to thank you again for all your time and help that you gave us. If anyone else asks about a realtor to buy or sell, I will certainly send them your way. You are very competent and so prompt with all your communications. Continued blessings on your work!
Much Gratitude,
Francis Clare Fischer, Splendora, TX (re: sale of single family home in North Kohala)
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