Beth Thoma Robinson - Hawaii Island Luxury Real Estate

One of the best things about sitting open houses at my oceanfront and oceanview condo listings at Halii Kai is that during the winter I get to watch whales. The waters off shore at Halii Kai (which is across the golf course from the Ocean Tower of the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort) are shallow in whale terms, and therefore the perfect place for the momma whales to hang out with their calves. Here's a photo taken from the lanai of Halii Kai 13C, which is listed for $1,299,000:

I saw my first whale of this season having cocktails at sunset at the private poolside Ocean Club Bar & Grill on November 14th. The club is a fabulous place to watch the sunset even when there aren't any whales.

This new community is about two-thirds sold out. The developer began sales on the oceanfront and has moved back along the golf course. They have one building with ocean view and several with golf or garden views with prices starting in the low $500,000s. There are some wonderful oceanfront and ocean view resale listings priced well below what the original owners paid in 2006-7, including an oceanfront foreclosure for $921,495 that originally sold for over $1.6 million!

A hui hou,

Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)

Thought for the day: The snowball just happens if you're in the right kind of snow... see my book review of Warren Buffett's biography The Snowball

The good news for people considering a real estate purchase on the Hilo side or Hamakua coast of the Big Island is that Kona-based Mokulele Airlines is adding interisland service between Honolulu and Hilo. The new service begins May 1. Kona-based Mokulele now is accepting online reservations for the new route and is offering an introductory fare of $35 through May 31.

When ships are christianed, they get a bottle of champagne smashed on their bow. In Hawaii, a new airplane gets its own lei.

A hui hou,

Beth

Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)

Over on AlohaLiving.com, the Hawaii MLS, I recently blogged about "why foreclosures aren't selling" here on the Big Island of Hawaii. I pointed out a situation I'd recently encountered looking at properties in Waikoloa Village with my client. We'd narrowed down to a half-dozen choices in the Kilohana Kai neighborhood out of the 100+ houses on the market in Waikoloa. On one street we viewed two houses next door to each other. Similar properties, with similar views of the ocean, Kawaihae Harbor, and the Kohala Mountains (not to mention Maui on a clear day)! One was an REO and the house next door a "motivated owner."

Even at the asking prices, they looked like a toss-up. The bank-owned property was slightly larger: 3 bed/2 bath with 2,397 sq ft for $435,000 versus 3 bed/2 bath and 2,202 sq ft and $450,000 for the house next door. However, the REO had an unkempt lawn and a lot of obvious deferred maintenance. My clients ultimately decided that for now they prefer a maintenance-free condo to a single family home, but between these two they would have offered on the "house next door." My point in the earlier post was that by the time the banks foreclose the condition of the property has suffered, and with dozens of similar choices the astute buyer (or one guided by an astute realtor) may well take a pass.

Often, however, buyers only want to look at foreclosures and short sales. In this case, the REO found a buyer after 135 days on market. The price paid was $370,000. There was another sale in the Kilohana Kai neighborhood of Waikoloa Village in January for $379,000 (not a short sale, just a good deal), and a property in escrow where the listing price had been reduced to $355,000 (this one is a short sale).

With these as your comps, and with the developer inventory at nearby Kikaha at Wehilani basically sold out, it is looking like the sweet "house next door" should go for under $400,000. Nice to see that in certain neighborhoods, prices are reaching levels at which the inventory overhang will diminish rapidly!

A hui hou,

Beth Thoma Robinson R(S)

Specializing in South and North Kohala on the Big Island - we know this market by heart!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Our job is not to go to heaven. Our job is to bring heaven to earth."

On Tuesday the agents in our office were invited to preview a labor of love that has taken shape on 50 oceanfront acres makai of Kapaau in North Kohala: the Hawaii Island Retreat at Ahu Pohaku Ho'omaluhia.

Long-time North Kohala residents Jeanne Sunderland (founder of the "Spa Without Walls" at what is now the Fairmont Orchid) and her husband Robert Watkins (MD and director of emergency services at Kohala Hospital) had a vision for a place for retreats and healing that would welcome both visitors to the Island (and from elsewhere on the Big Island) and the local community.

A 15,000 square foot lodge houses ten guest rooms, along with public spaces, a commercial kitchen and dining room and a yoga/dance studio with ocean views. A separate spa building is nearing completion, with a lap pool, hot tub, sauna and treatment rooms. Sunderland has studied with Native Hawaiian healers and the spa offerings will include healing practices of many traditions.

The attention to detail in the facilities and landscaping reflects the founders' love and respect for the tranquil setting. The views overlook the ocean and dramatic cliffs, softened by norfolk pines. Fragrant plants grace the interior courtyard.

Sustainability is another principle put into practice in the center's design. Even the reflecting pool at the entrance is actually a water catchment tank!

The facility can be rented for weddings and group events, and individual rooms are available by the night as an alternative to resort accommodations.

Rather than a single grand opening event, a series of smaller events are planned to showcase the Retreat and benefit the local North Kohala community. If you are on Island this weekend, on Saturday morning you can enjoy yoga and Nia classes, with all proceeds benefitting the North Kohala Library (which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year!)

9am: Beg/Int Hatha Yoga with Georgena Newman of the Kohala Yoga Community Center

10:15 am: Nia with Rebecca Parks and Julie Keller

11:30 am: A vigorous advanced yoga session with Bobby Hoyt

If you are dreaming of an oceanfront or dramatic ocean view retreat on a more personal scale, acreages in this area are available from the $500,000s. A 25+ acre parcel on the ocean with features similar to the location of this center is currently in escrow with an asking price of $3,590,000...and the adjoining parcel is still available

A hui hou,

Beth Thoma Robinson R(S) 808.443.4588

THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Gratitude is not only the greatest of all assets . . .it is the parent of all of the others.

You might notice the subtitle of my Hawaii Island Real Estate Blog includes the phrase "mostly makai". After aloha and mahalo, the next Hawaiian words you should learn if you are looking at real estate on the Big Island of Hawaii are makai and mauka. Makai means “towards the ocean” and mauka means “towards the mountains”. If you have trouble remembering which is which, one hint is that the “mau” sound of mauka sounds like the “mou” of “mountain”.

And you will see the word kai or ocean in a lot of names of communities and properties in the Kohala Coast Resorts, because the resorts are (mostly) makai of the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway (Highway 19) that runs north from the Kona Airport. Hence the subtitle of my blog says we are traveling metaphorically through properties that are located mostly makai.

My intention is to do two things with this blog. I plan to mostly cover the three Kohala Coast Resorts: Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani and Waikoloa Beach Resort plus my home territory in North Kohala around the charming towns of Hawi and Kapaau.

Heading north from the Kona Airport, the turn at Ka'upulehu in about 10 minutes drive takes you to the Hualalai Resort and adjacent Kukio. The first stop light you reach in another 10 minutes is at the Waikoloa Beach Resort, and it is here that the district of South Kohala begins. From there one passes Mauna Lani Resort, the enclave of Puako, and the Mauna Kea Resort (looking mostly makai on this map). All of these resorts offer both condominium and residential real estate options. Just before Kawaihae Harbor, one has the choice of turning right and continuing to the historical ranching community of Waimea (Kamuela, according to the post office)--or continuing on Highway 270 towards North Kohala. (Or for the scenic route, continue on Highway 19 to Waimea and then take Highway 250, the Kohala Mountain Road down to Hawi. Residences and large acreages are available in these largely rural areas.

The gated communities of Kohala Waterfront, the Ranches at Puakea and Puakea Bay Ranch are makai of Highway 270. Kohala By The Sea, Kohala Estates, Kohala Ranch and many of the homes and properties around the towns of Hawi and Kapaau will be mauka.

Real properties in these areas offer different lifestyles and often different climates on an island which is host to 10 of the world's 13 climate zones. It is like having many children--I love them all, and appreciate their differences. So my first objective is to help my readers get a sense of what makes each one special, in case you haven’t yet found exactly where you feel most at home.

My second objective is to provide timely news and insight into the real estate market and opportunities at the Big Island resorts and other Hawaii Island communities in South and North Kohala. Please bookmark this page or subscribe to my feed to follow along. I also update these posts on my twtter account if you want to follow me there.

Of course you can always just contact me directly if you’d like me to answer a question or keep an eye out for the particular home of your dreams.

Aloha and a hui hou,

Beth Thoma Robinson R (S)

Hawaii Palm Properties, Inc

The sunny skies of North Kohala and the Kohala Coast resorts on Hawaii's Big Island-we know this market by heart!