Big Island Real Estate Market News
West Hawaii home prices continue the upward march this summer with no sign of slowing. Homes in Palisades have advanced to the mid to high 400’s on average, with increasingly frequent forays into the 500’s. Waikoloa Village has made similar gains. Condo prices in Alii Lani are now all above 300K and new units appear almost daily on the MLS as owners decide to cash in on their equity.
The 17th Fairway Villas of Waikoloa have recently appeared on the MLS. The Villas are a group of 27 single family homes on a CPR’d parcel of just over 5 acres. The homes are running in the mid 400 range and feature 3 bedrooms, two baths, and 1258 square feet of living space. Each unit boasts fairway & mountain views and feature an enclosed 2-car garage, large covered lanai, full insulation , stucco exterior, stainless steel appliances, ceramic tile in bathrooms, kitchen & utility room, along with wall-to-wall carpeting throughout. Owners will enjoy privileges of membership in the Waikoloa Village Association, which include access to tennis, swimming in the fully heated over-sized pool, as well as use of the Golf course at special resident rates.
CPR stands for “Condominium Property Regime” and is one way to subdivide a larger parcel of land with less expense than going through a rezoning. The homes built on the land will share certain common elements such as the greenbelts, roads, and walkways through the area. The owners pay the Association a fee for the maintenance of the common areas. They may or may not have their own small yard area which they maintain themselves. Some CPR’d properties may share a driveway, others simply share the private roadway within the parcel, but little else.
When purchasing this type of property, be sure to have your agent identify each of the common elements and what your responsibility will be in the maintenance of these elements. If you have a yard, can you put in a pool? A fence? Are pets allowed in the yard? Do you maintain the yard? What rights do you have with regard to addressing your concerns about any of the common elements? It is important to have these type of answers before you decide to move ahead with a purchase.
CPR property is just another type of ownership here in Hawaii. For those of you looking for second and vacation homes, it can be an attractive way to avoid caring for a lawn, without giving up the lawn. As with all types of ownership, there are positive and negative aspects, so investigate, decide what is right for you, then enjoy!
Tornado near Waimea
While driving from Waimea to Hapuna we happened to look toward the south and, to our astonishment, saw a very small tornado dipping and twisting along. We pulled over and I was able to get this shot of it before it dissipated. Several other funnels formed, but did not drop down. Having lived in Oklahoma City for eleven years, we know that tornados do usually look a bit more sinister than this, but we were told that tornados never occur here, so I beg to differ.
July 4th Festivities
Many of the resorts hosted special events over the Fourth of July holiday. Some had their chefs prepare a special BBQ on the beach, others offered events such as the release of the baby turtles from a protected habitat into the ocean, charity duck races, music festivals, and fireworks. We did not make it up to the resorts this year, but enjoyed pizza at the Kona Brew Pub, then strolled down to the pier to watch the fireworks here in town. We were very pleased and surprised by the quality of the show. It was a beautiful night and the fireworks over the ocean lent a magical air to the evening. I particularly enjoyed the “Palms”.
