Aloha in the Sand

We are in the process of upgrading our Kona Dream Homes site and merging it with our vacation rental site, Escape to Extraordinary, to give us better functionality and to give you a better experience. Please bear with us during this changeover.

As you may see, I am no longer with Coldwell Banker Big Island Properties and have formed my own new company, Escape to Extraordinary. Coldwell Banker merged with MacArthur-Sotheby’s — official January 1, 2009. As they already had a vacation rental program (and, mine was growing so rapidly!), I chose to start a brand new company.

During the first few months of 2008, prices have continued to remain flat with some decline in the condo market as well as in homes priced between 600 and 2M. Inventory remains high and sellers are negotiating on terms and price for qualified buyers. Opportunity is here for great deals on beautiful properties for those buyers who are ready to make the commitment.

In Kona we have homes in the Palisades area listed from the high 300’s and up. Pualani Estates new homes are listed from the 400’s up. Kona Vistas has many terrific homes, some with pools from the 800’s and there are wonderful opportunities in the mauka subdivisions with eye-popping views listed under 2M. In Waikoloa Beach Resort and at the Mauna Lani Resort, select new condos are being offered fully furnished and some have other enticements as well.

Baby Boomers, it is time to seriously think about your retirement or second home and take advantage of the opportunities that abound in this market. Call me for information!

Coldwell Banker’s New Queens’ Marketplace Office!

In November of 2007, Coldwell Banker Big Island Properties opened a beautiful branch office in the new Queens’ Marketplace at Waikoloa Beach Resort. We can now offer greater convenience to our Kohala Coast and Waikoloa clients and have expanded our vacation rental services to owners of Kohala Coast Resort properties with a new program we call “Escapes”. Visit our new web site at www.escapetoextraordinary.com to see what we can offer in the way of services to owners and guests. Properties are being added and content expanded daily. We are very excited to have greater involvement in this wonderful and rapidly growing area of the island. Agents are available from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm daily to take care of all of our clients’ needs. Stop by and visit us if you are in the area!
The Queens’ Marketplace

Carole Ann Kwiat, Broker in Charge

Escape to Extraordinary

Market News

Buyers, if you were considering the purchase of a second home or investment property here on the Big Island, but were put off by the high prices of 2005 and 2006, it may be time to take another look. Prices on both homes and condos are down considerably over the last year and inventory is high. With the present mortgage situation it has become increasingly important for sellers to consider all offers and be willing to negotiate on price and terms. Some sellers are now willing to carry a portion of the debt to assist buyers in their purchase. Buyers with good credit and cash for down payments are being courted by lenders and may be in a better position to borrow than they were just a few weeks ago.

Here in the Kona area we are seeing residential home prices starting in the low 400’s, where a year ago they were closer to 500K. New homes in Pualani are coming on the market in the mid to high 400’s for the smaller models. That is great news for local buyers who want to escape a rental. Palisades also has quite a few homes listed in the high 400’s to low 500K range and then on up. Homes in those areas make great long term rentals, but cannot be vacation rented.

If you are interested in a condo, there are some terrific buys in the market. Alii Cove has a large number of newer condos offered for resale in the 400-600 range depending on size and view. That is down 100+K from the levels of early 2006. Those units can be rented for longer term, but not for under 30 days. Hualalai Village, Sea Villas, and Alii Park Place offer similar savings on newer condos.

If you are looking for an interesting investment opportunity, I have a top floor Kona Bali Kai unit that is an oceanfront 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with a large lanai being offered at 579K. It needs updating, but would then be a wonderful vacation rental or second home and is a great opportunity to own oceanfront property at a reasonable cost. That condo can be seen at: http://www.konadreamhomes.com/vacationrentalsphotoskonabalikai406.html

Up at the Waikoloa Beach Resort, a popular vacation destination, there are a number of Colony Villas and Fairway Villas condos being offered in the low to mid 500’s on up to the 600’s. Less than two years ago they all started in the mid 600’s and went up to over 800K. Those would make terrific vacation rentals! Waikoloa Beach Resort is expanding and will open The Queen’s Shoppes in October, which will feature mid to high end shops and a number of new restaurants. Our own office will be opening a new branch up there as well, and we are very excited about it.

If you’d like more information on any areas around Kona or up the Kohala Coast, please let me know. I’d be happy to address your questions.

Hurricanes and Earthquakes and the Lunar Eclipse

The Big Island has had a number of interesting happenings the last couple of weeks. Hurricane Flossie threatened the island with category 4 winds for a few days in mid August. We all heeded the warnings and made appropriate preparations, but to our delight, the hurricane fizzled out as it passed about 100 miles south of Southpoint. Here in Kona it did not even rain!

Just the day before the hurricane was predicted to hit, a level 5 earthquake struck the southeast side of the island, but it did not cause any measurable damage to property. We did not really even feel it much on the Kona side.

This week brought a spectacular lunar eclipse to Hawaii and the western portion of the US. David and I were able to stay up (surprisingly), and watched it from our driveway. It was a beautiful night and David was able to capture the eclipse on camera showing the various stages. I hope you enjoy the pictures…

8/27/2007 11:05pm HST

Early Eclipse

8/27/2007 11:16pm HST

Stage 2

8/27/2007 11:30pm HST

Stage 3

8/27/2007 11:45pm HST

Stage 4

08/27/2007 11:53pm HST

Stage 5

08/28/2007 12:15am HST This one is a bit blurry as it was taken with a 30 second exposure.

Stage 7

Full Eclipse 30 sec exposure

Life is never dull here on the Big Island and offers many opportunities and special moments! Aloha!

Happy New Year to all! As we begin the year filled with hopes and resolutions, I wish all of you peace, happiness, and good health. Life is precious and all too fragile; savor the moments…

Market News

As the Kona real estate market enters its high season, we are all getting questions on what will happen this year. I have fired up my new flat screen crystal ball and can say with certainty that nothing is certain! Apparently the new models aren’t any better at predicting the future than the old round kind. What I can say is that we are seeing an increased number of calls inquiring about listed properties, the inventory has grown dramatically over the last year, and the market is much more favorable to buyers than that of a year ago, while interest rates remain low. Sellers are offering greater concessions on price and many are including incentives, such as credits toward closing expenses. It is a much more balanced market now, and it is a great time to look for that second home or retirement property. Many who are not ready to retire are purchasing properties with the intention to rent them out in order to offset expense until that magical day comes when they are ready to fly off into the sunset and start the rest of their lives in this beautiful, tropical oasis.

Sales figures comparing 2005 and 2006 indicate that while the number of sales for the entire Big Island of Hawaii are down by 26% for single family homes and 39% for condos, the median sale prices of single family homes has risen by 8.18% and the median prices of condos has risen by 16.91%. While sales numbers for 2006 are off a similar amount in the North Kona district, the gains have been more modest at 3.43% for homes and 3.85% for condos due to the higher increases for that region as compared to the entire island in the previous years.

New York Times

New York Times Features the Big Island!

I was recently contacted by Vivian Marino of the the New York Times to discuss the market for second homes here in the Kona area. We had a nice chat, and it reinforced what I have observed over the last few years. Many people are looking for a place to retire that is away from the hustle of the cities. Most people will continue to work in some other capacity if they can do it via the internet or within another field. There is a notion of getting back to a more basic lifestyle, downsizing homes, having easy maintenance landscapes, more time for family, travel, adventure, new interests, and in enjoying life in general. People want an environment where they can be outdoors year round. While the Big Island is not for everyone, it has great appeal for many, and we feel it will continue to be a second home and retirement destination of choice for many years to come.

For a look at the article published January 12, 2007 in the Escapes section of the New York Times, click on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/realestate/greathomes/12havens.html?ex=1169182800&en=72a56bec491ae85e&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Under the Sea!

Honu

Yellow Trumpet Fish

Trumpetfish

Striped Butterfly Fish

Curious Butterfly

Yellow Tang

Yellow Tang and friends

Raccoon Butterfly Fish

Raccoon Butterflyfish School

By now I am certain that everyone has heard that we had a significant earthquake here 4 days ago. While the actual event was very dramatic and quite terrifying, we have come out of it fairly well. Most homes suffered only minor damage, and although some of our treasured possessions were lost or damaged, there were no serious injuries or deaths. Homes and condos at lower elevations seemed to fare quite well. I visited a couple of condos that only had a picture or two that were crooked. Homes farther up the mountain exhibited more evidence that a major event had occurred and will require some repair of cracks in the plaster, damaged rock walls, and broken windows and mirrors, but overall, we are doing very well. All stores and restaurants are open and it’s business as usual. We all now have some stories to tell, and the major topic of conversation is to recount where we were and what we were doing when it hit. It has certainly reminded us all of nature’s power.

Manta Rays!

David and I have continued to dive almost every weekend and we have now earned our Advanced Open Water Diving Certificates. I believe the highlight of our diving so far has been the Manta Ray night dive, which is rated as one of the ten best in the world. The dive location is just off shore near the airport at Garden Eel Cove. Large lights are set up on the ocean floor at a depth of about 40 feet and are turned on as twilight falls. Once it is fully dark, the divers enter the water and sit on the bottom in a circle around the lights, much like you’d sit around a campfire. While we each hold lights and shine them upward, snorkelers on the surface hold lights pointing downward to create a large column of light. As plankton rolls in response to the light, the Manta Rays begin to follow in search of a hearty plankton meal.

On the night of our dive, 11 giant mantas with wingspans up to 18 feet appeared and began to swoop over our heads with their mouths wide open. It was an incredibly beautiful ballet and a surreal experience. After observing the mantas for an extended period, we swam off to look for eels and other marine life that prefer the nighttime environment to hunt. It was fascinating to watch their behavior. When it was time to return to the boat, we surfaced to a dark sky spread thick with brilliant stars and the Milky Way blazing its trail across the sky. The experience was one of those magical moments in life that I am very glad to have experienced.

Manta Ray

We did not take pictures on our night dive, but David took these on an afternoon dive earlier this week when we were visited by another Manta Ray cruising by. This one had been injured by fishing line about a month ago, but seems to be doing well now. Note the notch in the Manta’s right “wing”, or pectoral fin, and the left sided damage to the horn. Mantas are very gentle creatures, in spite of their size, which can range up to a 25 feet wingspan.

The Kuakini Highway project between Hualalai and Palani is being readied for the initial paving, much to everyone’s joy. The traffic gridlock will be eased and we will once again be able to venture out for lunch instead of cowering meekly in our offices in order to avoid the congestion.

Big Island Real Estate Market News

We are continuing to experience a slowing of the price increases we have experienced over the last 3 years, but the market remains very active. As prices in and around Kona have reached averages above the 600K mark, greater interest in the outlying subdivisions such as Waikoloa Village, Kona Paradise, Milolii, and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates is spurring price increases in those areas.

We do not foresee interest in obtaining Big Island property for investment or retirement abating in the near future. We truly have something very special here.

Summer Pictures – Time Marches On

With our family gathered for the first time in over a year, we celebrated our daughter’s graduation and met our oldest son’s sweetie. Now all are back to their lives and our daughter has officially left the nest… a very special summer that was full of endings and new beginnings.

Our Boys at the Green Sand Beach

Our Happy Graduate

“Bruce” the Baby Shark – Not a Member of the Family!