Hauoli Makahiki Hou to everyone. I hope that your holidays have been wonderful and that the new year will be filled with peace, happiness and good health for each of you.

Big Island Real Estate Market News
The winter season is now in full swing here in Kona and the real estate market is once again heating up after the typically slower months of November and December. We are seeing lots of new listings and many sales.

Prices continue to march upward here in West Hawaii, particularly in the under $1,000,000 brackets. The average 2/2 in Alii Lani is now listed for somewhere near 350K and the patio homes of the Pines are selling in the low to mid 400’s. Palisades homes are appearing on the market in the 500’s on up, as are homes in Komohana, Kilohana, Keauhou View Estates, Kailua View, and Kona Heights. Kona Vistas, Sunset, and Alii Heights listings are appearing in the 700’s and up. This has made it difficult for first time homebuyers to enter the market in and around Kona. The good news is that there are still some great interest rates and many innovative programs to help first-timers get started. Others who have been in the market have seen their equity jump, making this an excellent time to cash in on that and move up to the next level. Whether you are interested in buying for selling, give me a call to see how I can help you move in the direction you wish. I would love to work with you to make your dreams come true.

Jackie Rey’s Ohana Bistro

It is my pleasure to announce the opening of Jackie Rey’s Ohana Bistro in the Pottery Terrace Center. This great restaurant offers an excellent selection of fresh seafood, tasty sandwiches, steaks, and pupus. The menu features an interesting array of salads that are guaranteed to tempt the taste buds.

The restaurant’s casual style and open air dining provide that comfortable island atmosphere. Jackie Rey’s is open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Monday through Saturday. Saturday night is Latin music night after nine with Salsa dancing and instruction. It’s a fun place where you’ll feel right at home with good friends, good food, and great drinks. Give it a try and tell Paul you heard about it here!

Images from Ironman

They’re Off!

Kokua Workers keep a watchful eye on the swimmers as they spread out.

The leader amazes us with his time.

The finish line. Only 112 miles on the bike and a 26 mile run left! I must say I enjoyed watching from the water while enjoying my orange juice and muffins. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

Big Island Real Estate Market News

September is traditionally our slowest month in real estate; the families have returned home for the school year and our winter visitors have not yet grown tired of the colder climates. October heats up again with the return of visitors to watch or participate in the Ironman.

Interest rates have remained low in spite of the recent rate hikes, and prices, while continuing to rise, are not increasing as rapidly as we saw in the last six months. There are some very nice homes available in the range from 400K to 900K. We are still seeing homes at the lower end of that range snapped up in record time and often receiving multiple offers.

Homes in the popular Palisades neighborhood are now running from the high 400’s to the mid 600’s. Waikoloa Village is following along with homes from the high 300’s to the high 600’s. Kahakai homes are now running from the 600’s on up to the mid 800’s. Kona Vistas, Komohana, and Kilohana prices average from the 700’s to around 900K. Other neighborhoods have jumped as well. If you were lucky enough to have purchased a home at least a year ago, you have seen a very substantial growth in your equity.

Beach Sixty-Nine

This great beach is located off of mile marker 69 of the Queen K as it runs up the Kohala Coast. The charm lies in its undeveloped and natural appearance. Scattered groves of trees give welcome shade and there is plenty of white sand for sunning. The trees promote a feeling of privacy, allowing one to feel they have found their own little bit of paradise even when there are many other beachgoers present. The ocean is a beautiful turquoise with a sandy bottom. There are a few colorful fish near the rocks, but snorkeling was limited in the cove where we spent a couple of afternoons recently.

This is the only beach where dogs are allowed, so we took our two golden retrievers, Griffey and Ruby, to visit. It was their first time to see the ocean up close and personal. For Ruby, it was a bit too personal. She got her paws wet, but was unwilling to venture any farther out, preferring to sit in the shade on her towel and sample the picnic lunch. Griffey was more interested in adventure and charged right into the waves. Of course, he is never one to miss a picnic, so both dogs ended up spending more time relaxing on the sand than in the water. Another dog was actually surfing on a boogie board and a beautiful golden retriever was showing our dogs how it’s done when he repeatedly swam a good distance from shore to retrieve his special water toy.

Now when we are ready to go somewhere, both dogs are most anxious to join us in hope that another beach adventure (and picnic) are planned.

Griffey smiling at the beach.

Beach Sixty-Nine

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”.

Big Island Real Estate Market News

Home prices in and around Kona are continuing to climb. As of this week, there are only a handful of homes listed for under 400K. Condo prices have risen dramatically as well, so be prepared for sticker shock if you haven’t checked the prices in a few months. Curiously, this has not seemed to slow the market down as buyers are still making full price offers and sellers are receiving multiple offers on their homes. For this reason, it is a great time to list your home and cash in on the increased equity if you own in the West Hawaii area. Call me for a no-obligation comparative market analysis of your home. You may be pleasantly surprised to discover what your home could be worth in today’s market.

Vacation Rentals

For those of you planning an escape to Hawaii in the future, please keep in mind that Coldwell Banker Aloha Properties has a nice selection of rental condos and homes to make your stay in paradise relaxing and memorable. We have just added four new properties to our list and are continuing to expand. For more information, check out the Vacation Rental page on this site or give me a call. We are offering many special deals for the summer and early fall.

Memorial Day

Since we have lived in Kona, our family’s Memorial Day tradition has been to take a lei to the memorial at the site of Camp Tarawa, located just outside Waimea. Camp Tarawa was established in December of 1943 on 441 acres of the Parker Ranch when Second Division Marines who survived the bloody Battle of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands arrived. Parker Ranch had leased 40,000 acres of property to the U.S. Government for $1.00 per year for the establishment of a Marine Corps training facility. In honor of the returning Marines and those who fought but did not return, the camp was named Camp Tarawa.

Second Division marines trained relentlessly, practicing amphibious landings on the beaches and using the terrain of the islands to hone invasion techniques. The Second Division Marines shipped out in the spring of 1944 for Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa.

The Fifth Marine Division, including my dad, arrived in the fall of 1944 and trained until late December of that year. They left Camp Tarawa for Iwo Jima. In spite of the intense training, the Battle of Iwo Jima, which was expected to last 3 days, dragged on for 36 days. No one had anticipated the kind of fortifications in place on Iwo Jima that had to be overcome. More Marines died on Iwo Jima than in any other battle in the Pacific Theater.

Survivors of Iwo Jima returned to Camp Tarawa and were welcomed with open arms by the people of Waimea. The war was not over and training continued. The target this time was Japan itself. Instead, the war ended and the Fifth Marine Division was sent to occupy rather than invade Japan.

With the war over, Marines returned home and the camp was dismantled in 1946. All that remains to mark the spot where heroes walked is a small memorial and a wall that contains a poignant narrative of the story of Camp Tarawa and the men who trained there. Today’s first picture is a shot of the main entrance to the camp as it appears today. Only the surrounding hills and trees remain, but there is also the whisper of the past in the breeze if you listen carefully, and it never fails to move me to tears.

I had the unique opportunity to travel to Iwo Jima in March of 2001 on an anniversary tour hosted by the Marine Corps with Navy support. It was fascinating to see the beaches and fortifications. I had heard about Iwo Jima since I was little, so it meant a great deal to me to actually stand on the beach and look up at Mount Suribachi. It is peaceful there now, which is as it should be.

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all of our Veterans. Daddy, I’m proud of you.

Big Island Real Estate Market News

The market in and around Kona continues to be fast paced and is setting new price records in many neighborhoods. Sales of single family homes up to 600K and vacant land are particularly brisk as the winter tourist season begins to wind down. Buyers are often ready, willing and able to buy, but cannot find the right property due to decreased inventory and increasing list prices. This is frustrating to both the buyers and their agents. The lower interest rates have just fueled the fire; many buyers who put off buying last fall are now eager to proceed. We are doing our best to help them find properties that meet their needs and desires!

Winter Storms!

Hawaii has been the target of several strong storm systems over the past month. One strong system spawned winds that took the roofs off of several homes in South Kona and carved a swath of destruction through mac nut orchards and yards. Many trees were uprooted or sheared off and smaller farm buildings were destroyed. The National Weather Service has been investigating the damage to determine if it was caused by a small tornado, or simply high winds. Heavy rainfall along with power outages and flash flooding has been a weekly occurrence in some areas of the Big Island over the last few weeks along with high surf. It has certainly been an “interesting” weather pattern for the winter!

Having just returned from a sojourn in Boston, I can say without hesitation that our winter weather is much more pleasant than the snow and cold winds of New England. It snowed twice while we were there, but then that just made the chowder taste that much better!! Boston is a great town, but it was very nice to come back home, storms and all.

Whales

The annual migration of the humpback whales from Alaskan waters to the warm Hawaiian coastal waters has been somewhat disappointing this year. Many of us have noticed that spotting the whales from shore has been more difficult and the overall numbers seem to be down from the record numbers seen in recent years. One source explained that this year more of the whales favored the Baja coast than had done so in the past. It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

I was able to enjoy a spectacular show of breaching whales while at the public access area of North Beach at the Four Seasons Resort in late February. It was a beautiful day and the whales seemed to be enjoying it as much with their joyful play as the humans on shore. Watching whales is one of the special pleasures of living in Kona. I am always sad to see them depart in April, but perhaps the transient nature of their presence makes them that much more of a natural treasure.