Posts Tagged ‘Big Island’
Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Early this month local economist Paul Brewbakwe agreed with the Oahu real estate industry that property prices on that island are set to climb higher than the current median home sale price of $664,000. The highest median price on record was set at $685,000 in 2007. Depleted inventory and no new construction are driving the housing price spiral.
Then about two weeks ago it was reported that May 2012 median home sale prices on Maui set a record low. The Maui economy, like the other
neighbor island economies, is falling farther behind Oahu’s recovery. The good news is the neighbor islands will eventually follow Oahu. Here, West Hawaii, Big Island housing inventory continues to fall. Rising prices must follow if this continues. In neighborhoods along the Kona-Kohala Coast, custom home building has returned.
Tags: Big Island, Big Island Hawaii, Big Island Hawaii Real Estate, Diana Woods, Hawaii island, hawaii real estate market
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Condo sale prices on Hawaii’s Big Island have climbed higher in 2012 year to date. With the exception of January where prices decreased by 8.7%, Big Island condo sale prices increased in February 6.2%, March 55%, April 3.7% and in May 18.3%. The 2012 monthly unit sales were more uniform than last year, but with bad economic news continuing to come out of Europe, I fully expect U.S. consumer confidence to wane into the summer. That should trigger a fall in Big Island condo purchases, as the island is largely a second home market.
Tags: 2011, 2012, Big Island, condo sales, Hawaii, Mauna Kea Resort, unit sales
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Monday, June 11th, 2012
One of the many sweet and healthy treats grown in Hawaii, the Apple Banana, is a snack favorite with the keiki (children) of the area.
Here are a few things you may not have known about them!
Seasons/Availability
Apple bananas are available year round.
Current Facts
The banana plant is often erroneously referred to as a tree, rather it is a large herb with edible fruits. The herb successively produces fruit indefinitely without discrimination to seasons.
Tags: apple bananas, Big Island, Big Island Hawaii Real Estate, Diana Woods, Hawaii island, Homes For Sale, Luxury lifestyle, second home, Selling A Home
Posted in About the Big Island | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Neighborhood Profile
Most weekday mornings I can be found at my desk in the beautiful Mauna Kea Resort working away. When hotel guests stop by to say hello and talk real estate, they are typically surprised to find two bedroom condos, some on the fairway, all with ocean views, well under $1M. Today the asking prices for those Kumulani condos start at $550,000. Located within Mauna Kea Resort, Kumulani is an amazing value for tennis, golf and beach buffs.
Tags: association, beach, Big Island, condos, golf, Hawaii, homes, Kumulani, Mauna Kea Resort, ocean view, single family, Sunset Ridge, tennis, Village, waikoloa beach resort, Waikoloa Village
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Before heading up to the Keck Observatory telescopes, visitors are required to spend an hour at the 9,000 foot level. This helps identify folks who are going to have trouble at almost 14,000 feet, and it allows the rest of us time to acclimatize to less oxygen. After arriving at the Keck staff facility a few miles above the Big Island’s saddle road, we drank liquids, wandered around, visited with each other, and then we settled in for the telescope open house introduction and safety talk.
Tags: "Keck Observatory", "Taft Armandroff", Big Island, telescopes, video
Posted in A Day in the Life | No Comments »
Sunday, July 24th, 2011
Today I visited the summit of Mauna Kea courtesy of the Keck Observatory. It was the 2011 Keck Open House and I was fortunate enough to be invited by friend and Keck astronomer Julien Woillez. Julien is an interferometer scientist working on a project coordinating both Keck I and Keck II telescopes to create a virtual 85 millimeter telescope. Wow!
Tags: "julien woillez, "mauna kea", 2011, Big Island, interferometer, kamuela, keck, obsevatory, scientest, telescopes, video, waimea
Posted in A Day in the Life | No Comments »
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtor’s Chief Economist, said last month that homes sales will rise this year. Well, those of us familiar with Kona and Kohala Coast real estate here on the Big Island took this as old news. Real estate isn’t just local, these days it is hyper-local. What’s happening in Puna is completely different than what’s happening in South Kohala. When I talk to mainland residents looking to buy a vacation home, they often incorrectly assume what’s happening in their local market is what’s happening in our market.
Tags: Big Island, condo, Kohala Coast, Kona, Lawrene Yun, Real Estate, sales, South Kohala
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
Through 2010 I felt like West Hawaii condo sales were bumping along the bottom here on the Big Island. Once we got through December, I predicted a faily flat trend line once I fed all the quarterly data into Excel. It turns out the South Kohala condo unit sales were trending slightly upward, and the North Kona condo sales were trending slightly downward.

Tags: 2010, Alii Cove, Alii Lani, Big Island, condo sales, Halii Kai, median sales price, North Kona condo, South Kohala condo, Waikoloa Beach Villas, west hawaii
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
This morning I was looking for a condo for sale in Mauna Lani Resort. I stumbled upon something very interesting in the beautiful Ka Milo neighborhood: a one quarter share ownership opportunity for only $175,000 plus one quarter of the monthly dues. Increasingly popular on the mainland, fractional ownership listings began to appear on the Big Island when the prices were going through the roof in 2006.
Tags: Big Island, fractional, Ka Milo, mauna lani resort
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Part 4 of 4
Investors are entering deeply discounted real estate markets. According to Dr Yun, Las Vegas is experiencing an influx of investors. Since Las Vegas is the nadir of the US housing market drop, this is good news. Refreshingly deep pink firewood blosooms are first to return to a blackened northern forest after a devastating fire. While investors better resemble civil war carpet baggers more than fireweed, their effect is the same. They are the first to venture in, and they provide foundation for future growth.
Tags: Big Island, Kona, Real Estate, west hawaii
Posted in Big Island Hawaii Real Estate | No Comments »