Kona Kohala Blog

Pele is back but more passively than with a vengence.  Pu'u O'o crater continues to slowly fill with lava but most of the activity is in fissure eruptions along the south east flank.  We don't have a lot of VOG so far but the air and view are noticeably different.

On the real estate front, things continue to move along much like the lave at Kilauea, slowly.  As of today, the number of sales of Single Family Residences (SFR's) in North Kona are down 19.42% year to date.  Condos are down 42.91%.  In South Kohala, SFR's are down 33.01% and condos are down 38.82%.

Median price is down in North Kona but up in South Kohala.  North Kona is down 7.07% for SFR's and 8.66% for condos, year to date.  In South Kohala, SFR prices are up 3.48% and condos prices are up a whopping 25.72%.  South Kohala increases are due to the sales of higher end properties in the Kukio, Hualalai and Waikoloa Beach Resort areas where activity continues to be brisk.

North Kona has 392 active SFR listings and 55 homes in escrow.  There are 380 condos for sale and only 36 of those in escrow.  In South Kohala, excluding Waikoloa Village, there are 150 SFR's for sale and 38 in escrow.  Condos in South Kohala have 252 active listings with 20 in escrow.  In Waikoloa Village there are 44 SFR's for sale with 5 in escrow; 46 condos for sale with 8 in escrow.

With nothing of any consequence happening in the financial world and interest rates staying about where they are for the rest of the year, now is a good time to consider buying into the Hawaii market.  Prices will probably continue to come down a little bit at a time for a while longer.  Still, if you're buying as a long term investment, 5 to 10 years, trying to time the market may be a mistake.  As interest rates bounce around you may find that waiting for the "lowest" price may cost you in additional dollars on a mortgage payment if interest rates bounce up at about the time you're going to close. 

For more detailed information about West Hawaii real estate you can subscribe to our free weekly Aloha Friday newsletter.  Email me through this site or at Ferrari.RealEstate@gmail.com.  aloha