Kona Kohala Blog

The stories of our demise are greatly exaggerated.  It's now 8:35am and all talk on both TV and the radio stations is of the impending tsunami.  Personally, I'm sitting on my lanai (194' above sea level) enjoying a cup of freshly brewed Kona coffee and an Opus X given to me by my wife for Valentine's Day.  Any wave that may arrive is scheduled for Hilo at 11:05am.

The first waves have already hit French Polynesia and amounted to a 6' rise in sea level.  Although that doesn't sound like much, for those living at the waters edge it can be devastating.  More on that at some time after 11:00am.  Right now, it's a beautiful calm sunny Kona morning.

The real estate market for west Hawaii, South Kohala and North Kona, seems to be picking up nicely.  Our year to date figures compared to 2009 are still down except for North Kona Single Family Residences (SFR's) which are showing an increase in both the number of sales and the median price.

In other areas, condos and land, the number of sales are picking up and keeping with a trend we've seen since mid 2009.  Median prices, which have continued to plummet at about 20% per year have begun to slow their descent and appear to be leveling off as demand continues to increase.

I doubt that the recession is over.  I suspect that prices have just gotten to the point that many people don't believe they will drop much further if at all.  There are some very good buying opportunities available right now.

I've been working in the Villages at Mauna Lani for the last week.  There are units there, one anyway, listed at $699K and more in the high $700's to high $800K's.  When these units were released for sale between 2001 and 2005, many were priced over the one million dollar mark.  The Villages are a Maryl project so you know the quality is there.  These units have such upgrades as Wolf appliances, Fisher-Paykel dishwashers, washers and dryers and Sub Zero refrigerators.  The finish work leaves nothing to be desired with mahogany trim and doors, beautiful tongue and groove mahogany ceilings plus tile and granite throughout.  You do not feel like you're in a condo here.  The three floor plans I've been looking at have 2,100 square feet, 2,558 square feet and 2,756 square feet of living space.  You will not feel cramped living here, even full time.  Call me at 808-896-0661 or email Robert@FerrariPacificRealty.com for more information.