Hawaii Kai Real Estate Market Report for January, 2010

The real estate market in Hawaii Kai is showing signs of life and renewal - inventory has risen, and sales numbers have improved.

Hawaii Kai Condos
15 sales closed, the lowest $360,000 for a 1/1 in the Mauna Luan, the highest, $738,000 for a 3/2.5 for a waterfront unit in Peninsula II.

This compares to January, 2009, when 10 homes sold, with a low of $300,000 for a 1/1 in Naniwa Gardens, and a high of $655,000 in Moana Kai, sold prior to listing.

For the last 6 months, 107 condos sold, with a low price of $225,000 for a Fee Available home in Koko Isle, and a high of $875,000 in Peninsula I.

East Oahu had the highest gain island-wide in number of condo sales over last year, 71.4%, and the median price rose to $445,000 from $434,500 last year.

Single Family Homes in Hawaii Kai
10 sales closed, the lowest $704,000 in Mariners Valley, and the highest, $1,225,000 in Triangle.This compares to January, 2009, when 8 homes sold, with a low of $637,000 in Kamiloiki to a high of $1,000,000 in Triangle.

For the last 6 months, 106 homes sold, with a low price of $515,000 in Kalama Valley and a high of $2,500,000 in Triangle.

It is hard to read much into statistical events with only 15 or 10 units, but I know personally that Realtors are busier and the phone is ringing again. There are currently 80 active single family listings and 41 active condo listings.

East Oahu sales rose 30.4% over January, 2009, and the median price declined to $619,500 from $655,000.

On Oahu overall, 162 single family homes sold, a gain of 32.8% over 2009. Median prices rose to $597,500 from $539,500, and average sales prices decreased to $700,082 from $731,000.

227 condos sold, a gain of 42.8% over last year. Median sales prices fell to $299,000 from $305,000 last year, and average sales prices also decreased slightly, to $340,433 from $354,542.

The Hawaii Ka real estate market is more active since the first of the year, as is the island in general. Search homes for sale in any Oahu area on my web site, and contact me for a detailed analysis of real estate sales in any Hawaii Kai community.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
http://www.barbarashawaii.com/

Heiau in Hawaii Kai

Pahua heiau, at the end of Makahuena Place, offers some evidence that this area may once have been a center of fishing and agriculture in what is now Hawaii Kai. The structure, estimated to be about 600 years old, is thought to have been an agricultural heiau or fishing shrine used by ancient Hawaiians planting sweet potatoes and dryland kalo (taro) or harvesting from fishponds that once lined the coast.

Pahua heiau sits on land gifted to OHA (Office of Hawaiian Affairs) by Kamehameha Schools in 1988. The heiau was partially restored by the Outdoor Circle in the mid-1980s, but remains relatively obscure to any but Hawaiian cultural practitioners and hikers, who reference the heiau as the starting landmark of the Kamiloiki Ridge Trail.

OHA conservation land manager Kevin Chang believes that the site can be a vehicle for community dialogue about sustainable land use and stewardship over a culturally significant resource. Chang applied for, and received, a $10,000 national conservation grant from Audubon and Toyota. This TogetherGreen Fellowship is meant to engage local residents in conservation and environmental health practices at the community level.

"Among OHA's goals for real estate is this idea of bridging the ancient use of land with future land use patterns," said Jonathan Scheuer, land management director for OHA. "As Hawai'i continues to change and develop, we want to do so in a way that the historic presence of Hawaiians is not obliterated from the landscape."

Chang is using the resources of OHA to assess the full historical relevance of Pahua heiau and the best way to revive the site's cultural significance within the surrounding community. "I'm going about it slowly. We want to be good neighbors and also culturally appropriate," said Chang. "It's balancing the past and the present and also breathing life into something we tend to see as only existing in the past."

Hawaii Kai is truly a special place. Request my free Relocation Guide and contact me about becoming a resident of our East Oahu paradise.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
www.movetohawaiikai.com

(resource: Honolulu Advertiser)

Green Magazine in Hawaii Kai

I've been offered the opportunity to be the only Oahu advertiser in the Green Magazine, a new publication with news on becoming eco-friendly, and living a green lifestyle. I really believe in protecting the beautiful resources we have in Hawaii Kai, and throughout the state of Hawaii, and in becoming commited concerned citizens.

Green Magazine will be distributed free at super markets and high traffic locations throughout Oahu, and is a free bi-monthly publication. There are hundreds of celebrities who support the eco lifestyle and they will feature their stories. They include articles on what you can do today to be eco-friendly, a kid’s corner, eco news from around the world and eco-friendly products.

One of the most popular features in the publication is the $500 Give-A-Way. Contest entrants must submit the name of each advertiser, and the number of times that they appear in the publication to qualify to win.

Look for me in their first Hawaii issue, and contact me with questions you have on the Greening of Hawaii.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
http://www.barbarashawaii.com/

Energy Savings for Hawaii Kai Homes

The State of Hawaii has a mail-in rebate program to help residents replace older, inefficient appliances with ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances.

The program, to be run through Hawaii’s utilities, is tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2010, and will continue until funds are depleted. Eligible products include only refrigerators at this time. Residents must include both the new appliance sales receipt and proof that the replaced products were removed and recycled.

More than 70% of the energy used in our homes is for appliances, refrigeration, space heating, cooling, and water heating. Replacing old appliances and equipment with those that are ENERGY STAR® labeled can help Hawaii Kai families save significantly on their utility bills.

Read more on energy efficiency at Energy Savers.gov. There are many ways to save. For instance:

The Energy-Efficient Mortgage Program is one of many Federal Housing Authority programs that insure mortgage loans to encourage lenders to make mortgage credit available to borrowers, such as first-time homebuyers, who would not otherwise qualify for conventional loans on affordable terms.

Energy efficient homes may qualify for mortgages that take into account a home's efficiency. Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) provides information on home energy rating systems, energy efficient mortgages, and finding certified energy raters and lenders who know how to process energy efficiency mortgages.

2 more informative sites: Refinancing for Energy-Efficiency Improvements, an overview of refinancing to make energy efficiency improvements, from the Alliance to Save Energy, and Financing an Energy Efficient Home, with an overview of energy-efficient financing programs from mortgages to home improvement loans.

Start with an Energy Audit of your home and learn how to save money and live Greener, benefiting our Hawaii Kai environment.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
www.barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/

Roy's Restaurant, Hawaii Kai, Wins Best Restaurant of the Year

Roy's Restaurant in Hawaii Kai has won the prestigious Hale Aina Award of Honolulu Magazine for Restaurant of the Year. Previously, they had won the award in 1995, 2002, and 2004. They also won Hale Aina honors for Best Dessert, gold level; bronze-level awards for Best Place to Take Visitors, Best Outdoor Dining and Best Seafood; and becoming a finalist for Best Service, Best Value and Best Wine Program.

As reported by Honolulu Magazine, “'People are looking to us to do great things in food and service and our job is not to meet that expectation, but to exceed it,' said founder Roy Yamaguchi. Chef Yamaguchi balances the Roy’s Classics, dishes that people would be crestfallen if he were to remove from his menu—baby back pork ribs, misoyaki butterfish, blackened ahi—with exciting new dishes for the regulars, the 'guests we have who come in once a week, twice a week.'”

It’s been 21 years since Yamaguchi started Roy’s. “That’s one of the reasons I picked Hawaii Kai. I wanted it to be a community restaurant, part of something. We’ve seen children who came in here growing up; some are now married and have their own kids. They’re taking their parents for dinner here, instead of their parents taking them. It’s the greatest thing you can ever experience in a restaurant.”

There are now 34 Roy’s restaurants, six of them in Hawaii, but Yamaguchi obviously has a special place in his heart for the original location. “He’s here a lot,” says his executive chef, Ronald Nasuti. “He’s in the kitchen, trying new things. We want to keep our cuisine as cutting-edge as possible and, at the same time, always cater to the people of Hawaii.”

Roy's is one of our really outstanding restaurants on the island, and you can enjoy his fusion cuisine and service right here in Hawaii Kai. They are located in our building, almost directly upstairs, so come by and say "hi" on your way to pupus or dinner at Roy's.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-396-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
http://www.movetohawaiikai.com/
http://www.barbarashawaii.com/

Hawaii Kai Locations Need Volunteers for Whale Census

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking volunteers to help with its annual count of humpback whales. The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary lies within the shallow warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands and constitutes one of the world's most important humpback whale habitats. Through education, research, and resource protection activities, the sanctuary strives to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai`i.

Volunteers will count humpback whales around the islands over a four-hour period and record their behavior. This year, the Sanctuary Ocean Count will be conducted at more than 60 different shore sites around O'ahu, Kaua'i, and the Big Island.

Counts will be held on the last Saturday of January, February, and March, from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. For O'ahu, call 397-2651 ext. 253. Online registration for the islands of Hawai'i and O'ahu is available at http://www.sanctuaryoceancount.org/.

Locations in Hawaii Kai include Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail, Halona Blowhole, and Palea Point in Hanauma Bay.

Visit Hawaii Humpback Whale at NOAA to learn more.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com

Organic Beer comes to Hawaii Kai

Kona Brewing Company is set to tap up Oceanic Organic Saison, Hawaii’s first certified organic beer. The brewery received organic certification for the beer from Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) and brewed it last month. The beer will be served on tap at Kona Brewing Company’s two pubs in Kailua-Kona and Hawaii Kai and at a few select Hawaii restaurants locations, by early January. Soon after, the beer will be available in 22-ounce bottles.

“We are ecstatic to be brewing the first certified organic beer in the state of Hawaii,” said president and CEO Mattson Davis. “We strive to be environmentally conscious in all that we do – from serving locally grown organic produce whenever possible to feeding Big Island cattle the spent grain from our brewing process. We’re proud that both our pubs recently became Certified Green Restaurants by the Green Restaurant Association. We have improved our efficiencies here in Hawaii and beyond in order to minimize our carbon footprint.”

According to the press release, Oceanic Organic Saison is a Belgian-style ale that was brewed with all organic malt, fermented with a custom blend of Belgian yeast strains and spiced with an abundance of organic hops, organic coriander and grains of paradise. The straw-colored unfiltered beer has a crisp, dry, quenching flavor and distinctive spicy aroma with notes of lemon peel, clove, white pepper, coriander and fresh hops complemented by pleasant cellar-like notes. The complex aroma is balanced by rustic hop flavor.

Kona Brewing Company chose to obtain its certification through HOFA, thereby supporting a local nonprofit organization and keeping business in Hawaii. HOFA is accredited by the USDA National Organic Program to certify organic crop, livestock and processing / handling operations. It is the only accredited organic certification agency based in Hawaii. Brewing this organic beer is roughly six times more expensive than most of Kona Brewing Company’s more conventional beers, which are already approximately 50 percent more expensive to brew in Hawaii than on the mainland.

The beer ompany was started in the spring of 1994 by a father and son team who had a dream to create fresh, local island brews made with spirit, passion and quality. It is a Hawaii-born and Hawaii-based craft brewery that prides itself on brewing the freshest beer of exceptional quality, closest to market. This helps to minimize its carbon footprint by reducing shipping of raw materials, finished beer and wasteful packaging materials.

The Kona Brewing Company pub in Hawaii Kai is a very popular local gathering place. Stop by next year and try the new beer, and look around at our real estate buying opportunities while you visit Hawaii Kai. Contact me when you are ready to preview properties or want information on Hawaii Kai homes for sale.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
808-226-2537
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
www.barbara@barbarashawaii.com

www.movetohawaiikai.com


(resource: press release, Hawaii 24/7)