1679 Kelaukia Street at the Lanai Villas At Poipu Kai

I just listed a fabulous new home in the Lanai Villas subdivision at the Poipu Kai Resort here in Poipu.  This home has an incredible open, light and functional floor plan consisting of two master suites and a loft area.  The top floor master suite is plantation in style and has a screened in porch area.  This home is over 1,700 square feet on a 6,000 square foot lot in a neighborhood that allows for vacation rentals.  This fee simple home comes partially furnished and the price is $935,000.  For a video tour of this home click on this link www.1679Poipu.com

Last week we saw a continuation of a good number of properties going under contract.  New listings ranged from a $24 Million Dollar estate in Hanalei to a Kauai Beach Resort studio at $45,000.  For a complete list of what sold, what went into escrow and what came on the market Kauai Sales January 30, 2012

Hawaiian Airlines Goes To The Big Apple

On Monday Hawaiian Airliens announced their partnership with JetBlue.  They are sharing Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport with JetBlue and are also codesharing with the airline as well and an agreement is in place for passengers to collect frequent flyer miles on both airlines.  Additionally passengers will now be able to fly both airlines on a single ticket.

Passengers flying between Honolulu and New York can begin connecting through Los Angeles International Airport immediately, and once Hawaiian’s JFK service starts, they can connect to cities up and down the East Coast on JetBlue.

A big celebration was done at JFK International with Hula dancers and an exchange of model plans by JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines.

Blockbuster In Lihue To Close

Our last video store is closing here on Kauai.  Blockbuster at Kukui Grove Center had hoped to hold on after it closed its Kapaa store, the thought was that they would get the overflow but that did not turn out to be the case, it was too far for people to drive.

Blockbuster, once a leader in the home movie viewing trend, is having to adjust to the competition from Netflix, Red Box Kiosks, Direct TV Movie viewing etc.  They now have a strong online presence and had made the decision earlier this month to cut 900 stores nationwide that were not profitable.  Lihue being one of them.

The liquidation sale will begin sometime after February 1, 2012.

Mokulele Airlines To Start Chicago and London Flights

Honolulu based Mokulele Airlines will begin flying weekly charter flights this April to Chicago and will start flying to London in May.  They just got their approval to do so from the US Department of Transportation.  The flights will be done by Charter World Solutions and will be conducted as Mokulele Airlines.

For these flights Mokulele plans to lease a Boeing 767-200ER.

First Hawaiian Bank Employee Embezzles $2.6 Million

A First Hawaiian Bank branch manager and personal banking officer plead guilty to Federal charges of embezzlement.  The former manager had been an employee for 29 years and during that time had created 56 fictitious accounts where she withdrew money and used proceeds from recently opened accounts to pay balances due on earlier accounts.  Using her position at the bank to cover her actions she kept track of her accounts and paid them before they became delinquent.

The employee repaid the bank more than $2 million our of the $2.68 million, plus fees and interest, before the bank caught on to what was happening.  She repaid an additional $609,450 before the federal authorities began their investigation.  She could face up to 30 years in prison and up to 1 million in fines on June 4th, 2012 when she is sentenced.

The Hawaii Association of Realtors provided some very interesting statewide data.  You might not know this but we do not have a statewide MLS system.  The system that Kauai has is the same as the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui has their own as does Oahu.  So this statewide data was very interesting and I’ll include some of it in my blog.

For the year 2011 the Median Price by island was collected for condominiums and houses.  Median Price means half of the prices are higher and half of the prices are lower than the given price.  Island by island it’s a surprise to see that Kauai is number one in Median Price for Condominiums and number two on Median Price for homes.

The we have the charts for the single family home sales and condominium sales for the entire state.  As I had reported in Kauai year end real estate data showed that 2011 showed the buying trend established in 2010 continued and strengthened.  Statewide we see the same trend.

Here on Kauai we had another even week for properties that went into escrow, sold and came on the market.  For a complete list  CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Hawaii Condominium Sales 2008 to 2011

Hawaii Statewide Housing Sales 2008 to 2011

Oahu Developer Offers Hope For Koloa Camp Residents

An Oahu developer, with a history of community service work, is stepping in with a solution for the Koloa Camp controversy. Grove Farm sent eviction notices last November to residents of Koloa Camp (see my blog posting Koloa Camp ) so they could start development on a 50 modular homes. Grove Farm did offer the residents first rights to purchase their property but it was at a price that most residents, like 82-year-old Catherine Fernandez, can’t afford.

Peter Savio, president of Hawaiian Island Homes talked to residents on Thursday night offering a “win-win” solution. Mirroring what he did for residents of Poamoho Camp on Oahu when they were faced with an eviction from Del Monte, Savio proposed the same approach at a local meeting. Poamoho was “something really different,” he said. His company bought the land, he said, did the condo conversion (to subdivide), then sold parcels to the renters at cost. His vision for Koloa Camp is the same.
If his company were to purchase the 12 acres at Koloa Camp, he said he would likely do a 33-lot condo conversion. New home development would be possible on vacant parcels, but only plantation-style homes would be allowed to ensure preservation of the historic community.
“We should be willing to buy the land from the owner at appraised value,” he said. “It’s not fair to expect a company to give up value to fulfill a special project.” Savio also reported the Grove Farm is “willing to talk”.

The next meeting is January 26th and in attendance will be Mayor Bernard Carvalho.

U.S. Post Office Issues Aloha Shirt Stamps

Last Thursday the iconic Aloha Shirt was immortalized by the U.S. Postal service at the issuance of their new stamp.

Being set at the postcard rate the stamps depicted five classic shirts; surfers on their boards, fossil fish, shells and sea starts, Kilauea Volcano and Bird of Paradise. Carl Herrman designed the stamps using photos by Ric No

Will and Lynda Gill attend the Elton John concert with Kauai locals Steve and Mona Hanley and 6,000 of their closest friends

Last weekend my husband and I went with a couple of other Poipu Beach locals to the Elton John concert along with 6,000 other rabid fans, this is why the blog took a hiatus.  The concert was a blast and Elton John at 64 years old seems unstoppable.  He played for 2 1/2 hours at the Blaisdale Arena, his first show on Friday night sold out and we were fortunate to get tickets for the extra night that was added.  I did not see one empty seat.  We made a mini vacation out of it and did some serious eating at some great Oahu restaurants.  Shopping too!

Sales were excellent this last week.  Here at the Kiahuna Plantation (LH) we had a foreclosure go under contract.  This is an oceanview

Kiahuna Plantation (LH) #207 Bank Owned 2 Bedroom 2 Bath Oceanview Listed at $425,000 IN ESCROW

2 bedroom 2 bath for $425,000.  Super bargain and it got snapped up quickly.  For the rest of the island we had just about as many properties go under contract as we did come on the market, on top of that we had 10 properties that closed escrow.  Busy, busy, busy real estate week.   Here is an excel spreadsheet giving you the details CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SPREADSHEET

Hawaii Foreclosure Drop 50% In 2011

Statewide, a total of 6,012 homes, or about 1.2 percent of all housing units, were in some stage of the foreclosure process in 2011.  That amounts to one in every 86 housing units which is a 52 percent drop from 2010, and a 33 percent decline from 2009.
Nationally, the number of foreclosure filings fell 34 percent from 2010, and 33 percent from 2009.
Attributing to this huge decline is the fact that lenders are grappling with Act 48, a state law that changed the way they could file nonjudicial foreclosures which was enacted last May.
Here are the islands foreclosure numbers listed in order of the foreclosure numbers verses their housing supply; The Big Island was the highest in our state with 1,840 properties which is one in every 44 housing units and 2.3 of their housing.  Maui was the second highest with 1,307 foreclosures which account for 2% of their housing market, Kauai number three with 424 homes which is 1.4% of our housing market and Oahu was last with 2,441 properties and that’s 0.72% of their housing units.

Airline Seat Capacity Forecast To Grow By 3.8%
Hawaii Tourism Authority projected a 3.8% gain in airline seat capacity for the first quarter of 2012 compared to 2011′s first quarter.  Most of the travelers are expected to come from the West Coast, Asia and Australia.
Where are they going to?  The neighbor islands.  Who is the big neighbor island winner?  Kauai.  Oahu is only expected to grow by less than 1%.  Kauai is forecast to see the greatest increase, with air-seat capacity to Lihue projected to increase by 25.8 percent, in part because of the addition of direct service from the California cities of Oakland and San Jose. Maui’s Kahului Airport is expected to see an increase of 5.8 percent more air seats, while the Big Island’s Kona Airport is expected to see a 4.4 percent increase in air-seat capacity.
Visitors from Japan are projected to increase by 5.2% and Canada a whopping 28.2%  The Korean market is forecasted to grow due to new flights with Asiana Airlines, Korean Air and Hawaiian Airlines.  Air Australia will add 18 flights between Honolulu and Brisbane and Melbourne.  Jetstar and Hawaiian are also increasing their Australia flights.

Hawaiian Airlines Adds Hawaii Hub And More Interisland Flights

This news is a direct reflection on the increasing tourism that we are experiencing.  It was announced last week that Hawaiian Airlines is creating a second Hawaii hub in Kahului to improve connections between Maui and the West Coast as well as the other Neighbor Islands.

23 to 25 new interisland flights will be added and this new hub will accommodate about half of those.  Also, starting this June, Hawaiian Airlines is going to restart their Maui to Los Angeles flight.  The airline has acquired 3 new Boeing 717-200 aircraft for the new flights.

Double Rainbow On Kukui'ula Bypass Road

I have reviewed the real estate data for 2011 and have our “2011 Report Card” below.  First a little update on our island; The weather here is OUTSTANDING!  For a week plus we had some winds that were pretty strong and just did not go away.  But now they have passed and we have glorious weather.  The Grand Hyatt is reporting 99% occupancy and I know at the Kiahuna Plantation occupancy is high as well.  While on a walk with a girlfriend I saw a double rainbow!  I took a video of it with my phone and it came out perfect!  New Years night was gorgeous with the weather co-operating and all of the shows (I read) went off without a hitch.  I confess we were asleep by 9:30, we like to celebrate New Years on New York time which is 7 pm and then go to bed.

Kauai 2011 Real Estate Report Card-Where We Are At Now

2011 has ended and lets look at our island Real Estate “Report Card.  We are heading into 2012 with 2011 being a solid year of sustained recovery.  If we move at the continued pace we will see 1) Prices firming up 2) Different subdivisions, condo projects and price points of our market that have not shown recovery start to recover and 3) Continued growth in the areas that gained strength in 2011.  The information that I will list is intended to be an overview as its space prohibitive to give you an in depth review of every area of Kauai.  What area do you want to know about?  Contact me for that information at 808-346-0056 or send an email.

To get a broad picture of where we were and where we are lets look at the data from our MLS system.  Island wide in 2009 we had a total of 504 sales, in 2010 727 sales, in 2011 760 sales.

Residential:

Residential sales 2009 262, 2010 362 and 2011 360.  Median Price Residential in 2009 $470,000, 2010 $500,000 and 2011 $455,000.  The foreclosures and dramatic price drops in our North Shore multi million dollar properties being the main driving force for this.  Here we see by the numbers sustained buying for Residential Homes at bargain prices.  The lack of foreclosures coming on our market in 2012 per our new law I suspect will greatly effect pricing.

Condominium:

Sales in 2009 161, 2010 245 and 2011 290.  Here we see sustained 18.37% growth in buying.  Condominium Median Price in 2009 $330,000 in 2010 $270,000 and 2011 $227,000.  Here we see the foreclosures and short sales have done their work and Buyers are taking advantage of the low prices.

But for you looking at resort areas read on!

Buyers will look at our market in this broad overview and its the agents job to educate them on their area of choice and what a dramatic difference that can be.  Example; here in Poipu our condo sales went from 46 in 2010 to 64 in 2011 and the Median Price went up from $384,950 in 2009 to $460,000 in 2011!!!!  Residential Median price went from $473,500 in 2010 to $512,500 in 2011.  North shore also had the same kind of numbers; Residential Median Price in 2010 was $680,000 and $756,000 in 2011.  Condos on the North Shore saw Median Prices in a holding pattern; $350,000 in 2010 and $354,000 in 2011.

Last Week’s Kauai Real Estate Sales

Here are the sales for last week.  What will not show up here is a gorgeous 1 bedroom that I just listed at the Kiahuna Plantation (LH).  This unit has had extensive upgrades and is close to everything!  Listed at $225,000 it is priced to sell.  To take a video tour of this unit   Click Here For Video Tour of Kiahuna Plantation #237

For a list of what went into escrow, closed escrow and came on the market last week  CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Last week was really quiet on the real estate front.  We had very few closings and about double that amount on new escrows.  The number of new listings was pretty standard.

My real estate news is I have a new listing at the Kiahuna Plantation (LH) right here in beautiful sunny Poipu.  This one bedroom one bath ground floor garden view unit has had some nice upgrades and is completely turnkey.  Kiahuna Plantation is the only resort on the south shore that’s on a swimming beach and is a favorite for travelers for decades.  On site restaurant, 24 hour security and front desk, in room safes, on site concierge, pool and tennis are just some of the amenities.  You can take a video tour of this unit by clicking here…. Kiahuna Plantation #321 Video Tour

For a list of what came on the market, went into escrow and sold island wide last week CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Mystery Santa Visits K-Mart Pays Off Layaway Accounts

About 12 different layaway accounts have been paid off by a “mystery Santa” at the K-Mart in Lihue.  K-Mart allows customers to put items on layaway for Christmas presents but some folks have been told that they are all paid up!  About $2,000 dollars worth so far.  One of the mystery Santa’s was a couple vacationing from Sonoma California.

In Oahu at a K-Mart one man paid $3,000 in layaway purchases and was handing out $100 dollar bills to customers throughout the store.

Who are the Santa’s?  Don’t know.  They all asked to remain anonymous.

Movie Review!  The Descendants

The Descendants opened last week here on Kauai and my husband and I went with a friend on opening night.  A part of the movie was filmed on the North Shore and of course we all knew when it was being filmed over here so I was anxious to see the film.  I give this movie two enthusiastic thumbs up and I’d guess by the reaction of the other people in the theatre that they would too.  The story line is relevant and the character development is genius.  A friend of mine that saw the show with us and is a long time resident put it perfectly, I thought.  She said the movie really gets across the vibe of what its like to live over here.  I couldn’t agree more.

Kauai Budget Shortfall Possibility Looms Ahead

It made the Pacific Business news that the county of Kauai had more than $68 million in the bank on July 1, 2010 but a year later that amount was down to $57 million.  The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was presented on December 15, 2011 which was the council’s last meeting for this year.  It was project by one of the council members that should the spending continue there will be a $2.64 budget shortage for next year.

Where does our money go?  $23.38 for reserves, $12.31 million in transfers from the general fund to other funds, $9.99 million in operating projections, $5.41 million in committed encumbrances, $4.04 million in debt service, $3.74 million in self-insurance, $490,000 in landfill closure funding, $396,436 in the public access fund, $126,000 in capital improvement projects.

Hawaiian Airlines Expands Its Service Between Honolulu and Seoul

On July 16 Hawaiian Airlines will increase its service route between Honolulu and Seoul to a daily service.  Currently its flying 4 times a week since it started the route last January.

The boost to daily service means Hawaiian will fly more than 96,000 total air seats a year between Seoul and Honolulu.

“Offering daily flights between Seoul and Honolulu has always been part of our growth plan,” Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley said in a statement. “Demand among Korean travelers to vacation in Hawaii and for Hawaiian Airlines as a preferred carrier has been steadily building this past year, and we are delighted to be expanding our service next July.”

In Related News….Hawaiian Airlines Offer Kamaiiana Not So Discounted Coupon Book

Hawaiian Airlines announced a coupon book for travel between islands.  I was pretty excited to hear about it, I had heard that they had these in the past but had never seen one offered.  I was not too impressed and not many other people are either.  Now they are offering a series of four fare packages from 60 unrestricted on-way tickets that can be used over 12 months for $4,588 ($76.47 a ticket) or four restricted roundtrip tickets for $512 which is about $64 each way (with restrictions).

You don’t have to live here to buy the coupon book but you do have to have a Hawaiian Airlines Frequent Flyer Account.  These coupons are also non-transferable which is another difference from the coupons of days gone by.

The general feeling is that you can pretty much accomplish this online with careful planning and not have the time restriction hanging over your head.  So all in all it’s not the coupon book that locals love from 15 years ago.

Foreclosure filings for Hawaii fell 27.4% in November compared to November 2010.  We are currently at 1 out of 809 filings for every housing unit.  In November of 2010 it was 1 out of every 877.  This is the continued fall out from the new State law that makes it harder for banks to foreclose on properties outside of the judicial system.  For more detailed information see my blog posting Hawaii Foreclosure Deal Changer

Here is the breakdown for November for foreclosures island by island

• Kauai Island 39 Foreclosures 1 in every 772 housing units
• Oahu Island 272 Foreclosures 1 in every 1,243 housing units
• Maui Island 140 Foreclosures 1 in every 476 housing units
• Hawaii Island 186 Foreclosures 1 in every 434 housing units

Sales, New Escrows and New Listings were about cut into 3 same size slices.  For a complete list CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Koloa Camp Residents Given Eviction Notices

Eight tenants make up a 100 year old sugar plantation camp known as Koloa Camp.  This land is owned by Grove Farm Co. and on November 8^th they gave all 8 tenants a 120 notice to vacate.  Grove Farm plans to redevelop the land to include 50 modular homes and 30% of those will be affordable homes.  Prices will start at $375,000 to $440,000 for 2 bedrooms 2 bath homes ranging from 800 square feet to 1,200.  At this time Grove Farm does not have building permits nor have they applied for any as of yet.  There is also no start date.  If you are wondering where this is located here is a map, its below Anne Knudson Park and above Koloa Town.

Koloa Camp tenants are not happy about any of this.  They will be given the first right to buy however this does a lot of them little good since a lot of current residents they say might not be able to afford to buy a home.  They feel this is the last of the plantation camps and should be preserved and not redeveloped.  They have started a grass roots campaign against this and you can find out all about this on their website www.savekoloacamp.com

Waimea Residents Sue Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed Company International

Pioneer Hi-Bred International is an operation on the West side that farm genetically modified seed crops in Waimea.  150 residents have filed a lawsuit alleging that Pioneers unlawfully allows pesticides and pesticide dust to blow into residents homes.  Residents say that this is lowering their property values and forcing them at times to live with doors and windows closed when Pioneer is plowing and spraying.  Also that there are respiratory health concerns as well.  The property that Pioneer operates on is leased out by Gay & Robinson Inc.

Pioneer states that they have been a good community parther for 40 years and will continue to but they cannot comment on lawsuits.

Home in Poipu for $495,000????  This price is 70% of the county assessed value!!!  Located in the very heart of Poipu this 2 bedroom 3 bath one story home is on 6,000 square feet of land.  The square footage is 1,132 square feet and can be used as a vacation rental or your own personal little hideaway.  This cottage has a one car garage and a laundry area.  This property is a part of the Poipu Kai so it has the amenities of 24 Hour Security, Pool, Tennis Courts and fantastic greenbelts that give you a guided and illuminated path to they Grand Hyatt Shipwrecks Beach or Brenneckes.  This is one of those “shoulda, coulda, woulda” properties that is worth you looking at.  Call me for more information and you can also view this property CLICK HERE   This is a short sale and final price is subject to banks approval.

Honolulu’s residential real estate market was among the 15 top-performing markets in the nation during the first 11 months of the year.  Quarter-over-quarter home prices in the United States remained flat

“The overall market stability in this month’s report gives me hope that housing markets are settling after a very turbulent two years,” Alex Villacorta director of research and analytics at Clear Capital, said in a statement. “Although many of the nation’s major markets are experiencing no significant movement in prices, there are still several micro markets that are under performing the overall market due to high levels of REO saturation.”  Clear Capital is a research company based out of  Truckee  California is tasked with analyzing real estate data.

Among the top 15 markets,Honoluluhad one of the lower percentages for REO saturation — or the number of bank repossessions in the market — at 9.9 percent, the report found.  However this number is skewed, and will remain skewed, with the recent law that was passed here forcing Banks to do loan modifications in lieu of judicial foreclosures.

Honolulu also showed a 1.9 percent quarter-over-quarter price gain, which ranked it at No. 14 among the top 15 markets, between the Cincinnati and Cleveland markets in Ohio.

Washington, D.C., was the nation’s top market with a 4.8 percent quarter-over-quarter gain in home prices, followed by Hartford, Conn., Denver, Orlando, Fla., and Houston.

For the sales last week here on island it was steady but fairly quiet. This list is a little skewed. The people over at Koloa Landing in Poipu posted the units that they have sold so they show up as new listings and sold in the same week even though these happend a while ago. No matter we welcome the sales volume!! For last weeks new listings, sold units and those that went into escrow Click Here For Spreadsheet
Santa Arrives At Waimea High School

My husband was asked to fill in for Santa at a local Christmas event this last week.  I went along to help as I just love going to these local community events.

Wednesday night Waimea High Schools Auditorium was the site of a Christmas event that the Jr. High School kids put on for the 5 to 9 year olds.  The walls had tables along side of them that were sectioned off as different stations where the kids could do cookie making, make a Christmas necklace, Pin The Hat On The Snowman game, make a Reindeer Ornament etc.  In the middle of it all was Santa where kids got to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Xmas and get their photo taken.  The photo was then printed out and kids could take that photo to another station and make a picture frame for it.

Lynda Gill and "Santa"

Getting Santa outfitted for the event was a job I had never done and really appreciate now.  It’s pretty involved.  After that I got the chance to watch everything.  The estimate was about 156 kids out of the 200 kids in attendance got to get their photo taken with Santa (and that’s not counting the ones that got hysterical at the sight of Santa and wouldn’t sit on his lap!)  It was something to see the kids get up close to get in line for a photo, then back out, then they get back in line when they see their friends or brothers/sisters sit on Santa’s lap and survive.  Some only were able to be near Santa if held by their parent.

Santa got one break when some of the Jr. High girls did a hula performance.

A super fun local event full of charm and lots of holiday spirit.  The cookie making station was such a hit that they ran out of cookies but they did have over 200 kids in attendance.  Santa also ran out of Candy Canes.  It was fun to see the little kids leave with all their goodies that they made that night, especially the frame with their very own Santa photo!  I had a great time and left with a new appreciation for all the Santas I have seen at the malls over the years.

“Santa” reports that he had a good time as well.  When the co-ordinators asked if he would come back next year he said he would.

In Las Vegas there were real estate offices that had huge banners across the front of them advertising foreclosed homes for sale.  Lots of commercials during prime time T.V. on help with short sales, buying foreclosures, avoiding foreclosures etc.  I know as an agent I am prone to notice these things faster but you can’t help but to be in Las Vegas and get the fact there is some really cheap real estate, and a lot of it, for sale.  Several months back I did have a conversation with an agent in Las Vegas who said that there are actually some areas that are doing very well.  As in California it will be a mixed bag.  In looking through the magazines I saw homes starting at $18,000, some stipulated that these are only for owner occupants and some did not.  

 

As for Kauai;  At the beginning of every month we review where we are at with real estate sales.  I will focus on the South Shore, Lihue and Princeville/Hanalei areas.  Also looking at homes and condos.

 

Number Of Sales

Island wide the number of sales was up 8.36%  Residential island wide was up 6.33% and condo were up 17.65%.  Now for the breakdown by areas;

Poipu/Koloa/Omao/Lawai/Kalaheo area up 4% for residential and 29.27% for condos 

Lihue/Puhi Residential was down -13.51% and Condos up 30.88%

Princeville/Hanalei Residential was up 8.75% and Condos were up 8.06%

Median Sales Price

Island wide the Median Sales price was up 14.33% with residential being down -9.09 and condos down -18.18%.  Breakdown by areas;

Poipu/Koloa/Omao/Lawai/Kalaheo Residential was up 15.72% Condos were up 19.77%

Lihue/Puhi Residential was down -18.73% and Condos down a whopping -55.63%

Princeville/Hanalei Residential was up 4.90% and Condos were down -.381%

Kauai Real Estate For Last Week

  Right before I left on vacation my unique General Commercial listing in Kalaheo closed escrow.  This listing consisted of 2 General Commercial lots and one Residential lot that all ran adjacent on Kaumuali’i Highway in the very heart of Kalaheo.  This listing offered over $40,000 square feet of highway frontage land.  If your mentally trying to picture where this is you might remember it as the old Camphouse Grill restaurant that has long been closed down.  Also included on one of the pieces of land was a warehouse.  The combined list price for all three lots was $1,802,000 and the sales price was $1,550,000 and it was a cash sale.

Another notable sale last week was a 2,215 square foot 3/3 home on 7.05 acres of land that overlooked Secret Beach.  The home was sold before it ever his the MLS for $20 Million Dollars and it too was a cash sale.

The number of properties last week that sold and went into escrow is fairly large.

Last week the real estate activity was fabulous.  We had a huge number of properties that went into escrow and an equal amount that sold.  The amount of properties coming on the market got outranked by 2 to 1 with the combination of properties going under contract and selling.  For an excel spread sheet CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Last month the number of foreclosures YTD for the state of Hawaii drastically dropped 66% compared to this same time last year.  427 properties had foreclosure notices in October and this translates to one home in every 1,208 housing units.  The number of properties in foreclosure is down YTD as reported but up 7% from the previous month (September)

While this is good news these numbers, and future numbers, will be reflective of the state law that reforms the non-judicial foreclosure process in Hawaii which went into effect last May.  My thought is that the foreclosures will not be coming on the market at the rate that they were and this give our state more time as the market recovers.  When the properties do make it to the market later than they originally would have there (hopefully) has been some price increases and they will now sell at a higher price point than they would have before.

Last week on Kauai the “Faye House” in Hanalei closed escrow.  I first reported on this property on my blog posting  http://lyndagill.com/?p=1207   This home was built in 1915 and was on 2.01 acres of prime beachfront property.  It came on the market originally a little over 3 months ago at $24.5 million and was listed at $18 million when it sold for $13.375 million, this was a cash sale.  For an excel spread sheet of what sold, went into escrow and came on the market here on Kauai last week CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Five Die In Helicopter Crash On Molokai

Sad news from Molokai.  All five people that took a Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour perished last Thursday while on a helicopter tour over west Maui and Molokai.  On board was the pilot, a Canadian couple that were honeymooning after getting married the weekend before and another couple that was visiting from Pennsylvania.  The National Transportation Board Safety investigator was due to arrive in Hawaii on Friday to begin probing why a tour helicopter slammed into a ridge on Molokai Island.

The year old Eurocopter EC-130 crashed about a quarter of a mile from Molokai’s elementary school around noon on Thursday.  School officials reported seeing the helicopter hit the hillside above their campus and heard a loud boom before the aircraft burst into flames.

Princeville Golf Course Extends Re-Opening

“The Prince” Golf Course in Princeville extended their closure date to March 1, 2012 while they are renovating.  Original reopening date was December 14, 2011 but they added some more improvement projects.  The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and the work listed that they are doing is pretty extensive; reconstructing putting greens, bunker remodel, clearing of fairways and streams, widening fairways ( wider fairways?  How do you love that???), reshaping the greens and adding new tees.  Also work is being done on the driving range, practice facility and clubhouse.

Robert Trent Jones Jr. has personally been involved in the renovation and “Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects” is the lead architect, which will insure integrity of the course.

2011 APEC Meeting

The 19^th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held their annual meeting at the Marriott Ko Olina in Waikiki this last week.  21 nations were present for 6 days of high-level meetings representing the largest international gathering Hawaii has ever had.  In attendance was President Barack Obama who declared the meetings a success and thanked the people of Hawaii for their extraordinary hospitality.  The traffic and extra security were reported as taking a toll on the Oahu drivers.

Some of the highlights of the meetings were;

1)  A new initiative that will make it easier and faster for people to travel and conduct business across the region, which included legislation Obama signed on Saturday to create a new card that will help American businessmen travel more easily “and get deals done in this region.”

2)  Japan, Canada and Mexico expressing interest in joining the U.S. and eight partners in reaching broad outlines of an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional free-trade zone.

3)  Agreement on ways to promote green growth for America’s energy security by an agreement to reduce tariffs on environmental goods.

4)  Increased efforts to streamline and ensure that regulations encourage trade and job creation

At the beginning of every month we do a market review of where we are at Year To Date with real estate sales.  The focus is on Homes and Condos in the Poipu/Lawai/Omao/Kalaheo, Puhi/Lihue and Hanalei/Princeville areas.  The number of sales island wide is up 7.11% and the median price is also up 8.72%.  So lets drill down by the three areas to see how they contributed to these numbers.

Number Of Home Sales Island Wide Up 6.52%

Poipu/Lawai/Omao/Kalaheo had a increase of 3.17% in homes sales, Puhi/Lihue had a negative -9.09% and Hanalei/Princeville area had and increase of 13.04% in their number of sales.

Number Of Condos Sold Island Wide Up 16.50%

Poipu/Lawai/Omao/Kalaheo had in increase of 8.57%, Puhi/Lihue had a whopping 32.81% increase and Hanalei/Princeville had a 16.36% increase!

Median Sales Price For Homes Down -10.00%

Poipu/Lawai/Omao/Kalaheo saw an increase of +11.37 in the Median Price, Puhi/Lihue decrease of -18.74% and Hanalei/Princeville also had an increase of 4.61%

Condo Median Sales Price Down -19.27%

Poipu/Lawai/Omao/Kalaheo saw a massive increase in Median price by +31.69%, Puhi/Lihue had a massive decrease -49.49% and Hanalei/Princeville down slightly by -4.73%.

Last week on Kauai saw a lot of inventory come one the market.  For an excel spreadsheet for all of the activity on Kauai last week CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET
Weather On Kauai

A nearby upper level low has been keeping our weather unsettled from the middle of last week through this Monday morning, the weather has been less than ideal here on Kauai.  Flash flood warnings and sudden furious downpours have been the daily fair instead of our usual sunshiny weather we usually have this time of year.  The weather made the decision for my husband and I to go to the Saturday matinee showing of Tower Heist at the Kukui Grove Cinema (along with the rest of Kauai!) an easy one.  The theatre was packed for the 2 pm showing.

By the forecast it looks ( hopefully ) to be clearing the first part of this week.

Smile!!!  Your On Google!!!

If you see a little bitty car with a really big camera on the top of it cruising around Kauai streets smile because your on Google.  Eric Morse has been cruising every Kauai street we have (weather permitting) video taping for Googles “Street View” which allows internet users to take a 360 degree street level tour.  Eric said it took him four months to film Oahu, six weeks to do Maui and three weeks for Kauai.  Given our weather he might be here a little longer as he can’t record in the rain.  Then he’ll be off to Molokai and Lanai.

Alaska Airlines Adding Bay Cities to Honolulu Flights

Last week Alaska Airlines announced they will launch two direct flights from Honolulu and two Bay Area cities and this service will start in April.  The two flights will be between Honolulu to Oakland and San Jose.

It was also reported that Alaska Airlines recently hired a Honolulu marketing executive in their quest to expand into the Hawaii marketplace.  Alaska has several flights from Lihue to the mainland.

Hawaiian Airlines Adds Flights To Sydney, Australia

Hawaiian Airlines entered into a codeshare agreement with Virgin Australian international airline “V Australia”, they are also bumping up the number off flights that they have to Sydney.  Starting on December 14, 2011 Hawaiian will go from 5 flights a week to Sydney to daily flights.

An agreement is in the works now to allow Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyer mileage program to earn miles on Virgin Australia.