Lynda Gill’s Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii Real Estate at Pacific Ocean Properties

Kauai Real Estate By The Numbers

Looking back from January 1 to the end of July the real estate numbers continue to show an upward trend for the number of sales, the median prices are still sluggish.  You cannot have prices move up without the inventory clearing out first, we are on the right track.

For the first 7 months of the year here (briefly) is how we check out:
Homes Sales Up Island Wide 55.38%
Poipu/Koloa/Kalaheo up 47% with 53 homes sold in 2010 compared to 36 in 2009
Lihue up 100.33% (!!!!) with 25 homes sold in 2010 compared to 12 in 2009
Princeville up 40% at with 49 homes sold in 2010 against 35 in 2009
Condominium Sales Up Island Wide 57.65%
Poipu/Koloa/Kalaheo up 50% with 21 condos sold in 2010 compared to 14 in 2009
Lihue up 21.21% with 40 condos sold in 2010 compared to 33 in 2009
Princeville up 46.43% at with 41 condos sold in 2010 against 28 in 2009

For a spreadsheet on last weeks activity for the entire island of Kauai CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET 

Man Hit By Car While Crossing Kuhio Highway

A 45 year old homeless man suffered serious injuries after being hit by a car while crossing Kuhio Highway on Tuesday night in Lihue, he was not in a crosswalk.  The man is thought to be homeless and had no known address.  He was medevaced to The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu early Wednesday morning.

The man was attempting to cross Kuhio Highway at around 7:30 p.m., going from the old Oki Diner to the other side of the street, when he was hit by a silver Toyota Camry.

Vacation Rental Permits Now Available For Those On Agricultural Land

The County Council approved Wednesday a controversial bill that allows owners of transient vacation rentals on agricultural lands to apply for non-conforming use permits as long as their operations meet certain criteria.  If Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. signs the bill into law, owners of TVRs on ag lands will have to go through the Planning Department and the Planning Commission to apply for permits. 

On March 7, 2008, the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste signed a bill that allowed owners of those transient vacation rentals outside of the designated areas to apply for permits as long as they met certain criteria, under that ordinance, however, owners of TVRs that were operating on agricultural lands were denied the ability to apply for permits. Ordinance 864 outlaws TVRs outside VDAs that started operating anytime after the day after Baptiste signed the bill.

The City Council felt that if they did not allow due process for those on ag land they would be faced with lawsuits.  Some Council members argued that anyone that gets denied will be filing lawsuts anyways.

Emotions on this bill have run very high and very strong.  People who have been legitimately farming these areas for years have been impacted by vacation rentals popping up in their area and are labeling these ag land owners as “farmers of housing”.  Those who are operating illegal vacation rentals on their land felt they had the right to the due process as those who had illegal vacation rentals on residential land.

Three Separate Visitor Rescue Incidents

From the Na Pali Coast to the mountains of Koke’e we had visitors in trouble last Thursday and Friday.

Thursday:  Na Pali Coast-a call came in that a 55 year old visitor had broken her leg about a mile from the trailhead so out went Air-1 from Port Allen to rescue and she was transported to Kauai Veterans Hospital.

On the same day a report came in about a  a 16 year old girl and her 14 year old brother from Japan, who had become separated from their parents on the trail in Koke’e.  At around 7 p.m., the teenagers were found, picked up and then flown to a nearby parking lot where they were reunited with their parents.

Friday:  Na Pali Coast-a visiting California firefighter fashioned a splint out of tree branches for another visiting Californian who was 70 years old and had broken her leg on the trail to Hanakapiai Beach.  She was airlifted to Wilcox hospital with the Air-1 from Port Allen.

Kauai Visitor Arrivals Up

Kaua‘i gained more June visitors this year compared to the same month in 2009, according to recent statistics from Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. Arrivals on island increased by almost 6%.  The Kauai Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho said this number was  “a little bit better than I had expected,” and “I’m glad to see summer is bringing the island increased business, especially considering where things were a year ago.”

Kauai is receiving a $1 million stimulus package to help our tourism and it’s the only island receiving this money.  Still, Kaua‘i came in behind the other main Hawaiian islands as far as increases in visitor arrivals and expenditures are concerned (see sidebar for more details), even though it was the only island receiving a $1 million stimulus package to help boost tourism.

A huge hurdle:  there are not the numbers of flights to Kauai that the other islands have so the price to get here can be a deterrent thus comparing our activity with the other islands is not a balanced look.  Additionally the other islands have a larger accommodations inventory which helps with hotel/condotel pricing but it’s a double edged sword as the lack of building is a huge part of Kauai’s charm and appeal.

However, Kauai will likely be privy to more nonstop service in the near future, including Allegiant Air, which is an airline based out of Las Vegas (remember Vegas is the 8^thHawaiian island) will begin more flights to Hawai‘i in 2011.

Theft At Prince Kuhio Park

Ron Iida returned from a mainland vacation to Prince Kuhio Park to find the parks plumeria trees had been ransacked.  Prince Kuhio Park is located on Lawai Road which is the road that takes you to Spouting Horn and has clearly posted signs prohibiting people from picking flowers or fruit. 

Ron Iida is kalaimoku, or chief officer, of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I Kaumuali‘i Chapter 3 and the six acre park, which is Prince Kuhios birthplace, belongs to the order. ****The purpose of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I is to unite men of Hawaiian descent in fraternal and benevolent work, good moral character, and sound bodily health; to cultivate the cardinal principles of friendship, charity and benevolence; to aid widows and orphans; to improve the social and moral conditions of its members; to provide scholarship assistance; to preserve and perpetuate the ancient culture, customs, and traditions of ancient Hawaii and lift the Hawaiian people; infuse the spirit of patriotism, loyalty, helpfulness and kindness among its members; advance the interest of its members in every rightful cause, and to encourage and develop leadership*****  Today the order has eight chapters and spans all islands.
He said he returned from a Mainland vacation just after the Fourth of July weekend to find stubs of plumeria branches still dripping sap at the park.

Instead of resorting to late-night or early morning thievery,which obviously had been happening more than once while he was gone, Iida suggested simply asking for cuttings, pointing to some branches hanging low and getting in the way of mowing operations that would be good candidates for donation.

The plumeria theft, and the taking of around a half dozen immature pineapples, occurred on at least four separate occasions. The most recent was when Iida arrived the morning of

Banana and papaya were also taken, and the crimes rose to the level of agricultural theft because the amount taken is suspected to be more than 25 pounds, Kalanikumai said.

A police report was filed, Kalanikumai said.

 “It’s like a triple rip-off,” Ron said, with thieves stealing from the Hawaiian community, taking symbols of Hawaiian culture, and absconding with the commodities.

I personally had no idea this order existed or that the park which I’ve driven by hundreds of times has been given to them to maintain.