Less traffic in Ewa Beach?

I drove to Ewa Beach from my home in East Oahu yesterday and encountered terrible traffic, but not the normal kind. It was actually good traffic. Why? Because the city and county is widening Fort Weaver road, the only road into Ewa Beach.

It looks like there are going to be one or two extra lanes each way, which would be great for Ewa Beach. The first thing everyone says about real estate in Ewa Beach is that it takes too long to get there. Sure the homes are newer, nicer, larger, and cheaper, but is it worth sitting in an hour of traffic each way? It is for many, but things are about to get much better.

When this road widening project is complete, the traffic should lighten up quite a bit. In theory it should be cut in about 1/3 or even 1/2. That could be huge for home sales and prices in Ewa Beach. Since traffic is the main thing keeping Ewa beach home prices down, residents there should be jumping for joy, not just for the traffic, but for their investments.

The alternatives to Ewa are Kapolei and Royal Kunia, both of which have higher prices primarily due to less traffic. I can't wait to see how it turns out. But then again, I live on the East side, which has about 1/10 the traffic of the west side.

One more reason that East Oahu homes are about twice as expensive than the west side for the same house.

Kailua Beachside house in Escrow

Kailua is one of the most desirable areas in Oahu to live in, and one of the best neighborhoods within Kailua is called Beachside.

I have this house in escrow right now, listed at $1.969million, three houses from the beach with this beautiful kitchen. It has custom mango wood cabinets and counters, with extra thick granite.

The house is three houses from the beach with deeded access to the sand on the best part of Kailua beach. It has a great open floor plan, which is pretty much what everyone wants these days. The custom gourmet kitchen has a viking stove, a great subzero fridge, travertine flooors, lush mature landscaping, and it's gated for privacy.

It takes about $2million to get a nice house near the beach in Kailua these days. My client and I looked at homes in Lanikai too, and we found that this home was the best option. Lanikai has great sand and water, but this central part of Kailua beach also has great sand, and some nice waves, which Lanikai doesn't have.

The same house would be about $1million if it wasn't 3 houses from the beach, and it would be about $7 million if it was right on the beach.