Tony Kawaguchi, M.Div., R.A.
REMAX 808 Realty
The best Real Estate office in Hawaii!
808-395-5776
alohatony@gmail.com
Aina Haina
As you're driving from Waikiki or Diamond Head toward Hawaii Kai,
you'll pass right by Aina Haina if you're not paying attention. About
half way between Kahala and Hawaii Kai on Kalanianaole Hwy is a sort of
secret gem of a neighborhood with excellent schools, great shopping,
and ocean views that rival anything in Hawaii.
Homes in Aina Haina range from around $700k for a small fixer upper, to
over $15million for a beachfront estate. Most of the neighborhood is
middle class homes between about $800k to $1.2million. Yes it's scary
that middle class means that kind of price in Hawaii, but remember our
property taxes are way lower than CA, WA, or TX.
It's an older neighborhood, with most of the homes built in the '50's,
but right now many of these old brick and cement homes are being
renovated with beautiful new floors, kitchens, and bathrooms. In fact,
since about the year 2000, I've seen dozens of old square shacks turned
into stunning new estates with great floorplans.
Aina
Haina has a few major factors going for it. 1) it's about 10-20
minutes closer to town than Hawaii Kai when there's traffic. In morning
and evening traffic, it can take 45 minutes to get to Hawaii Kai, which
is a long time in Hawaii. People on the East Coast who drive 2 hours
each way laugh at us about our short commutes. 2) The lots in Aina
Haina are very large for Hawaii, at around 10,000 ft per property. In
fact, on average the lots in Aina Haina are about 25% larger than
Hawaii Kai. 3) There is great surf in Aina Haina. 4) Aina Haina school
is one of the best in our state, year after year. 5) From high on the
ridges and in the back of Aina Haina valley, you can have great ocean
views.
From the highway, you can't even tell that there are many homes in Aina
Haina, but the real estate there is definitely worth checking out. It's
sort of a sleeper, in that most people have no idea how great it is,
and that there is a lot of renovating going on. Within the next few
years, we should see a major facelift on most of the homes, as working
class young families and professionals move either out of town, or out
of Hawaii Kai to get closer to town.
Location is everything in Hawaii Real Estate, as even a mile or two can
completely change the price of a home here. And location is exactly
what Aina Haina is best for. On the west end you have Waialae Iki and
Kahala, and the east side you have Hawaii Kai. Both areas are very
upscale neighborhoods with booming real estate, so the fact that Aina
Haina has been a little forgotten is surprising.
Even the convenient shopping gets overlooked sometimes. The Aina Haina
shopping center has a grocery store, medical offices, post office, 2
banks, coffee shop, 5 or 6 restaurants, toy store, surf shop, ice cream
parlor, and my son's favorite, Chuck E Cheeses'.
So when you consider east Oahu real estate, don't forget Aina Haina.
You might be surprised at the great homes you find there.
