Hawaii Real Estate Blog 
Sold! Makiki Condo, Full Price in 2 days - $650,000.
Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 4:30pm. 131 Views, 0 Comments.
This morning a client of mine closed on the sale of his beautiful condo at Mott Smith Laniloa in Makiki. It was on the market for 2 days and received a full price offer of $650,000. 
Mott Smith is an Ocean view condo building in a beautiful part of Makiki, and this unit has parking for 4 cars. It's one of Honolulu's best buildings, building tennis courts, pool, hot tub, full time security, BBQ and recreation areas. Check out the nice view to the right.
I could make various observations and judgements about the real estate market right now, but I think the numbers speak for themselves.
Congrats to my clients on the sale of their condo!
New Hawaii 5-0 filming in Hawaii just as LOST series ends.
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 2:11pm. 1625 Views, 1 Comments.
Hawaii's economy will continue to benefit from TV filming, as CBS is remaking the original “Hawaii Five-O” TV series, according to several reports by Hollywood trade publications Monday. Just like the classic cop drama that ran from 1968 to 1980, the new one will be filmed entirely in Hawaii.
It stars Australian actor Alex O’Loughlin as detective Steve McGarrett and “Lost” alumnus Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kelly. The cast also includes Scott Caan from “Oceans Eleven” as detective Danny Williams, “Battlestar Galactica” alum Grace Park as Kona Kalakaua, and actress Jean Smart of “24” and “Samantha Who” as Gov. Pat Jameson.
CBS announced officially its big prime-time line up for the coming season, which includes…
Moana Vista is back, as Pacifica Honolulu
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 2:09pm. 262 Views, 0 Comments.
For the last couple years, people have been asking me what is going on with Moana Pacific, a highrise in town that seems to have been under construction forever. Back in 2008, the building was stopped when the developer lost their funding. So it just sat there, empty.
Well, good news, work on the partially built Moana Pacific will now start again, with a new name: Pacifica Honolulu. Located at 1009 Kapi'olani Blvd, the developer has a new construction loan, announced Tuesday.
They will employ 400 workers until work is completed in 2011-2012. San Diego-based OliverMcMillan acquired the stalled project in October.
Units range in size from 661 to 1,811 square feet. Prices range from $385,000 to $1.2 million.
Wind power coming to Oahu
Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 11:44am. 329 Views, 0 Comments.
From the Advertiser: The state Public Utilities Commission approved a power purchase agreement on Wednesday between Hawaiian Electric Co. and the developer of a Kahuku wind farm project, described as the largest of its kind on O'ahu.
The facility, which could begin operating in early 2011, would generate enough electricity to power 7,700 homes.
The agreement between HECO and Kahuku Wind Power, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based First Wind, calls for HECO to purchase 30 megawatts that will be produced by 12 wind turbines in Kahuku. HECO will pay 19.9 cents per kilowatt hour as part of a 20-year agreement with First Wind, said Darren Pai, HECO spokesman.
A typical residential bill on O'ahu this month is $158.20 based on 600 kilowatt hours of usage, Pai…
Can you deduct your rental property losses from other active income?
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 6:27pm. 192 Views, 0 Comments.
Many people don't realize that you cannot deduct losses from a rental property unless you can meet one of the criteria in these seven tests below. Many real estate investors meet the "materially" participating rule by one or more of the first three tests, but any of the 7 will do:
1. Managing and operating the rental real estate activity for more than 500 hours during the year; or
2. Doing substantially all the work required to manage and operate the rental real estate during the year (probably more than 70% of the total business hours are performed by the landlord); or
3. Working more than 100 hours during the year with no one (including nonowner employees and independent property managers) participating more than the landlord [Reg. §1.469-5T…
Hawaii hotels turn to profit after 2 years of losses!
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 at 11:53am. 135 Views, 0 Comments.
From The Advertiser: "Revenue per available room, or "revpar," rose to $122.43 in March from $119.21 a year earlier, according to a report released today by Hospitality Advisors and Smith Travel Research."
"After 24 consecutive months of room revenue losses, the rise in monthly occupancy during March was finally able to outpace room discounting for a modest revenue gain," said Joseph Toy, president and chief executive officer of Hospitality Advisors LLC, a local travel industry consulting firm.
Statewide, hotel room occupancy rose to 70.6 percent in March from 65.2 percent a year earlier. Occupancy has increased in six out of the past seven months due in part to discounting.
Nationally, Hawai'i's 70.6 percent March occupancy rate was…Maui Home and Condo Sales Jump in April!
Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 12:51am. 161 Views, 0 Comments.
I was suprised to see this article in Pacific Business News today, which said that Maui real estate sales jumped in April, up four times over the number of sales a year ago.
158 Maui and Molokai condos sold last month, nearly four times the 41 units that sold in April 2009. The median price of a condo also rose to $455,000, up 11 percent over $410,000 in April 2009. The developer sales at Honua Kai, which ranged from 573,300 to $4.5 million also influenced prices, the Realtors association said.
Single-family home sales for Maui County jumped 76 percent to 88 houses sold, up from 50 in April 2009. The median price of a single-family home fell, however, to $477,500, down 4 percent from $497,000 in April 2009.
Good news for the…
First time home buyer tax credit extended - for deployed Military and Federal employees
Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 8:09pm. 184 Views, 0 Comments.
New benefits for members of the military and certain other federal employees:
* Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the home buyer credit.
* Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase.
* Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on…
Nanea Kai listing coming up
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 10:45pm. 173 Views, 0 Comments.
Are you looking for a unit in Nanea Kai? 
It's been several months since a 3 bedroom unit has been for sale there. I know of one about to
come on the market Thursday. A friend of mine is the listing agent, and nobody else knows about it.
It is a corner unit about three buildings from the post office. The seller says it is in excellent condition. Square Feet is about 1,582, with 1-car garage plus the lanai. Listed for $595,000.
Interested? Let me know fast! It's going to have multiple offers, guaranteed!
Hawaii tourism spending is up, thanks in part to new air routes.
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 8:27pm. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
PBN reported today that Visitor spending in Hawaii increased 12.7 percent year over year to $874.2 million in March, thanks to across the board gains in visitors from Hawaii’s major markets.
Air arrivals were 596,969 in March and cruise ships brought in 10,740 visitors. Maui led the growth in visitor spending with a 25.2 percent increase to $257.7 million thanks, to a 14.2 percent increase in arrivals.
HTA said the strong gains on Maui were a result of new air services added in March from Edmonton, Calgary, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose and Sacramento, along with other new routes to Maui that began in late 2009.
More good news for tourism officials: Hawaii saw increases in arrivals from Korea and China, two markets that…My Account
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