Kailua real estate

On the Windward Coast of Oahu is a great little beach town called Kailua, a favorite place for tourists and locals. The wide white sand beaches are great for laying out or swimming, with beachfront estates lining the beach from Lanikai to the end of Kalama beach.

There is a great little shopping are in Kailua town which has been renovated in the last few years. Later this year the opening of Whole foods will be a nice addition too.

Kailua real estate has just about everything that is available in Hawaii. There are of course the homes down on the beach, which run between $5million to $20million. These homes are often the nicest on the island, with custom everything and materials that you rarely see in the average home.

Go back one block or even one house from the beach, and you spend about $3-5million less on the same house. Just one house back from the sand and you have a nice house within walking distance to the best beach in America.

Just a few blocks from the beach you have neighborhoods like Enchanted Lake, Kalama, Kailua Estates, and Aikahi park, all great neighborhoods with homes built in the 70's mostly. These are the neighborhoods where you find the average Kailua resident, complete with kayaks and surfboards hanging in the carports. The average 3bed 2bath single family home in Kailua will run about $750k-$800k.

Up the hill on Kailua road a bit and you come to hilly neighborhoods like Olomana, Maunawili, and Kailua bluffs. These areas can sometimes offer a nice view, and usually get more rain, which means more trees and other foliage. The hilly neighborhoods of Kailua feel like a real tropical getaway, but the downside is there is more mold, more wet rot, and everything that comes with more rain.

Homes in Kailua are typically 30-40yrs old, which means a lot of them are single wall. Why? Cheaper, easier, and in Kailua it's warm all year so you don't really need insulation. New homes are built only where old ones have been torn down, because there isn't much land to build on these days without tearing an old house down. There are however a few vacant lots on the beach in Kailua, surprisingly.

Kailua is also great for another reason - traffic. The Pali highway and H3 are easy to get to and have less than half the traffic going into town compared to the west side of the island. Sure homes are nearly twice as much as the west side, but for those who can afford at least $700k, Kailua is a wonderful place to live.

There are great breakfast and lunch places, but nothing real great for dinner. Buzz's is the best restaurant Kailua has for dinner, and it's ok, but not on the same level as Roy's or Nobu. It's more like a non chain Outback.

Oahu's hidden tropical paradise - Maunawili, Kailua

When you're driving from Honolulu up to Kailua, just before you arrive you'll see some streets that seem to go off into the mountains above Kailua. That's the entrance to Maunawili, a hidden tropical neighborhood that is everything you would imagine from old Hawaii. The peaceful hills and valleys in Maunawili are lined with mature trees, and the homes seem to just barely peek

out from behind the lush landscape.

There is a broad range of small homes to large estates, many with beautiful views that look like this. From some places in Maunawili you can even see Luana hills golf course.

When people who don't yet live here think of living in Hawaii, they probably picture something that looks like Maunawili. Large green mountains, lush foliage, palm trees everywhere, houses nestled within the hills but only as an accent to the beautiful scenery.

Homes here aren't cheap, starting at about $800k for a decent home, and well over $1million for a nice renovated home. For something to be nice in Maunawili, it would most likely be renovated, since there hasn't been new construction here for many years.

The great thing about Maunawili is that it's just 10 minutes from Kailua beach, 20 minutes from downtown Honolulu, and perched high enough above it all to feel totally secluded. You can get to everything quickly, but you get away from everything even quicker.

It's probably not the type of place you would find without knowing about it, mostly due to the fact that there are only a couple streets in, and no signs that say Maunawili anywhere. But if you're looking for a beautiful tropical setting to live in, this is the place. Just bring about $1million.

Want to buy real estate in Kailua and run a B&B?

You might be thinking that you want to run a B&B in Hawaii. Well, so do lots of other people, and it may soon get easier to buy real estate in Kailua that allows for a B&B.

The Advertiser reported today that "the controversy over bed-and-breakfast operations on Oahu has resulted in measures that could increase the number of such accommodations but impose new requirements."

The City Planning Commission wants to 1) lift the ban on new bed-and-breakfast homes and 2) limit them to residential neighborhoods and 3) required more information about them in advertisements.

A Kailua resident against the proposal said "The only beneficiaries are the few people who would destroy our residential character and turn it into a resort."

Some Kailua residents don't like B&B's because of problems with parking, too many guests, loud parties, late-night arrivals. But one amendment calls for the repeal of the present B&B law, allowing them in residential neighborhoods under a conditional use permit, and provides an avenue for neighbors to block the operation.

These issues are exactly why a legal bed and breakfast in Hawaii is so valuable. It adds so much dollar value to the property because they hardly ever get listed for sale. I can't even quantify exactly how much value it adds, but a B&B is basically just an income property with massive income. On a really good B&B, you can get triple the monthly income that you would on a long term rental. Awesome.

This new law would allow for a lot more homes to get the conditional use permit, which means that those homes would increase in value as well. While neighbors may not like the new laws, it will certainly help the property value of those B&B's, while potentially it could hurt the neighbors'. Would you want to buy a home next to a tiny hotel with people coming in and out all day and night?

Both Kailua and the North shore have lots of these little bed and breakfast homes, which means these new laws could be pretty impactful. A lot of the B&B's are right on the ocean, with prime locations for getting high rents. If you're thinking of buying one, you better buy a legal one, because an illegal ( or should I say, non-legal) B&B could get shut down by the City at anytime.

Oahu real estate prices are up! *in some areas

I was reviewing the Oahu real estate sales data that came out this week, and I realized that the housing stats really show a tale of many cities. While areas like Ewa, the North Shore, and Wahiawa are showing huge inventory increases and price drops, other areas of the island are doing the exact opposite.

Since location is everything in real estate, I thought it would be good to post what the best areas are for owning and buying real estate in Oahu right now. Take a look at these areas that are shining (numbers are annual) :

Diamond Head : Inventory is down 29.3% since last year. Prices are up 5.4% even though the number of sales is down 1.7%. Diamond head is a no brainer. The houses are big and beautiful, with wide tree lined streets, gorgeous mansions abound, ocean views galore. Only a short drive to town, Diamond Head shines as a gem in Oahu real estate, always in high demand. Who would have expected inventory to drop by a third? Nobody probably. You just can't find anything like Diamond Head anywhere else in Oahu. The location close to town is unbeatable.

Waialae - Kahala : Inventory is down 39.1% and prices are up 3.5%. Number of Sales is also up 17.5%. These price gains in Waialae and Kahala are bigger than they look because the prices were high to begin with. The median price is $1.8million! This is where the CEO's and doctors live, the politicians and the people you see in the news. Manicured streets, beautiful homes, a great location just 5 minutes to town. Kahala has great ocean views and a home town feel to its stately properties that draws everyone in. With the island's best private golf club, it's also a draw for golfers with money. If you can afford to live in Kahala, you can afford the $50k membership at Kahala country club.

Aina Haina - Kuliouou :Inventory is down 25.5% and prices are up 5.9%. Even though the number of sales is down 18.7%, with inventory down even more than that, you can see why prices are up. This area is a sleeper too, because hardly anyone talks about it, but it has great homes. Usually the lots are nice and big, ocean views are available in the back of the valleys, and it's closer to town than Hawaii Kai. Also, with the recent purchase of the Aina Haina shopping center by a mainland investor, we expect to see some great renovations to the neighborhood making real estate even more desirable!

Hawaii Kai : Inventory is down 12.6% and prices are down 0.9%. however, the monthly median price was up 11.5% to $847,500 since last month! Whoa! Can you imagine prices rising that much in one month? Well they didn't really. It just means that more expensive houses sold this month than last month. Probably a couple real big sales that drove the median price up. Hawaii Kai is always going to be desirable and in high demand because it fits the upper midlle class so well, and is so nicely located just 8 miles to town. Also the homes on the marina are fanatastic. If you like boating, Hawaii Kai is for you.

Kailua - Waimanalo : Inventory is down 21.2%, prices are up 2.5%. I would have thought that prices in Kailus would be up more than 2.5%, but it's also interesting that while inventory is down, the number of sales is up 8% since last year. So you have a few factors indicating that prices should be rising in Kailua for a while. The numbers get skewed because of Waimanalo, which really is a totally separate community. It's unfortunate that the Honolulu board of Realtors lumps them together because they have very little in common, especially in the are of real estate.

Mililani : Inventory is down 11.1% and prices are up 2.4% The number of sales is down 7.4%. This newish community has a huge draw on mainland transplants because of the newer homes and master planning. Nice amenities too. The community center in Mililani has a nice pool and rec area. Great schools too! In fact the schools in Mililani are always near the top of everyone's list. Homes in Mililani are usually built in the last 10 years, of course they're newer on the Mauka side than the Mililani town side.

The biggest price gainer of all was Wahiawa - but I think it's mainly because it was so cheap for so long. A lot of run down areas in Wahiawa, but recently there have been some new homes being built. With a median price of about $400k, it's very affordable.

Ok, You're planning to move to Hawaii, but when should you start looking at houses?

Most of my blog posts are prompted by questions that people ask me by email or phone. This week someone emailed me and said they are planning to move in April, about 8 months out, wondering if they are looking at houses too soon.

Well the short answer is you should start as soon as possible.

As soon as you even the thought of moving to Hawaii, even if your plans are not definite, you should start looking at homes here. The more time you have to look at homes, the more you'll understand our market. You'll see that homes in nice condition tend to sell in about 45 days, and you'll be able to see the sales prices very close the list price in certain areas.

Also the longer you have to look at the market, the more you'll be able to get a feel for what type of homes come up for sale in certain areas. For instance, in Hawaii Kai there are only a few homes on the marina for sale at any given time. If something comes up that you really like, you might have to move on it before your time to move comes, because only a few are listed each year. Maybe 30 a year, which is not a lot.

In Mililani, you'll find that some homes have an ocean view, but not many, because it's about 15 miles inland. In Kailua, only a few homes a year are listed for sale that are lake front, on Enchanted lake. Or if you want Lanikai, you better start looking really early, like a year, because half the listings in Lanikai are completely junk, and the other half tend to be about $5million.

If you study the market in Oahu for a while, you'll find that in many areas, homes are each unique, because a) there were not big home developers planning this island and b) depending on type of person lived in the house, there could be a lot of strange improvements made over the years.

You just can't be too prepared when looking for a house in Oahu. The more you know, and the longer you have to learn, the better your buying experience will be. Then if you come to Oahu and spot something that you know hasn't been on the market for a long time, you'll be aware that you should act on it fast. I've had several clients who didn't act fast enough or write an offer high enough, who ended up really disappointed later.

I had one client who kept wanting to offer about $20k under the asking price, even though I kept telling him he would never get the offer accepted. Each of 3 times, his offer was flat out rejected and sold to someone else within days. Why? Because he didn't understand that the market in Oahu is not like the mainland. Our supply is limited and the sellers are very confident (in most areas, not Ewa Beach.)

So if you even have an inkling that you may be coming to Oahu in the next year or two, it's time to start watching the market. Email me all your parameters and I'll setup an automatic Hawaii MLS search for homes for you so you can keep track of what's going on.

New condos in Kailua by Schuller / Dr Horton

There has been much speculation about the new condos that are supposed to be built in Kailua by Schuller homes. The project, which will be called Ironwoods at Kailua, is planeed to be 153 condos on the north end of Kailua.

People have been calling and emailing me about this project for a year or so, and today I had a nice woman from Kailua calling me for more information because the Schuller site doesn't say much. So I called the Schuller office and spoke to a guy who said very plainly, "we don't have any new imformation about it yet."

I asked him, "Is it going to be a long time before you know anything? Years?"

He said, "It's going to be a long time."

The Dr Horton site doesn't have anything more than the number of properties that will be there. There are no floorplans, no prices, no nothing. I think they are having legal problems with the project. Either that or they are trying to finish off the Makakilo and Waianae projects, because that is what the guy said he has right now.

Whenever they actually do come out with the prices or any new information, I'll post it here, but you'll likely have to camp out in front of the sales office to make sure you get one. They are going to sell like hotcakes. Actually, they are going to sell like Kailua condos, which sell faster than hotcakes.

When you look up condos in Kailua over $500k, it's pretty slim trimmings. Only Bluestone, an older building, is priced around $800-$900k. Whereas in Hawaii Kai condos are everywhere, Kailua has very few. That's part of it's charm - mostly single family homes.

So wait until 2008 or later and I'll put some info here about Ironwood, the newest mysterious condos in Kailua.

Kailua town condos - no car needed

Recently I've had a few buyers for Kailua town condos. If you want to live somewhere that allows you to walk from home to the shopping, restaurants, and beach, Kailua town condos are ideal.

There have been some retirees moving from California and some young first time buyers that have really liked the condos in Kailua town lately. If you want to live right in the heart of Kailua town, there are several great condo complexes that allow you to walk to the grocery store, Starbucks, and everything that Kailua town has to offer. Of course, next year that will include the new Whole Foods that is coming. We can't wait for that.

There's Poinciana Manor and Gardenia Manor, which are two similar complexes that are low rise buildings. They're a little old but pretty well taken care of. You get 2 parking spots with most units, which is a great benefit. Both of the complexes have great grounds with lush landscaping and koi ponds. Very nice ammenities. Poinciana has a saltwater pool too.

At Hokulani, a newer complex, you only get 1 parking spot, but you get a much newer complex. The units are generally a little smaller, but they're cheaper, at around $350k-400k, so if you're on a limited budget, they are a great option.

Windward cove is a unique complex, where each unit has a rooftop lanai. They are a bit bigger and therefore a bit more money, at about $500k. Very limited parking.

Windward Harbor is right next to Windward Cove, but I think all the units have 2 parking spots. Also, they have a great pool and tennis court. Nice ammenities and a nice koi pond. There isn't much guest parking, which is a bummer.

There are a few others that are nice, but these are my favorites.