For the third year in a row, Hawaii led the nation in number of millionaires per capita, with 6.9 percent of resident millionaires, according to an annual ranking by the Phoenix Affluent Marketing Service released today.

The survey defines a millionaire household as one with $1 million or more in investable or liquid assets. It does not include retirement plans and real estate.

Why do we have so many millionaires?  One simple answer:  It's the nicest place to live in America. Perfect weather all year, white sand beaches, warm water. 

Millionaires can live wherever they want, so many come to Hawaii.

Read More at Star.

There are a lot of angry people on Oahu, but none of them work for Castle & Cooke Homes. The Advertiser reported today that C&C won state approval for the new Koa Ridge community between Mililani and Waipio.  Right now that is all agricultural land. 

The State Land Use Commission approved the project with 3,500 homes, a hotel, medical campus and commercial space by reclassifying 576 acres from agricultural to urban use.  The first homes could be built around the end of 2012. 

There are already people voicing their anger about it in the comments to the article that announced it.  There is a very broad feeling on Oahu that the island is already over crowded, shown especially in the freeway traffic on H1 going West in the afternoons. 

This new project will make traffic worse, but more importantly, will permanently remove a large area of agricultural land.  50 years ago, Oahu was thriving with ag, but now there are far fewer working farms left. And Schuller homes wants to destroy some more ag land in Kapolei.

Will it ever end? Will it ever be enough? Does Oahu's population need to be capped at some point before we run out of land and water completely? 

Have you ever put your address into Zillow's search bar to see what it thinks your home is worth?  If you need a laugh, or you want to be confused, go ahead. 

This morning I saw a blog post about Zillow's home value estimates, so I decided to look up my neighborhood.  Zillow shows the value a house near me at $1,010,000.  Try it - the address is 217 Nenue st, 96821.  The problem is, that house sold in January of this year for $897,000, which is also shown right above the value. 

So Zillow thinks the market here has risen 12.59 percent in the last 8 months? Actually, it doesn't.

Another house in the same neighborhood, just 2 streets away that sold for $810,000 in May is showing a current Zillow estimated value of only $815,500, not even 2 percent. 

Even stranger, a house on Hind Iuka Dr that sold on June 30th is showing a drop in value of $8500 over the past 2 months.  It sold for $1,125,000. 

Bottom line - you cannot trust Zillow for property value estimates are not consistent in Hawaii.

I know each of these properties well, and I can tell you that in order to get a real market value, it takes a human being with understanding of condition, location, and quality. 

Last night we watched the premier of Hawaii 5-0, hoping above anything else that it would portray the beauty of living in Hawaii.  Within a few minutes the show featured aeriel shots of Diamond Head, Makaha, Black Point, Waikiki, and the North Shore.

At one point, there was a helicopter fly by right over my house, and we realized that the house mainly used on the show is just across the road from us. 

While we laughed at the fact that "Pipeline" was actually Waimea bay, and also that at one point a car was shown as driving with the ocean on the wrong side of the car (on the right side going North in Waianae), we were glad that the show featured many great shots of the island in all its beauty. 

I'm sure that sometime this winter when the snow is falling in Ohio and New York, somebody is going to be watching Hawaii 5-0 and realize it's 75 and sunny in Hawaii.  That person is going to finally realize that they could be living in perfect weather all year, never seeing another snow shovel for the rest of their lives.  If that person has some money (the median price on Oahu about $600k dollars) they'll be buying some nice Oahu real estate. 

 While the show is a little racey for my very conservative Christian values, I'm glad that millions around the world will have Hawaii on their minds once a week.  Even if only a few of them move here, it's good for our economy.

(By the way, my wife will be on next week's show, a scene in an elevator in which she plays a tourist mom.) 

A 100-kilowatt wind turbine won't be built anytime soon, though the Hawaii Water Service Co. has been trying for a while.  Hawaii County zoning ordinances require a use permit, which took six months to secure, planning department approval, which is ongoing, and a building permit, which is expected to take another four to six months.

There are four wind farms on Maui and the Big Island, and four more in development. About 9 percent of Maui's energy comes from wind and about 12 percent of the Big Island's supply.

From PBN: "First Wind is planning to expand the 30 megawatt Kaheawa Power Project on West Maui by 21 megawatts, and San Diego-based Sempra Generation hopes to begin a 22-megawatt wind farm at Ulupalakua Ranch in upcountry Maui. The Kauai Electric Utility Cooperative has signed an agreement with UPC Kauai Wind Power for a 10.5-megawatt to 15-megawatt project, and Oahu has its own plans for wind on the North Shore. Boston-based First Wind has broken ground on a 30-megawatt project in Kahuku, but the biggest plans for powering Hawaii's most populous island with wind energy are intended for Molokai and Lanai...

But the permitting process has strangled businesses hoping to take advantage of Hawaii's abundant wind resources.  Once approved, it takes only one to three days to put up a wind turbine.  It's a three- to four-year process to get a project moving before you can even start putting a spade in the ground,” said Karl Stahlkopf, a partner at Kairos Energy Capital, a Honolulu merchant bank specializing in renewable-energy projects. Formerly, project developers could engage in bilateral negotiations with Hawaiian Electric."

Hello?  This is ridiculous!

Hawaiian Electric hopes to lay a $1 billion cable between Oahu and two neighbor islands that will pull 400 megawatts from proposed wind farms on Molokai and Lanai. If successful, the wind energy could provide 20 percent of Oahu's annual energy needs.

Congratulations to my clients Charlie and Lolita on the purchase of this BEAUTIFUL beach house at Velzyland, in Sunset Beach Colony.  This morning they officially recorded as the new owners of this amazing property. I'm sure that they will enjoy this awesome home in their retirement.

Sunset Beach Colony is the North Shore's only gate community, and has less than 30 homes within it.  This is last one on the Kahuku end.

This house, built just a few years ago, has this massive living space off the custom kitchen, featuring all wood ceilings and tile floors, stone counters, and stainless steele hardware throughout.  4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a completely separate cottage with a full bathroom and kitchenette.  Check out this awesome hang out, complete with large lanai and a view of the ocean.

If you haven't been to Velzyland before, you may not realize what a great beach it is. Perfect for the family with a nice long stretch of white sand, calm water in the summers, and great waves in the winter.  Just look at this picture perfect setting.

 $2 million Sunset Beach Colony house, Sold!!!

A 5 bedroom, 3 bath, 2388sqft house in Kailua for this price is uncommon to say the least.  But after the bank foreclosed on it last year, it sat vacant for quite a while. I'm not sure why banks don't immediately list the properties they own, but when they finally put this one on the market, we jumped on it.  Originally listed at $789,000, we were able to get it for $740,000. 

The house has a nice large yard on a corner lot, and is in a great neighborhood in Kailua, called Olomana.  My lucky clients with their family of 6 have now moved in and begun to transform this old house, beginning with a new kitchen and bathrooms.

 Congratulations to the Edwards family on this great purchase!

Absolutely no interpretation from me needed.  The Hawaii housing market speaks for itself.  Look at the low inventory of homes for sale, and the high number of pending sales.  

Inventory - Down 13.3% to 3823 total properties for sale. 

Single Family Residences - 1674 down from 1928 last year. 

Condos - 1754, down 16.1% from 2090 condos for sale last year. 

Months of supply down 30.1% to 6.4 months of inventory. 

And even while inventory is way down, look at how the number of sales has risen, and with plenty of pending sales still on the way!

Pending Sales - Up 25.2% to 7362 in escrow compared to 5882 last year.

Percent of Original List price received up 2.5% to 96.4% 

Closed single family home sales on Oahu in August - 224, compared to 239 last year. 

Median Sales Price of Single Family Homes in Hawaii - Up 0.9% to $590,000. 

Median Sales price of Hawaii Condos -  Down 0.3% to $316,000

Days on Market - 36! That's down from 54 days on market last August! 

3 months may seem like a long time, but when it comes to short sales, that's actually quite fast.  The longest one I have done took well over a year, while the average is closer to 6 months.

 This very nicely upgraded Poinciana Manor 2 bedroom Kailua condo is just a short bike ride to the beach. Listed at $350k, we are now officially in escrow for just a little above that, to close in 45 days.

 How do you get a short sale approved in under 3 months?  Simple:  put together an awesome short sale application packet  complete with a picture of the unexpected new baby and the father in his military uniform.

Even in a  short sale, there are humans involved, and who can resist a baby and a soldier serving his country? 

 Congrats to both sellers and buyers on getting this short sale approved. Now let's hope for a smooth escrow and closing.