It’s never been a better time to SELL your property along the Kohala Coast-Call me to LIST AND SELL!!!! When comparing the first 11 months of 2020 and 2021 one has to consider that 2020 was a lockdown year and 2021 has seen explosive market conditions. The most explosive statistics are the increase in average sales prices of CONDOS and VACANT LAND - see below! November 2020 was one of the first months where Hawaii lifted a majority of travel restrictions. A "better" comparison is probably to the 2019 real estate market but for simplicity sake, here are some “fun facts” comparing November of 2020 vs. 2021 for the entire Hawaii Island. Watch the full video for more interesting stats and review the complete report for other districts. Subscribe here to receive my blog posts and monthly Newsletter. Click here to search Big Island Real Estate Island of Hawaii Total Sales for first 11 months compared to 2020: • Single Family Homes- Down 23 units to 223 total closed sales. Market is supply restricted so no surpris...

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Aloha Friends, Family and clients, Lissette and I support a few organizations on the Big Island that primarily involve our island’s youth. I thought you might be interested in this seasonal time of giving, where we also remember the many gifts and blessings we’ve been fortunate enough to receive. Please read on for further details of each group's efforts and contact information for your reference. Aloha, Rick   Aloha and Happy December, Before we head into the heart of the holiday season, I wanted to ask for a moment of your time to consider making an end-of-calendar year gift to the Parker Fund. And if you've already given, mahalo nui loa! The Parker Fund makes all things "Parker" possible - it funds extracurriculars, classroom supplies, financial aid, campus beautification and safety, and so much more. It goes beyond what tuition can support and is the gift that gives right back to our school ʻohana. This year, we aim to raise $175,000 to provide the educational experience Parker School is known f...

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Aloha Friends, Family and clients, Lissette and I support a few organizations on the Big Island that primarily involve our island’s youth. I thought you might be interested in this seasonal time of giving, where we also remember the many gifts and blessings we’ve been fortunate enough to receive. Please read on for further details of each group's efforts and contact information for your reference. Aloha, Rick Aloha Community 'Ohana, We are a small group in the community of Waimea who are organizing an event called "The Gift of Giving." Our purpose is to spread love and holiday cheer to the communities of Hamakua Coast to Waikoloa. Our plan is to gift food and toys with a drive-thru distribution. Our hopes are to gift as many blessing bags of food and toys as possible. We are asking if you will be a contributor to our event. Your help will reach families who need this blessing of love from a pandemic year. We are seeking contributions of new toys for ages 0-10 years, non-perishable foods, gift cards for grocery ...

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Aloha Friends, Family and clients, Lissette and I support a few organizations on the Big Island that primarily involve our island’s youth. I thought you might be interested in this seasonal time of giving, where we also remember the many gifts and blessings we’ve been fortunate enough to receive. Please read on for further details of each group's efforts and contact information for your reference. Aloha, Rick   The Island of Hawaii YMCA Family Visitation Center currently operates 2 locations for the FVC. One in Hilo at our YMCA site on 300 West Lanikaula Street and the other at the Waimea Preservation Center Cottage. We also use the YMCA Minoke Park, Waimea Outdoor Circle Park or the Wooden Park in Waimea for memorable visits that allow those venues. Intakes are now done online via Zoom or Google Meets by the Family Visitation Center Supervisor or Director.In the past we were able to fully staff the Waimea Center, however due to budget constraints we now go on an as needed basis. In order to maintain the FVC ...

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Aloha Friends, Family and clients, Lissette and I support a few organizations on the Big Island that primarily involve our island’s youth. I thought you might be interested in this seasonal time of giving, where we also remember the many gifts and blessings we’ve been fortunate enough to receive. Please read on for further details of each group's efforts and contact information for your reference. Aloha, Rick   Young Life is a Christian ministry with an active group in Waikoloa Village. Young Life and their Wild Life programs reach out to middle school, high school, and college students in all 50 of the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world. Hawaii Island efforts are headed by Lane Morikawa and the Waikoloa group leader is Julie Simmons. Young Life’s Website states, We go to kids, build bridges of authentic friendship, and introduce them to Jesus Christ. We accomplish our mission by… Praying for young people. Going where kids are and building personal relationships with...

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Project Hawaii is a 501 C3 that operates on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu. Every year, each child asks Santa for a special gift and we Secret Santas make sure they receive it. Our group only provides Secret Santas for Big Island children. If you’re interested in participating this year, let me know how many children, approximate ages, little girl or little boy or teen. If you would like to have someone else do the shopping, head over to their website at https://www.helpthehomelesskeiki.org/ or send a check to: Project Hawaii P.O. Box 1844 Kea'au, HI 96749-1844 For those of you who haven’t participated, Magin and her crew are visiting homeless camps around the Big Island and gathering names, ages, sex and gift requests. We have around 500+ children and teens who are living rough around the island. This is the one time of year they receive something new that they want. If you opt to be a Secret Santa, I’ll send you names, etc. and you have until December 15th to purchase and place in a stocking and bring to me ...

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It’s never been a better time to SELL your property along the Kohala Coast-Call me to LIST AND SELL!!!! When comparing the first 10 months of 2020 and 2021 one has to consider that 2020 was a lockdown year and 2021 has seen explosive market conditions. A Better comparison is probably to the 2019 real estate market but for simplicity sake, here are some “fun facts” comparing October of 2020 vs. 2021 for the South Kohala District. Watch the full video for more interesting stats and review the complete report for other districts. District of South Kohala including the Waikoloa Beach Resort, Mauna Lani Resort and Mauna Kea Resort Unit Volume Sales of Single Family Homes has declined -41% to 20 total units and the median price is +17% to $799k Unit Volume of Condominiums has declined -9% to 29 total units and the median price is +71% to $1.2m. This is probably due to the mix of units sold/closed in October but it does show the rapid price of resort condominiums. -Unit Volume of Land/Lots is up +22% to 11 total sales ...

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My friend Rachel asked me if I had seen the drone video floating around of a tiger shark cruising very near shore, amongst unsuspecting snorkelers probably from the Fairmont Orchid. The drone video location was just south of the Fairmont Orchid where we open water swim regularly. During the COVID lockdown months in 2020, the resort lap pool was closed and our masters group could not meet. We started a 3-day a week, early morning swim, from our Mauna Lani Beach Club at Makaiwa Bay to the dive buoy at Peaks surf break, just North of the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel (Auberge). When time and weather conditions permitted, we would swim further to the Fairmont beach, take a break and swim back-2.6 miles round trip.  This video is of a tiger shark cruising in the shallow water exactly where I’d clip the corner and enter the narrow entrance into the Fairmont’s beach. The rest of the crew would stay in deeper water and take a more direct route into the Fairmont. Note the narrow entrance into the Fairmont beach on the video when it zooms out...

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I just put into escrow Villages at Mauna Lani 217 for one of my buyer clients. We were the first to view the day it became available and the first offer. What happened next was the sign of the times. 6 offers or more came rolling in and everyone’s “highest and best” was countered to all offerees plus a price nearly $125,000.00 over the stated list. My clients offered that price and more and we were able to secure it for a quick closing in a week or so from now. Buyers now understand the value The Villages at Mauna Lani offer which has not always been the case. 5 years ago or so, Ka Milo units were selling for a higher dollar per square foot (+15%) even though they have a shared amenity center with Kulalani and are not as well appointed and do not offer large floor plans like The Villages. I attributed this to the fact that most of the KaMIlo sales were new, developer inventory where buyers will always pay a premium to be the first occupants. Traditionally, KaMilo’s Mahina plan (2400 SF) roughly sold for what the Villages Ma...

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 When comparing the first 9 months of 2020 and 2021 one has to consider that 2020 was a lockdown year and 2021 has seen explosive market conditions. A Better comparison is probably to the 2019 real estate market but for simplicity sake, here are some “fun facts” comparing September of 2020 vs. 2021 year to date. Watch the full video for more interesting stats! The market for Big Island condominiums continues to be strong with prices up island wide from a sales price average of $410,000.00 in September 2020 to $488,750 currently. Average Single Family home prices have escalated from $370k to $499,500 as inventory has lower priced inventory have been absorbed and possibly newer and more expensive homes have become the only options at higher prices. The number of land transactions also increased island wide, from 175 to 224 in September 2021. There were 107 condominium transactions in September 2021 vs. 29 in 2020 probably due to travel restrictions to the island. The volume of single family home sales escalate...

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