The State of Hawaii announced June 29th that they were changing the rate on Withholding of Hawaii Real Property after September 15, 2018. Section 235-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires every transferee or buyer of Hawaii real property to withhold and pay to the Department of Taxation a percentage of the amount realized on the disposition of the real property, unless the disposition is exempt from withholding. This is an amendment to 235-68 as it changes the withholding rate from 5% to 7.25%. A very cursory explanation of some of the exemptions include selling at a loss or the seller is a resident of Hawaii. Click here for a PDF of the announcement from the State of Hawaii. Click Here to view the State of Hawaii N-289 Form for Exemptions from withholding.

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Hawaii County Council Bill 108-Update I have written several blog posts and shared several articles on Facebook regarding the Hawaii County Council’s efforts headed by North Kona’s representative, Karen Eoff to control vacation rentals outside of real estate zoned V (Resort-hotel districts), CG (General Commercial Districts) and CDH (Downtown Hilo commercial district) . Ms. Eoff continues to send updates as to the Council’s meeting agenda when it may involve Bill 108 that she has initiated and did so in late June. Bill 108 attempts to clarify that vacation rental activity should be only allowed in the “Resort Nodes” primarily and not in residential or agricultural zoned properties. That being said, the bill in its current form does in fact allow the current owners of homes built prior to 1974 on Agricultural land to vacation rent and also those on any “R” zoned property to continue to either vacation rent or allow future owners to vacation rent by obtaining a special use permit. It also imposes a fee whe...

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I just listed the developer’s 2 model homes in Kulalani at Mauna Lani. Unit 102 is the largest model in Kulalani featuring 3-bedrooms and 2-bathrooms. This award winning home features 2,022 sq feet of fabulous open yet private luxury living. The moment you enter the beautiful foyer and experience the sweeping spiral staircase you know you are someplace special. The living area features a retracting glass wall of doors to expand your indoor/outdoor living. The ground floor master suite includes a jetted tub, separate tiled shower, walk-in closet and a window seat for your enjoyment. The downstairs living area boasts 10 foot ceilings, a kitchen with granite slab counter tops, GE built in appliances, roll-out pantry shelves, laundry room off the kitchen with full size front load washer/dryer and a formal dining room. Step outside and enjoy a large lanai with a built in BBQ. Upstairs are two additional bedrooms that share a full bath. The home also includes a 2 car garage with enclosed storage space. Kulalani recreation cen...

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This blog post is intended to update you regarding a few statistics you may find interesting concerning The Villages at Mauna Lani.  In this update I will concentrate on a comparison of our community and Ka Milo focusing only on what I believe to be the best indicator of market strength in one community versus a comparable community-Days On Market (DOM) until sold.  Days On Market until sold gives you a good indicator of multiple factors including the buyer’s opinion of value relative to general condition of the community, the unit for sale’s condition including view, AOAO fee and finally their opinion of the common area including the pool and recreation center. The longer a home is on the market, the less it is worth as buyer’s view extended DOM as an indication that something is negatively affecting the unit’s value that they may not be aware.  Therefore, pricing a home correctly when listed initially, based on an accurate assessment of the current market value is the quickest method to sell and close real estate.�...

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The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows will close in October for renovations. Since the new owner, ProspectHill Group purchase in August of last year, it has been rumored they would close and pursue “$100m” in renovations at some time in the future. Now it’s a certainty and the 400 current employees will be laid off albeit into a tight labor market which is some assurance of a new job elsewhere. Many of the employees have been with the hotel for 20-30 years so this will be a big change for them. I can only hope that the core group finds their way back to their old jobs after a long layoff! The golf course, spa and racquet club will remain open for the general public with rumors of reduced hours at the spa and racquet club. At least us full timers can still play golf and exercise as usual :) Here is a link to the official announcement to the Mauna Lani owners (PDF) Here is a link to my blog post when the sale was announced in May 2016 Here is a link to my blog post when the sale closed in September 2016 Here i...

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I have often speculated that Counties within the State of Hawaii would eventually start enforcing zoning laws relative to vacation rentals in (R) Residential Zoning and especially in (AG) Agricultural Zoning classifications. It has always been my understanding that vacation rentals of 1 to 30 days were only allowed in (V) Resort zoned property but I’ve often observed REALTORS and buyers openly discussing vacation renting properties outside of (V) Resort zones. A quick scan of Hawaii County rentals on VRBO.com will give you an idea of the many options for vacation rentals in communities like Waikoloa Village which is primarily zoned Residential and even Kohala Ranch which is zoned agricultural including grazing livestock herds. Property owners that have purposely purchased properties in communities that either expressly exclude vacation rentals in their CCR’s, or “understood” that vacation rental activity in their Residential or Agricultural zoned (non Resort zoned) communities was not allowed by zoning exclusions cont...

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I’m frequently asked my opinion of the current real estate market and usually answer back within my response several questions like, “which real estate market on the island would you like information” as all “markets are very particular to their location?” and or “how much time do you have to discuss this topic?”.  We all have a good “rear view mirror” but most people do not have a “crystal ball” to develop future predictions especially for our micro market. Because of this and my love for facts and figures, I often read various publications regarding real estate in general and the Big Island in particular to be able to answer these inquiries.  I often post these to Facebook-sign up here to Follow me.  As us locals like to say-“this isn’t the mainland” and by stating that we mean to say our economics are peculiar and sometimes detached from the other islands and the mainland itself. Please find a few topics of interest to be aware of in 2018!  Underlined topics are linked to more information and...

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The owners of Villages 431 asked me to reduce the price of their home to $1,799,000 in order to expedite its sale. This is a great opportunity to own one of the few detached Alii plans with a net metering solar system that provides a majority of the electrical supply to the house. This home is GOLF COURSE FRONT and now an incredibly priced. This unit is detached like a single family home for the utmost in privacy. Many recent furnishing upgrades- complete inventory upon request. Quality Maryl construction throughout including solid mahogany doors and trim, bronze hardware, cherry cabinets, granite and marble counter tops. The gourmet kitchen includes Sub Zero refrigerator, Fisher and Paykel double drawer dishwashers, Wolf oven and microwave, and a Wolf glass cooktop. The large rear lanai overlooks the Mauna Lani golf course and features an outdoor kitchen including cherry cabinetry, stainless steel BBQ, refrigerator and prep sink. Do not miss the separate laundry room with Kohler laundry sink, Fisher and Paykel washer and dr...

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As we enter the 4th Quarter of 2017 at the end of our summer sales season, I thought it would be helpful to asses the positive market trends so far for the State and island of Hawaii and the US for 2017. Below is a synopsis of some helpful statistics I gathered from the Corelogic and our Multiple Listing Service-Hawaii Information Service. The stats indicate a general positive trend with +6% average value increase nationwide-Year over Year (YOY)-and for most areas of the State of Hawaii and the island of Hawaii also. Regarding the Kohala Coast market, the median sales price of single family homes has started to catch up with condominiums with a year over year increase of +12.36%. Condominiums have leveled out at a +5.16% increase-YOY. Due to lack of inventory in the $560k range-total number of homes sold have decreased slightly YOY-6.47%. Sales volume gives you a clue as to momentum. Both homes and condominiums are up over +21% for SFR and +30% for condominiums-YOY. For particular note, these stats show an above average, ...

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On or about July 24th all new inventory and pending sales were withdrawn by the listing agents for Stanford Carr at Kulalani at Mauna Lani development. As many of you may know, the development’s financing has varied over the years due to the recessionary forces that caused the original developer, Stanford Carr, to halt construction for several years.  Built inventory of approximately 40 units was absorbed during the time period between 2009-2012.  New construction resumed in 2013-2014 and has progressed to the last 4 buildings (20 units) of which 2 buildings are yet to be started (10 units). Newer resale homes in Kulalani offered for sale are still a great value in this community and offer the best construction quality at some of the lowest price per square foot of any community-new or not-in the Mauna Lani.  Most offer golf course views and or back up to the popular, dual pool community center that is shared with Kamilo at Mauna Lani.  I’ll keep you informed when I understand the circumstances surrounding the halt to new...

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