LUVA Real Estate Blog

With months of wrangling behind us and the dust now settling, the County of Hawaii has passed Bill 108 and it is now an ordinance, which lays the ground rules going forward for everyone who owns short term vacation rentals on Hawaii Island.

According to the ordinance, “short-term vacation rental” means a dwelling unit of which the owner or operator does not reside on the building site, that has no more than five bedrooms for rent on the building site, and is rented for a period of thirty consecutive days or less.

As a new buyer, you will only have the ability to create a short term vacation rental business if you either (a) buy a property in a resort, hotel, or commercial zone; or (b) buy a property in a neighborhood with residential or agricultural

The government shutdown that began on December 21 is having a variety of local impacts to the state of Hawaii, which ranks 3rd in the nation for the number of federal jobs it has. But it is not just local federal employees who are being affected by the shutdown, but many people who are in the middle of a real estate transaction to buy or sell a home here in West Hawaii. LUVA Real Estate agents are not currently reporting missed closings, but we wanted to keep you abreast of what the potential impacts may be.

The shutdown includes all non-essential government employees and the many departments they represent. Some of these departments are directly related to the mortgage process. If you are selling a home, your buyer could directly be affected.

It is almost the New Year and LUVA Real Estate is giving you the low down on the fun New Year’s Eve parties and fireworks displays and what is coming up this weekend, and into January, too! We wish you a very safe and fun New Year’s Eve celebration and good fortune and gratitude as we head into 2019.

What: WAILEA VILLAGE 21st ANNUAL MOCHI POUNDING

When: December 29, 2018 from 8 am-2 pm.

Where: Akiko's Buddhist B&B, Hakalau

A traditional Japanese mochi-pounding event that started with 23 people, mostly neighbors that now welcomes between 600-700 people. Free to the public. Saturday is the Mochi Pounding celebration, making traditional rice cakes the "old-fashioned" way: everyone takes their turn at pounding the glutinous sticky rice for good

As we watch eager visitors come to the island in the next few days, we are happy that they are here! For you see, this year had many of us wondering if we would have clear skies AND visitors at the holidays when the eruption entered its third month in August. Then, the eruption stopped, the skies cleared and now each day the ocean is sparkling and the mountains are crisp and green. Visitors this year are being treated to the best air quality Hawaii Island has seen in 34 years!

SO, with that, we have gratitude for our beautiful island, the best season all year to enjoy being outdoors, our economic engine pumping vigorously, and the residents on this island showing Aloha to thousands of incoming guests. All of us at LUVA Real Estate are wishing you a

LUVA Real Estate wishes you all Happy Holidays and Mele Kalikimaka as we head into the last few weeks of the year. The good news? The real estate market is looking MUCH better than it did when we reported the October numbers last month, when we saw a 45% decrease in single family home sales!

In most parts of West Hawaii, motivated sellers are placing their homes on the market to take advantage of the incoming slew of potential home buyers who will be looking for a new home during the holidays and into January. Combine the increase in listings with a small slowdown in the pace of sales, and buyers are finding a little more to choose from in a market that has been starved for inventory.

If you are looking at making West Hawaii home, the market has

Naval Special Warfare plans to triple the amount of small-unit intermediate and advanced training conducted by SEALs and other special operations forces on non-federal lands in Hawaii, with overall training expanding from Oahu and Hawaii island to Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Lanai. The training increase, revealed in a draft environmental assessment, would begin in 2019 as reported by the Honolulu Star Advertiser and posted on the Military.com website.

According to the assessment, proposed air-based training would include the use of drones, C-17 cargo carriers, helicopters, MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and AC-130 gunships. New threats from China and Russia facilitate the need to have more troops training on varied terrain, the article states.

Happy Holidays!! When driving along the highway in Kailua Kona and South Kona you may be seeing the bright red of blooming poinsettias during the day and in the evening the bright lights that have gone up on the oceanfront businesses in Kailua Village. There is a slight chill in the air in the morning and the sight of Christmas trees on the tops of cars are all part of knowing the holiday season is here in West Hawaii. If you are planning on enjoying some fun things to do in West Hawaii for the 2018 Holiday Season, LUVA Real Estate suggests getting some of these dates on your calendar SOON, as much of the fun happens in the beginning of the December such as the culinary experience of Christmas with the Chefs and the annual Christmas Parade. We wish you

LUVA Real Estate Announces New Oahu Branch Office LUVA Real Estate Services is expanding the company presence to Oahu by opening a brand new office located in beautiful Kailua which is now serving all of Oahu and Maui. Leading the growth and development are Brokers Kimi Correa and Derek Kamm, supported by a strong team of 14 full time agents.

“Our history stems from creative out of the box thinking. The original vision was a Big Island luxury boutique brand partnered with technology to provide the highest level of service to our clients.” explains Rebecca Morton, LUVA Real Estate, Broker in Charge. “We believe this industry is relationship driven. Human connection to each other, where we live, and our communities is fundamental to the LUVA work

The national real estate market is softening, a trend that started in the summer, due to factors including rising interest rates and salaries not keeping up with the pace of a hot housing market. Now, as we enter the fall, markets around the country are seeing sellers dropping prices and West Hawaii is experiencing a slow down in the single home market with a 45% decrease year or year for homes in North Kona, according to data from the Hawaii Information Service.

Home sales dipped from 53 last October to 29 this year. In South Kohala, home sales dropped 24% from October 2017 from 25 last year to 19 this year. Home prices dropped 10% in North Kona year over year from $645,000 to $580,000, and dropped 4.61% in South Kohala from $608,000 last October to

Would be real estate investors and retirees who are considering purchasing a condo or single family home in West Hawaii and using it for a short term rental until they can move to Hawaii or for long term investment opportunities should be watching Bill 108 wend its way through the County Council on the way to the Mayor’s desk to be signed into law in 2019.

Bill 108 is an attempt to prohibit unhosted short-term rentals in residential and agricultural zones, while allowing them in hotel and resort zones as well as commercial districts. Existing rentals in disallowed areas would be grandfathered in after obtaining a nonconforming use certificate. The measure’s purpose is to “manage the impacts” of short-term rentals and would not apply to hosted bed and