Real Estate Blog

After the eruption began in early May, many people who have been on the fence about buying a home in West Hawaii were waiting to see if housing prices would start to drop. Potential buyers were waiting for the statistics from June to see how the eruption may have affected the market in West Hawaii. Numbers are in from the Hawaii Information Service and what LUVA Real Estate agents are seeing is this, across the island, home sales have dropped less than 2% year over year and year to date, they have dropped 2.59%. Median prices for single-family homes have increased 9.11% year over year and year to date, prices have increased 7.46%. Islandwide, condo prices have increased by 12.95% so far this year. 

For North Kona, 52 single family homes sold last

There are a few things you can expect in July in West Hawaii: The Kailua Kona 4th of July parade, the Rubber Duckie Race in Waikoloa, the Turtle Independence Day at the Mauna Lani, and the horse races and rodeo at Parker Ranch, all on the 4th of July! Later in the month, the Mango Festival celebrates one of Hawaii’s favorite fruits and is holding a benefit concert for the Puna lava evacuees and animals.   The days are longer, the ocean is warm, and there is plenty to see and do all over the island if you are visiting.

 LUVA Vacation Rentals also reminds you that we are busily booking vacation homes for Kona Ironman, coming up on October 13th, now. See what is still available on our website!

Here are some events to plan around:

What:

One of the problems plaguing paradise is a lack of affordable housing in Hawaii. This is an issue impacting the entire state of Hawaii and it is playing havoc in Hawaii County, especially in Kailua Kona where 20 people vie for every one available rental, pushing housing costs up. The reason many full-time rental homes are not available? Because people have turned to Airbnb and VRBO to rent out their homes, removing the opportunity for a full-time resident to find a place to live. In residential neighborhoods throughout Hawaii, single-family homes are being used by groups of vacationers, bringing more vehicles to the streets and noise issues to the neighbors.

LUVA Real Estate understands our client's desires to purchase a home now, rent it

The real estate market report for June incorporates statistics from the Hawaii Information Service statistics for homes that went into escrow in April and closed in May, thus not containing information about the housing market after the lava eruption started on May 3.

With that said, however, anecdotal reports state that a few homes have fallen out of escrow from potential homebuyers who may have had second thoughts about living an active volcanic island. However, plenty of homes in all ranges of prices from Kona to Kohala and Waimea have continued to close escrow and these new homeowners eagerly await the opportunity to call Hawaii Island home.

May 2018  market snapshot:

In North Kona, year over year data for May showed that in 2017,

A little over a month ago, if you had asked a homeowner on Hawaii Island with property in Lava Zone 1, how they felt about their investment, they may have told you that for the affordable cost of the land, it was worth the risk. Sadly, 30 days later with over 600 homes destroyed by lava in the Puna District, now homeowners may be asking, “Do I still have to pay property taxes on my land if it is covered in lava?”  Mainlanders and Hawaii residents watched in wonder as the lava flow filled in Kapoho Bay this week and watched the flow stretching out over a mile from the original shoreline with new oceanfront land. Many asked, “Who owns that new land?”

So what happens to the land when a lava flow covers it? Does the state or county claim title to it?

June is a time for families to come to Hawaii Island and enjoy summer vacation and long days at the beach and pool. For residents of West Hawaii, we are still trying to find a new normal of an active lava flow in Puna that now looks as if it will be a long lasting volcanic vent, which we are watching on the nightly news or in the newspaper as to what long term impacts it will have to the island.

The good news is that we are 100 miles from the lava activity, donation drives are in full swing in West Hawaii to help the displaced residents of Puna and LUVA Real Estate agents and friends are working to let people know that Hawaii is open for business. We hope you will come out and support these local events and our local vendors and businesses. Mahalo!

The snapshot of the West Hawaii real estate market shows that we had a very busy early part of the year for both single family homes and condos with more buyers than sellers.

We asked Kurt Carlson, LUVA Real Estate agent to help us with sales volume and year to date statistics to give you a clear view into the current housing market and his insights into the market in the wake of the current lava eruption event on the East side of Hawaii Island.

“The Kilauea Volcano has been active for the past two weeks with active lava flows in the Puna area near the Leilani Estates subdivision and neighboring areas”, stated Kurt Carlson, LUVA Real Estate agent. “Some home buyers actively looking to purchase in the area have either put their plans on hold or

By now you know that Hawaii Island was rocked by an eruption at Kilauea last week that caused a pink plume of ash to rise hundreds of feet in the air when part of the crater wall fell into the caldera. That event seemed to start the lava flowing down lava tubes along  the volcano flanks 12 miles away into Leilani Estates, a subdivision built on the East Rift Zone, a Lava 1 Zone. 15 fissures have now opened up and have caused over 35 structures to be destroyed. This entire lava event, along with the numerous earthquakes and VOG issues is causing many people, including all of the Realtors and staff at LUVA Real Estate, to offer well wishes and assistance to those affected, but to also wonder how this is going to affect the real estate market on Hawaii

Do you love to snorkel in the beautiful bays of West Hawaii? Have you been snorkeling over the last few years and been noticing the decline in fish and degradation of the coral?  LUVA Real Estate cares about preserving what makes West Hawaii a special place to visit and call home, so we are letting you know about something you can do to help protect our marine environment when you visit..even if you don’t go into the ocean.

This week, the Hawaii state legislature passed a bill outlawing the sale of two particular chemicals — oxybenzone and octinoxate — found in many sunscreens. The proposed law will now go to the desk of Hawaii’s governor, who can sign the bill into law and enact the ban starting in 2021. But 2021. Really? Can we do better by

Do you love Hawaiian culture, the amazing food and coffee we grow here and a chance to give back to this amazing community we call home? Lots to see, do, eat, drink, taste, learn and enjoy this month on Hawaii Island. LUVA Real Estate also wants to let you know that something VERY interesting is currently happening in Volcanoes National Park if you are on island now and over the next few weeks. The lava lake at Halemaumau Crater is filling with lava and the nightly glow is the strongest it has been since the caldera opened up ten years ago! So, if you want to see the lava from a safe distance with easy access, go to the Jagger Museum at the park and put that on your things to do list in May, too!

What: HOKULEA VOYAGING CANOE TOUR 

When: