LUVA Real Estate Blog

Condos are still hot, hot, hot in North Kona and South Kohala with condo prices increasing 13.85% year over year and 5.70% since the beginning of 2019 to $370,000 up from $325,000 last year according to the Hawaii Information Service.

The number of sales of condos in North Kona increased 15.69% year over year with 51 closed sales in 2018 and 59 in 2019. South Kohala saw a 3.82% increase in the median price from January to April, 2019, although down 1.5% year over year. The median price for condos was $549,500 in April 2018 and $541,160 in April 2019. The number of condos sold rose from 35 closed sales in April 2018 to 40 closed sales in April 2019.

Lance Owens, LUVA Real Estate and past President of the West Hawaii Association of Realtors, explained

May in West Hawaii is classified as a “shoulder month” as we experience a lull in tourism until it picks back up again when kids get out of school in June. Less crowds means more of an opportunity to attend a variety of cultural, local and musical events this month! New to the LUVA Real Estate calendar this month is the Pacific and Asian Cultural Fest with food tasting and a fashion show to showcase culture. Also, if you enjoy exercise AND food, check out the Charity Walk in Waikoloa, as this event features the top resorts offering up their tasty cuisine for the walkers who help support a variety of local charities. Happy May!

WHAT: KA'U COFFEE FESTIVAL HO'OLAULE'A

WHEN: May 4, 2019

WHERE:- Pahala in Ka’u

A full day of live music, hula, local

Did you know that there are some important changes taking place starting on May 1st to the purchase agreement contract for the state of Hawaii?

There are some small changes that make it easier to understand the contract for the buyers and sellers, but there are a few that are important to bring attention to such as when the seller is leasing solar panels, the buyer needs to be aware that they need approval to transfer the lease from the photovoltaic provider. Left unnoticed, that could cause a huge headache during escrow!

These are just a few of the issues that have come up over the last few years when the Hawaii Association of Realtors last updated the purchase agreement. The agreement is used in all transactions when a Realtor is involved and is

Can you imagine within ten years that new homebuyers won’t be looking at homes on golf courses, nor will they be here in Hawaii buying a second home?

According to Paul H. Brewbaker, Principal of TZ Economics, a Hawaii economics consultant who gave a thought provoking presentation to local Realtors this past week, it will happen, thanks to the homebuying habits of the Millenials, who will be in their mid to late forties in 2029, prime wage earning years when people start considering real estate investments. According to Brewbecker, Millennials don’t play golf. (Although they would gladly put on a GoPro and take off on a golf cart adventure!) Why would they spend the extra money in order to live on a golf course? So, how will that impact the value of

The West Hawaii housing market is showing ups and downs in sales prices, but with an overall drop of sales year over year in both the single family and condo market.

LUVA Real Estate agents are generally happy to see that there is more inventory on the market, so buyers have more to choose from than in the recent past. For North Kona, the median sales price is $669,500 a 14.17 price decrease from the median price last year at this time of $780,000 according to statistics from the Hawaii Information Service. Past West Hawaii Association of Realtors President, Lance Owens, stated that the $780k amount could have been posted as a result of a few multi-million dollar sales, as the median price was not that high at this time last year across the board

The Short Term Vacation Rental issue is still winding its way to final completion and on the day it was set to go into effect, April 1, 2019, the county was still working to create the final rules. LUVA Real Estate agents have attended recent meetings on this issue, so we are up to date with the latest information for potential investors and also for our homeowner clients.

Not sure what the new ordinance is or why the County decided to curtail the proliferation of short term rentals on Hawaii Island? The West Hawaii Association of Realtors put together a quick guide to the issue.

The latest aspect of the ordinance is the drafting of Rule 23, (download and read here) which is was still getting a few tweaks as of last week. The Planning Department,

April is usually the time residents get a little breathing room from the busy tourism season, but it appears the season shows no sign of a slow down for the first part of the month until Easter as people arrive on spring break. The ocean is warming up and the storm waves are dying down, so being in the ocean is fantastic right now. But on to the events of the month!

WHAT: Afternoon at the Palace Concert/Hula and Village Stroll

WHEN: April 14, 2019 -Stroll starts at 1 pm and concert goes from 4-5 pm

WHERE: On the grounds of Hulihe'e Palace on Alii Drive

Enjoy free Hawaiian music and hula on the grounds of Hulihe'e Palace and bring your own beach mat or chair. Before and after the Palace performance, stroll thru historic Kailua Village (the

If you have been tracking the West Hawaii real estate market over the past few years, the one constant you may have seen is our continued lack of inventory and prices rising. As LUVA Real Estate reported in the March 2018 real estate update, single family homes are not leaving the market as quickly as they were a year ago.

So, to give you some good news if you are in the market to buy a home in West Hawaii now, we give you three reasons why it may be easier to buy a home right now.

1. Interest rates are at the lowest they have been since September 2018. As of March 14, 2019 the average interest rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage was at 4.31%, compared to January 2019 at 4.45% and 5% in September. So, even if West Hawaii home prices ARE inching up,

The news must have gotten out that the Big Island is free of both active lava and VOG, as more homebuyers were purchasing property in the first part of this year than last year driving up prices in both the condo and single family market in North Kona and South Kohala.

Single family home prices in North Kona rose 14% from February 2018 to February 2019 and are up 12.5% from year to date from last February according to statistics from the Hawaii Information Service. The median price of a single family home in North Kona was $573,500 in February 2018 and $655,000 in 2019. Interesting to note, the sales volume of single family homes rose 55.33% year over year. Condos in North Kona saw a 20.80% leap from February 2018 to February 2019 with median prices at

When you first meet Lance Owens, the first thing you most likely will remember is his smile. His engaging affability is one reason why he is one of the top salespeople at LUVA Real Estate.

Lance started his successful real estate career in Kailua-Kona in 2004 after a lengthy sales and management career in Las Vegas, Honolulu and New York City.

Lance is an asset to the real estate industry as a passionate leader. He has volunteered on the local West Hawaii Association of Realtors board for many years and spent last year as the President of the Board advocating for private property rights on the island, especially in light of the new restrictions on vacation rentals. He is about to assume a new role on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Association