Paradise Found
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4/5/2009
Kailua has been our home since 1951. Over the decades, I've watched Kailua grow from a sleepy, secluded little hamlet of 5,000, accessible by way of a 65-minute one-way drive via a winding, treacherous two-lane road, into a bustling, thriving Honolulu destination-suburb of some 50,000 souls only 30 minutes from "downtown" by freeway.
While not totally immune from the downturn in real estate values experienced in nearly all markets over the past 12 months (2008-2009), Kailua's special charm and high demand/low supply for/of available homes have insulated us from the dramtic dip in values most other locations have recently suffered.
Nestled snug up against Kailua Bay, and hemmed in on three sides by surrounding verdant mountians and steep hillsides and world famous Kailua Beach to the North, the possibilty for brand new, large scale subdivisions is essentially non-existant, because the finite expansion area has already been maxed out. Also, Kailua Beach has been selected one of the "Top 10 Best" in the United States for the past 20 years. As a result, real estate prices here have always been, and remain, relatively secure.
My parents first bought a home here for $4,500. The average home now costs around $800,000, with most of the uptick coming in the past 20 years as national and international markets discovered our "secret" little slice of Paradise.
$10 - $20 million home sales of beachfront property remain not uncommon and homes within easy walking distance of the beach will easily fetch $1.5 to $2.0 Million for a 50-year old tract-home of dubious, single-wall, redwood "T&G" (i.e. tongue-and-groove) construction.
Underlying land values are driving a strong trend to tearing down many older homes and rebuilding modern, upscale residences, but many older homes till remain and many of those are cansisates for remodeling rather than tear-down.
While probably not for the bargain-basement hunters, Kailua appears to remain a very desirebale nieghborhood with plenty of upside for buyers looking to retire in a tropical paradise or those with a fine eye for remodeling and "spinning" upscale residential realty.
Mark | Kailua, HI