Halii Kai Condo Sales Update on the Big Island

Two months ago, I wrote that with the inventory of condos for sale at Waikoloa Beach Resort and Mauna Lani declining rapidly, the short sales and developer inventory at Halii Kai seemed to me to be one of the remaining “best buy” opportunities in the under $500,000 price point. To have access to Halii Kai’s oceanfront amenities at that price point makes even the units without ocean views sell for a premium compared with condos at golf course communities within Waikoloa or Mauna Lani Resorts.

Sure enough, since then three short sales at Halii Kai found buyers. Check the MLS and you will find 6 units marked “contingent,” all of them short sales waiting for lender approval.

With the developer at Halii Kai not reporting all their escrows or sales in the MLS, it turns out the pace of sales activity is understated by half. According to the principal broker there, they have 5 units in escrow, perhaps thanks to their most recent round of price reductions. The 3 bed/2 bath ground floor unit is again the most popular Halii Kai condo for sale, representing two of the short sales and four of the developer escrows.

View from Halii Kai 12H (MLS# 238903), short sale opportunity with its price reduced to $889,000

In fact, the developer only has one of these left in the Coconut Grove, in Building 19. They have said they will be competitive with short sale and REO (foreclosure) listings, but their asking price is $485,000 and recent closings have been at $445,000.

That tells me that the short sale 18H (MLS# 231165) which just had a price reduction to $399,000, is looking competitive even if the buyer has to cough up some additional cash for delinquent HOA dues. This happens to be a Hawai’i Life listing and will be relatively easy as short sales go since we are dealing with a smaller bank and a negotiator who actually answers her phone!

Another of our short sales, Halii Kai 9C (MLS# 227346), has an asking price of $500,000…and unlike the developer units of the same 2bed/2bath floor plan in Building 7 which are priced at $590,000, this one comes with a garage rather than a carport. Our philosophy is to price our short sales close to where the banks have told us their valuation came in, so that we can avoid spending months on the short sale process only to have the buyer walk away from a bank counteroffer.

The uncertainty and length of the short sale process is one reason buyers will opt for a Halii Kai developer condo rather than a resale requiring bank approval. However, with only six Halii Kai developer condos for sale under $500,000, the supply/demand equation is about to shift.

If you like the 3 bed/2 bath floor plan, but not the walk from the Coconut Grove to the Ocean Club, Halii Kai 17H (MLS# 240245), offered turnkey furnished with a super rental track record for $549,000, looks like the best buy outside of developer and short sale options.