Kolea 2015 Market Report & 2016 Outlook

The Kolea condo market completely ground to a halt in the second half of 2015, confounding my prediction, which was based on 5 condo sales in the first half of the year. I predicted that 2015 was shaping up to be very much like 2014, which saw ten condos sales.

Here are the stats for the five units sold. Four were the smaller interior 2-bedroom/2-bath condos, and the one 3-bedroom/3 bath to sell was the least expensive ground floor sold in a six-plex building since a short sale in 2012!

There was one additional sale in the first half of 2015, one of the single family homes on the 17 lots at Kolea. The 5-bedroom, 4,770 sq. ft. home had been foreclosed and was sold by the bank for $3,195,299. This was a great price considering a 3 bedroom, 3,677 sq. ft. Kolea home just closed for $4,820,000. And there are two 3 bedroom, 2,147 sq. ft. penthouse condos at Kolea listed for almost $2.8 million!

“Walk to the beach” is the main attraction of Kolea homes and condos at Waikoloa Beach Resort

Hypothesis: Kolea Condo Buyers Shifted North to Home-like Condos

There are currently 7 Kolea of the larger villas (in the six-plex buildings) listed for sale at an average list price in excess of $2.2 million. Exactly seven condos sold at Kohala Coast resorts in 2015 in a $2-3 million price range…and most of them were more like homes than condos:

• Two Villas at Mauna Kea
• Two Kauna’oa at Mauna Kea
• Two Mauna Lani Point
• One Na Hale at Pauoa Beach (Mauna Lani)

In the $1 – 2 million luxury condo market, the new construction at Wai’ula’ula at Mauna Kea Resort had three sales and the new contruction at Ka Milo at Mauna Lani Resort had six sales. Both of these projects are building paired and single family homes rather than multi-story condos in this price range.

Among the active Kolea villas, my pick might be Kolea penthouse 13F, which got more realistic with a pricing reduction from $3,200,000 to $2,350,000 (MLS# 194771). At this price it is competitive with the second-floor listings but with higher ceilings and a bit more expansive ocean view.

Ocean and beach view from Kolea penthouse 13F, asking $2,350,000 (MLS# 194771)

Sales Picking Up Slightly in 2016

In addition to the single family home sale I mentioned, there are two Kolea condos in escrow. Kolea 4E, listed for $2.3 million, is second floor. Hence my pick of top floor 13F as a good buy.

The other unit with a pending sale, Kolea 12D, is listed for $1.3 million. Depending on the accepted offer price, which we won’t know until closing, we will have a strong comp for 13A (MLS# 292220) and 13D (MLS# 289370), both of which are the same floorplan and listed for $1,349,000. I love building 13 for the large grassy area in front of it. My slight preference would be 13D, with a little less exposure to the road.

Kolea 13D is a ground floor 3 bed/3 bath with a lovely grassy area in front of the lanai

I haven’t talked at all about the six-plex buildings, where there are nine active listings at prices from $745,000 to $1,029,500. The lowest priced listing at Kolea is my listing, Kolea 9G, a recently re-decorated ground floor two bedroom with a strong rental track record (MLS# 287964).

Kolea 9g has 2 bedrooms, newer furnishings, travertine flooring, and a strong rental history

Of course, if you have questions about Kolea, feel free to contact me directly.

A hui hou,

Beth Thoma Robinson, R(B)
Direct: 808.443.4588
Email: beth@hawaiilife.com