Hawi Real Estate Market Report: Puakea Bay Ranch and Ranch at Puakea

Just west of Hawi, North Kohala, are three “gentleman ranch” communities carved out of the former Puakea Ranch. Puakea Bay Ranch and the Ranch at Puakea, are the oceanfront gated subdivisions whose entrance gates one sees makai (ocean side) of the road into town. The smallest of the three communities, Puakea Ranch, consists of 9 large parcels mauka (mountain side) of the road.

Aerial shows the winding road to the ocean through Ranch at Puakea to the left and a portion of Puakea Bay Ranch to the right. Can you see the outlines of cloud-capped Maui in the distance?

Last Year’s Sale at Puakea Ranch

The Puakea Ranch properties stay green through more of the year for pasturing your horses or cattle and have puu as well as ocean views

The only home for sale last year in $1.5 – $2 million price range typical for the Puakea, Hawi area was my listing across the road at Puakea Ranch, a 3,700 sq. ft. ranch-style residence with resort-quality finishes on 25 acres, and sold for $1,735,000.  

There is still a vacant lot of around 25 acres listed for $875,000 (MLS# 249680) located above the beautifully restored historic Puakea Ranch property where you could book your vacation if you’d like to get a feel for the dryside Hawi area before viewing homes and land for sale nearby.

Three Homes New on the Market at Puakea Bay Ranch

All homes at Puakea Bay Ranch have ocean and Maui views; the three properties for sale have pools where you can cool off and enjoy the views

In 2011, there were no homes on the market at Puakea Bay Ranch, other than the oceanfront estate listed for $13,750,000 and a smaller foreclosure property just outside the gates with some serious title issues that had to be auctioned multiple times before selling.

The real estate buyer at Puakea Bay Ranch now has three new options in luxury homes for sale. These realistic sellers have priced in line with the sales from the past 18 months. Two comparable properties sold in 2010 at prices of $1,650,000 and $1,800,000. These 2010 Puakea home sales were both distress situations (a short sale and a home that had received a foreclosure notice despite having significant equity so not a “short sale”).

The three new listings deserve an entire post, but here’s the overview. All the homes are on 10-acre lots with great ocean and Maui views. They range from $1,650,00 (MLS# 251833) for a 4-bedroom, 4,132 sq. ft. home built in 2001 (this one is 2-story with the guest bedrooms upstairs) to $2,299,000 (MLS# 249852) for 5-bedrooms (including “maids quarters”) and 6,733 sq. ft. interior plus another 4,000 sq. ft. or so of covered lanai.

Opportunity: 20-Acre Lots For Sale at Ranch at Puakea

Keawe trees shade a herd of horses on this Ranch at Puakea lot…ride the trail to the oceanfront cove!

There are five 20-acre lots listed at the Ranch at Puakea: four ocean view and one slightly larger oceanfront. The Ranch at Puakea parcel I continue to point out as a best buy (MLS# 239758) has just had a price reduction to $696,000! When I blogged about it last year, it was the first Ranch at Puakea lot to drop below $1 million asking; now it is in the price range where it might be attractive for someone who wished to build a home for the resale market, given the recent home sales in the Puakea area.  

Two current owners at Ranch at Puakea are completing their own homes, one on an oceanfront parcel, but neither will be for sale. Building a home in Hawai’i from the Mainland can be daunting. Any builder-developers out there up for the challenge?

A hui hou,

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