Kolea Foreclosure Update, Kohala Coast, Big Island

Six weeks ago I wrote a post about Kohala Coast foreclosure (REO) properties, highlighting the beachfront Kolea community. The bank-owned properties are moving quickly now that the lenders have figured out there are definitely buyers for half-price deals on condos with high-end finishes and the top walk-to-the beach location on the Kohala Coast!

Kolea Pool overlooks beach

At the time of the last post, there were two REOs in escrow, both of which have closed. As of today, there are two more in escrow, and two well-priced units on the market.

Taking a step back, let’s look at how the Kolea community is configured. This property is located in between the two hotels at the Waikoloa Beach Resort, and was originally intended as the location of a third hotel, which is why it is the only project in the resort with direct access to the beach at Anaeho’omalu Bay.

The developer laid it out with 17 lots and the Beach Club amenities on the ocean-side perimeter, and three-story condo buildings on the interior.

Kolea site map

Starting with the condos, buildings 1-8, 10, 12, and 13 have only six luxury units per building. Because they have attached garages, the ground floor is a slightly smaller floor plan of 3 bed/3 bath and 1,716 sq. ft. interior plus 400 sq ft of lanai. On the second and third floors, the condos have 3 bed/3.5 bath with over 2,100 sq. ft. and the same huge lanai with pocket doors to be fully opened and a built-in “summer kitchen” barbecue area.

Buildings 9, 11, and 14-16 have twelve smaller units per building. The outside units are 1,554 sq. ft. and the interior 2 bed/2 bath condos are 1,270 sq. ft. The finishes on the smaller condos are identical to the large ones, so for a more affordable price point the lucky buyer still gets top-of-the-line appliances, pocket doors, African mahogany crown moldings…and that walk-to-the-beach lifestyle.

The majority of the Kolea foreclosures have been these two-bedroom condos. The smaller 2 bedroom just closed for $460,000 in Building 9. The one that is currently available in Building 15 has just been reduced to $439,900. For comparison, before the market collapsed in 2008, this same floor plan sold for $1,030,000!

One of the larger 1,550 sq. ft. two-bedrooms just sold for $521,900, there is another REO in escrow at $563,900 and one that just came on the market at $532,900. I should mention that all of these were top-floor units, and the only additional large 2BR currently in the foreclosure pipeline is a second floor condo.

The 3-bedroom REO mentioned in my previous post that was listed at only $695,000 in Building 1 is in escrow today. Although there are short sale listings, to date no other 3-bedroom has been foreclosed upon.

Finally, let’s look at the single family residences. Beautiful homes have been built on 11 of the 17 lots. Some of them were built for the owners personal use, and others were built as spec homes. On several of these homes, construction was started near the peak of the market and unfortunately completed near the bottom. One of them is bank-owned already, and prices on others have been dropped to under $5 million. With a similar home having sold for $7.5 million in 2006, these homes are looking like best buys on the Kohala Coast!

Kolea bank-owned house

A hui hou!

Beth Thoma Robinson, R(S)
Direct: 808-443-4588
Email: beth@hawaiilife.com