Only 2 Days Left to Register for Hualalai and Mauna Kea Hawaii Auctions

The luxury real estate auctions of homes at Hualalai Resort and Mauna Kea Resort take place on March 18th and 19th respectively. Bidders must register by March 15th, which means if you have been considering one of these opportunities, you have only two days left! BREAKING NEWS: The minimum bid price has been removed today on Mauna Kea Fairways North. Both are selling without reserve!

Left: Mauna Kea Resort home NOW SELLING ABSOLUTE (MLS# 255028 ); Right: Hualalai Resort home no minimum bid, listed at $18,500,000 (MLS# 250438)

No Reserve on Either Hualalai or Mauna Kea Homes – How Low Will the Auction Properties Go?

As with any auction or sale situation, the more buyers are competing, the higher prices are likely to go. The converse is also true. Two years ago, Concierge Auctions was in town to auction a home and a penthouse condo at beachfront Kolea. At the time, the auction was almost overshadowed by the unfortunate timing of the release of a penthouse condo as a REO after foreclosure auction. The end result was fewer buyers at the auction and someone walking away with what was perceived at the time as a “screaming deal.”

Months later, my conclusion was the screaming deal was fair market value at the time. In other words, the bank-owned properties at Kolea were in fact dominating the market in 2011 and savvy buyers were getting deals; the auction just revealed the truth. Similarly, last year’s Kukio auction seems to have priced the home exactly in line with the comps.

What does this mean for the Hualalai and Mauna Kea Fairways North auctions? If you’ve been reading the Hawaii Life articles about activity in the Kohala Coast luxury real estate market in general, you know that 2013 marks a return to the low inventory/steady demand scenario that heralds the arrival of the rising phase of the real estate market cycle.

However, many buyers are not yet familiar or comfortable with auction as a process for buying luxury real estate. My conclusion: unlike sellers in this market who are emboldened to hold out for higher prices, these two sellers have said, “Sell now!” That still represents a clear opportunity for buyers.

Hualalai Resort Auction Property ‘Hale Ku Mana” is designed for casual entertaining lifestyle

How to Get Comfortable with Buying Luxury Real Estate at Auction

From the conversations I have with buyers, two things are obstacles to their participating in an auction. One is lack of familiarity with the process. The other is concern that they don’t know where to start their bid and how much they should cap their bid at if they are up against enthusiastic buyers on auction day.

For an overview of your best tactics to make an effective run at one of these properties, start with my previous blog post: Hualalai Resort and Mauna Kea Fairways Real Estate Auctions.

If you aren’t in the market every day, you may want to find an agent to represent you with the auction. It doesn’t cost you any more.

Although I said in my earlier post I’d save my advice for buyer clients, I’ll be dropping hints over the next few days, so keep reading…or contact me directly if you want to get the scoop first!

A hui hou,

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