Author: Jenny Quill

Palolo’s Tree House

If you’re familiar with the phrases “compostable toilet,” “off the grid” and “water catchment system,” then this uber-green house in the very back of Palolo Valley may just be your slice of real estate heaven. The “tree house,” which is not actually a legal living structure—it’s zoned as a screened porch—is situated on 6.33 acres, including 122 feet of mountaintop at the property’s apex, whole sections of which are planted with papaya, mango, lychee, banana, avocado, lime, lemon, grapefruit and breadfruit trees, as well as rosemary, heather, heliconia and ginger plants. George of the Jungle would be jealous.

Beachfront Lanikai Villa Reduced by $2 Million

“It’s the only home on Lanikai Beach that has sandy beach, a yard and a big house,” says Annie Kwock. “Whereas, the other listings in Lanikai that have a nice yard and pool are on the sea wall. This house has got great beach access, and it’s private. And you just don’t see this style in Hawaii. It’s very charming and romantic. It has kind of a Romeo and Juliet feel inside.” The home’s design, by architect Ralph Gray, is textbook Mediterranean: A gleaming, white-stucco exterior contrasts a turquoise-tiled roof, while curved doorways and stone pillars mark the transitions between indoor-outdoor living spaces.

Open House Pick of the Week: Kalele Kai

Kalele Kai is a high-end, waterfront condominium community in Hawaii Kai with 229 two- and three-bedroom condos spread across three, six-story mid-rise buildings, as well as 10 three-bedroom waterfront town houses. It's an in-demand address thanks to its proximity to beaches and shopping, secure, gated entrance, and marina, mountain and ocean views. Amenities include clubhouse facilities, swimming pool with whirlpool spa, reserved parking and private boat slips. Resale prices are currently listed between the mid-$600s to just over $1 million, and rentals in this community can fetch between $2,000 and $3,500 per month.

The Real Deal: The Edition Hotel

In case you somehow missed the massive amounts of media hype, the Edition hotel had its grand opening this past weekend. While trying not to be distracted by the rarefied gathering of Honolulu’s hipster elite and a smattering of Hollywood celebs (hey, was that Kumar?), I found myself wondering: Will the Edition be good for real estate?

Elegance Personified: Dowsett-Ave. Estate for Sale

My favorite part of a home tour happens before I even reach the front door: I love coming up the driveway, watching as a home slowly reveals itself. And this Dowsett-Ave. residence, which is set back from the road, hidden behind a sentinel-like row of towering shrubs, has a big reveal. But not the kind you get with so many of the newer homes, which have larger-than-life, demanding presences. No, with this house, I felt as if I’d been transported to a French countryside estate full of old-time, graceful elegance. It’s a classy grande dame of a home, and it makes me happy to know that these places still quietly exist here on Oahu.

Neighborhood Profile: Makakilo

When I talk about heading out to Makakilo, it’s akin to plotting a long-distance road trip: Pack some snacks, a few drinks and sunscreen, kids, ’cause we’re heading to Makakilo! OK, I exaggerate, but the hour-long (or so) commute from downtown to the west-side community is a hike, which makes the neighborhood’s rapid growth all the more astonishing in my mind. But I think I’ve finally figured out the keys to Makakilo’s success: affordability, cooler-than-Ewa weather, and space to spread out.

What You Need to Know: HOA Fees

According to the Community Associations Institute, there are nearly 310,000 association-governed communities (this includes homeowners’ associations, condominiums, cooperatives and other planned communities) in the United States, representing approximately 25-million individual housing units. The general role of a homeowners’ association is to maintain a community’s common areas—roads, parks, landscaping, recreation centers, swimming pools, clubhouses—and homeowners are required to pay association dues to fund the upkeep and contribute to the association’s reserve. On Oahu, homeowners’ association (HOA) fees can cost anywhere from $9 to $3,000 per month, depending on the services and amenities covered by the association.

This Week’s Open House Pick: Ewa Beach

I wrote about the Ka Makana at Hoakalei resort community a few weeks back. If you’ll recall, I mentioned that the community’s most affordable housing options, the Lehua Series town houses, were temporarily sold out. Well, lo and behold, the first town home resale has hit the market, and it will be open this Sunday.

Lanikai House Reduced, Listed for Under $1.6 Million

“I’ve had eight sales in Lanikai in the past year, all good properties,” says realtor Annie Kwock, as she gestures toward a new-ish, 4,000-sq.-ft. residence down the road that sold, without ever coming on the market, for $3,350,000. Another nearby listing, this one also a private sale, went for $1,665,000. So, a house in this neighborhood priced at $1,580,000 is something of a good deal? “It’s a phenomenal deal,” says Kwock of this Koohoo Pl. listing.

Manoa Bed & Breakfast Still Hopes to Welcome Buyer

Manoa Valley Inn is one of the neighborhood’s most iconic residences, and certainly one of the island’s most charming historic homes. Built in 1911, the residence was formerly known as the John Guild House, named after the secretary of Alexander & Baldwin who acquired and renovated the property to its current form in 1919. In fact, the home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has been owned by several prominent local figures throughout its history.

Hawaii’s Most Expensive Zip Codes

Forbes recently released its annual listing of America’s Most Expensive Zip Codes, and Hawaii’s top-ranking zip codes raised more than a few eyebrows. That’s because, according to the Forbes list, Hawaii’s most expensive zip code is 96703, Anahola, which came in at number 60 with a median home price of $1,921,875. The second-most expensive zip code in the islands? That would be 96714, Hanalei, which came in at No. 72 on the Forbes list with a median home price of $1,732,833. So how did these two Kauai zip codes out-rank Oahu’s consistently pricey 96821 (Aina Haina), which came in third?

This Weekend’s Open-House Pick

For this weekend’s open-house pick, I’ve set my sights on Manoa—specifically, the former caretaker residence to the Straub Estate. According to listing agent Kai McDurmin, the original Straub home, built in 1919, sat on approximately an acre of land tucked into the back of the valley, and the caretakers’ quarters was built on part of the property in 1939. The entire estate was later subdivided into three parcels, one of which included the caretakers’ residence.

September Real Estate Stats for Oahu

The Honolulu Board of Realtors released the September residential resales statistics for Oahu yesterday. Overall, changes in the market last month were minimal, showing mostly small, steady gains, which points to a pretty stable housing market.

Free First-Time Homebuyer Seminars

Prudential Locations will be hosting two first-time homebuyer seminars this month, both of which are free and open to the public.

The Lowdown on Honolulu's Luxury Market

I was intrigued by some of the data detailed in the 2010 Luxury Home Real Estate Market Report released by Prudential Locations early last month, and thought I'd pass along a few of the more intriguing highlights.

Update: The Pacifica in Honolulu

The Pacifica condominium building, formerly known as Moana Vista, got off to a bit of a rough start when the project went into foreclosure in early 2009. But things have certainly turned around since developer OliverMcMillan acquired the project in late 2009. The building is coming along—it will get its top at the end of this year, and completion is projected for fall 2011—and sales have been picking up. There are currently 360 condos under contract, leaving only about 130 on the market. Of those, approximately 30 are reserved housing, which I’ll get to in a minute, and 100 are market-rate residences.

Open House: Price-Reduced Kaneohe Townhome

It’s Friday, which means it’s once again time to talk open houses. This week I’m turning my attention to Kaneohe, more specifically, the Ahuimanu area. This townhouse is located in Club View Gardens III, a quiet townhouse community popular with new-home buyers, retirees and military families who appreciate the well-maintained grounds, recreation center and clubhouse, easy access to the H-3 (about a 15-minute drive) and Windward Mall (about five minutes away).

Resort Living in Ewa Beach

Among the most ambitious new communities is Ka Makana at Hoakalei, a resort community that is already home to approximately 200 families and the private, 248-acre, Ernie Els-designed Hoakalei Country Club Golf Course. The first residential component to be developed at Hoakalei, Ka Makana will have, at its completion, more than 800 homes and the Ka Makana Swim Club, a fitness center, pool and spa situated on an acre of land in the center of the neighborhood.

A New Kind of College Dorm in Waikiki

Like LOST, part of the fun in watching last week’s premiere episode of Hawaii 5-0 was trying to identify the shoot locations. The opening sequence was obviously Kualoa Ranch, and I’m pretty sure the team’s office was headquartered in the old Advertiser building, but I couldn’t quite place Danno’s nondescript, retro apartment. A quick Google search yielded a somewhat-surprising result: The Tradewinds Student Suites, located on Hobron Lane across from Ala Moana Beach Park.

Low-Key Luxury in Honolulu’s Black Point Community

Honolulu’s Black Point neighborhood is synonymous with luxury, having long been the community of choice for many of Oahu’s oldest and wealthiest families (Doris Duke’s Shangri La is located here) and a number of celebrities (Martin Denny, Tom Selleck, to name a few). Within this exclusive enclave there’s a mix of flashy, new mansions and more traditional homes, a category in which this understated, old-Hawaii home belongs.

Hudson and Rocker Hubby Selling Makakilo Manse

Hudson, of the Bizarro Morning Show on Star 101.9, and her rocker husband, Steve Hott, are selling their Makakilo manse. The couple bought the residence six years ago, having fallen for the home’s private location and unobstructed ocean and mountain views. “We loved that the house was on a perimeter lot, and that no one could ever build behind us,” says Hudson. “It’s located on a cul-de-sac, and the neighborhood is quiet. There’s a constant breeze. We have central AC, and I think we’ve used it maybe 20 times in the last six years.”

This Weekend’s Open House Pick

This weekend’s open-house pick caught my eye because of its graceful mix of modern amenities and relaxed kamaaina living. The home is located in Pacific Heights, a neighborhood that people tend to overlook, but shouldn’t. It’s close to downtown and convenient to everything, houses in this area often have stellar views of the city and beyond, and it tends to be a little cooler up there thanks to the trade winds that breeze through.

This Space Reserved: $30K for a Parking Space in Hawaii Kai

Sure, we all know that parking in this city is a hot commodity, but a nearly $30,000 commodity? Apparently. Standalone stall No. 235 at Hawaii Kai’s The Colony at the Peninsula is currently listed for $29,500 by listing agent/owner Philip McCaffray, who is looking to offload the extra space.

House-Hunting 101: Finding the Right School

Today’s write-up is in response to another reader request: How do you find the right school while searching for the right home? Clearly, finding the best school is a crucial deciding factor in every family’s new-home search. There’s a lot of information to sift through, but, fortunately, a lot of what you need to know can be found online.

Tour Kailua Real Estate by Bike

Start your house hunt off on the right foot with realtor John Stallings’ Pedal Buy Bike Tours of Kailua. The two-hour tours will have you searching for homes from the seat of a Schwinn, an economical, environmentally friendly and good-for-your-waistline approach to shopping for real estate. It’s also, quite simply, a lovely way to see one of the most beautiful corners of the island.

Home Buyer 101: Is Your Dream Neighborhood Safe?

We were recently asked for some tips on how to determine if the neighborhood where you’re thinking of purchasing a home is safe. There are a lot of different ways to go about this, but here are some suggestions to get you started.

Open House of the Week: Ocean-View Condo in Honolulu's Nauru Tower

It’s Aloha Friday, which means it’s time to talk open houses. This time, I’m honing in on metro Oahu, specifically Nauru Tower on Ala Moana Blvd. Everyone knows that the realtor mantra is “location, location, location,” and Nauru certainly qualifies. “I think, traditionally, this building has been really liked by Asian offshore buyers because of the location,” says Sachi Braden, the principal broker at Sachi Hawaii Pacific Century Properties. “You can walk across the street to the park and beach, and then there’s the convenient shopping at Ward and Ala Moana Centers, and you’re also within walking distance of lots of restaurants. And the drive to the airport is 15 to 30 minutes. It’s very, very convenient.”

Honolulu’s Kaiser Estate Still Seeks Buyer

It’s been nearly two years since the remaining portion of the former Kaiser Estate was put on the market by its owners, Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Chan, and there’s hope that the estate may finally find a new owner, one with pockets deep enough to bring it back to its former glory. According to Mary Worrall Associates’ managing director Alden Yamane, since it was listed, a dozen or so potential buyers have seen the property, three of which were “serious.”

Looking for Hawaii Real Estate? There’s an App for That.

Full disclosure: I’m addicted to my iPhone, and, like any true iPhone junkie, I love a good app. So I’m pretty stoked about the Prudential Locations Real Estate Search, a fabulously functional (and free!) local real estate app for your iPhone, iTouch or iPad.

Affordable Rentals on the Beach in Oahu? It’s Possible.

Vibe: The Waterfront at Puuloa offers beachfront living in former military housing. Formerly known as the Iroquois Point Island Club, the community’s military roots are still evident: There’s a Navy Exchange gas station and mini mart, and a somewhat-reliable ferry that shuttles military residents (about 60 percent of the community’s population is military) to and from Ford Island and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The community, with 1,450 homes and approximately 5,000 residents, comes off as a small, Sims-like town.

Kailua Beachfront Estate Reduced by $1.8 Million

Perhaps the third time is the charm for this Kailua beachfront estate, which recently had its third price drop. The nearly 8,000-plus-sq.-ft., Kailua residence designed by architect Peter Vincent was originally listed at $21 million, reduced to $14.8 million and has now settled in at a little less than $13 million.

Waikiki Open House

I’m all about ways to cut back on the stresses of shopping for a new home because, if we’re being honest here, house hunting can be a patience-testing, marriage-wrecking, blood-pressure-raising affair. So I was pretty jazzed to hear about Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties’ Waikiki is Open event on Sunday, Sept. 12 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Liliha Street’s Million-Dollar Baby

I adore the character, charm and history of old homes, particularly those done in the Craftsman style, and this well-maintained Liliha St. residence, which was built in 1914, is one of the best examples of that classic style that I’ve seen on the island. The five-bedroom, three-bath home in the Puunui neighborhood was purportedly built for a physician of the royal family, and later owned by an Admiral.

What $250K Buys You in Waikiki

You know when someone tells you, usually in a hushed, conspiratorial whisper, about some too-good-to-be-true deal and you think, ‘Yeah, sure, right. As if?’ That’s pretty much how it went when a friend recently tipped me off that the Niihau Apts. building on Beach Walk Ave. in Waikiki has fee simple condos listed for sale for less than $300,000. And pigs can fly and I own a unicorn, or at least that’s what was running through my mind as she told me. But, lo and behold, the Niihau does exist, and there are currently a couple active listings for units in the building, all for less than $300,000.

Ancient Hula Hawaiian Style

Nearly a dozen vintage recordings of mele (songs or chants) for ancient hula have been resurrected, remastered and compiled on a new album, Ancient Hula Hawaiian Style, Volume 1: Hula Kuahu.

Ala Wai Redux

The Leiahua is one of those buildings along the Ala Wai Canal that you’ve probably passed by a million times and not given a second thought. Its stout, concrete construction (more bunker than apartment building) and fabulously funky, mid-century-modern, concrete-screen-block façade are telling of its age (the Leiahua was built in 1965), but, thanks to a recent interior renovation, it’s probably best not to judge this book by its cover.

An Oceanfront Classic in Kailua for $2.8 Million

It’s Friday, which means the weekend’s open houses are upon us. Of the 384 opens listed on www.hicentral.com, this oceanfront six-bedroom, five-bath Kaimalino-neighborhood residence caught my eye. I guess you could say I’m a sucker for an ocean view, and this house has that in spades, as well as views of Kailua Beach, the Mokulua Islands and the Koolau Mountain range.

A Real Pet Peeve

Honolulu is not a particularly pet-friendly place for would-be renters, which is odd given the fact that, according to the Hawaii Humane Society, more than 60 percent of Oahu households have pets. For every 15 listings I’ve perused, there’s only one that allows pets, and it’s either cost prohibitive or comes with a myriad of restrictions (size limit, breed limit, outside-pets only). After seeing the SORRY, NO PETS tag line a few too many times, I started looking beyond the classifieds, and found a few helpful resources.

Field Guide: Ethnic Markets

We explore five of the city’s best ethnic-food markets, and find homemade salsa, fragrant curries and budget-friendly bentos.

Field Guide: Hekaha Street

While many know the street as the home of Jelly’s the Original, there’s more to this bustling business corridor in Aiea.

Best of Honolulu 2010

Honolulu is full of amazing stuff and we found the best of it. From sandwiches to swimming lessons, first dates to funky shoes; think of this as your key to living better and cheaper in the city.

Toast Masters

Profile about the annual Guinness Irish Toast Contest in Honolulu

Cache Me If You Can

Geocaching, a high-tech game of hide and seek, isn’t just for geeks or GPS junkies.

TAG Sets the Stage

African-American plays are rarely performed in Honolulu. The Actors’ Group is changing that—and finding box-office success.

The Best Bars in Honolulu 2009: Liquid Assets

When anxiety runs high, we remember that these bars are assets to our community. For our annual Best Bars feature story, we found these places and we lift our glasses high in salute.

Private School Guide 2010

How to choose the right school, a step-by-step guide to admissions and frequently asked questions.

A Tight-Knit Group

The Aloha Knitters isn’t your grandmother’s knitting circle, though none of its members would mind the comparison.