Oahu's Top 25 Single-Family Home Sales of 2010
Despite a down economy, decreased home values and fewer luxury-home sales, there were plenty of high-end single-family home sales in 2010. Here are the 25 most expensive sales of single-family homes registered in the Multiple Listing Service last year, though this list does not include private transactions, but first, some details on some of the top sales.
The top two sales belonged to realtor Patricia Choi with Choi International. Both properties were in Kahala and were purchased by Japanese investors. The biggest sale was a Kahala Ave. beachfront estate that was on the market for 14 months and sold for $22 million, $2 million less than its original asking price. According to Choi, the 63,000-sq.-ft. property with 132 feet of sandy beachfront was purchased for land value only, and the new owner has demolished the home to make way for his private gardens. The seller was the Estate of Cecily Johnston, by trustee Stanton Johnston. The Johnston family built the home in 1939, and hosted many famous people over the years, including President Ronald Regan and Mrs. Nancy Regan, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush, actor Clark Gable and crooner Don Ho, to name a few.
The second-largest sale, also on Kahala Ave., was a 55,937-sq.-ft. beachfront lot with an 18,366-sq.-ft. house. According to Choi, a Japanese investor built the house in 1989 and his family enjoyed their holidays there until 2002, when they sold the property to another investor from Japan for $9.7 million. In August 2010 the current owner sold to yet another investor from Japan, getting $17.5 million for the house plus $500,000 for the furnishings.
The third largest sale was a $7.8 million Koko Kai oceanfront property acquired by a Chinese investor.
In fourth place was a Kailua home that sold for $7,350,000. Built new in 2006 with a lot size of over 25,000 square feet in prime beach location, the property was sold by realtor Margy Grosswendt, who represented both the seller and buyer. "[The property] sold to a Mainland buyer who was born and raised on Oahu," says Grosswendt. "He and his wife had been looking for property for four years on Oahu-from Kahala to Portlock to Hawaii Loa Ridge-and they finally settled on Kailua Beach."
Rounding out the top five was the sale of a $7-million Paiko Lagoon house that was designed by architect Vladimir Ossipoff (check out my column on the house here). The buyer was a Japanese corporation.
Among the remaining sales, perhaps the most notable is the $6.9 million purchase of a Kailua beachfront home that was rented by President Obama and his family for two Christmas vacations. It was sold to Paradise Point Estates LLC, a company managed by Glenn Weinberg, the nephew of real estate baron Harry Weinberg.
Sale Price Area Date
1. $22,000,000 Kahala Sept. 15
2. $17,500,000 Kahala July 26
3. $7,800,000 Koko Kai May 20
4. $7,350,000 Beachside March 8
5. $7,000,000 Paiko Lagoon Sept. 10
6. $6,900,000 Beachside July 9
7. $6,650,000 Black Point Dec. 23
8. $5,850,000 Koko Kai Sept. 8
9. $5,350,000 Diamond Head Nov. 24
10. $5,000,000 Lanikai Feb. 23
11. $4,960,000 Diamond Head Dec. 29
12. $4,750,000 Kahala June 1
13. $4,500,000 Diamond Head June 22
14. $4,100,000 Beachside Aug. 24
15. $3,999,999 Koko Kai May 4
16. $3,850,000 Hawaii Loa Ridge Mar. 18
17. $3,816,000 Lanikai Sept. 24
18. $3,800,000 Waialae G/C Aug. 18
19. $3,800,000 Black Point Aug. 11
20. $3,750,000 Diamond Head Jul. 26
21. $3,600,000 Diamond Head Nov. 29
22. $3,550,000 Kahala Aug. 30
23. $3,500,000 Aina Haina Aug. 24
24. $3,500,000 Kahala Jan. 26
25. $3,350,000 Lanikai May 14
