Kauai Home Sales

*****Kauai Real Estate Update*****

The island is hopping with lots of visitors and our office, Pacific Ocean Properties, has had some excellent real estate activity in the past 2 weeks.  We’ve seen some “really good deals” being picked off and this is a trend that we hope will continue as it will only help the rest of the market.  Any activity at this point will be recorded in a couple of months from now when escrows close.  For an island wide spread sheet of what came on the market and what sold CLICK HERE

*****Rate Hike Proposed For Golfers at Wailua*****

In an effort to make Wailua Golf Course self sufficient a rate hike is being proposed.  The course historically has had great rates with the Taxpayers making up the shortfall to the tune of 4.12 million over the last six years.  The rate hike was to be staggered over a 7 year period but the proposal is to go with a rate hikes for the next consecutive 4 years.  The fee increase impacts non-residents the most, the proposed rates are $60.00 a round for non-residents, $12.00 a round for seniors and $15.00 a round for residents.  Non-residents played 10,797 rounds in 2008 while residents played 8,462.  The public will have another round at comment when it reaches the council agenda.

****400 Box Jellyfish Swarm Salt Pond Beach*****

Salt Pond Beach, which is located in Hanapepe, was closed due to 400 box jellyfish being sighted.  The city of Honolulu also closed Hanauma Bay also.

*****Poipu Condo Owner Allege Involvement in $13 Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme *****

A Poipu Beach condo owner allegedly is involved with a ponzi scheme where a 3% to 5% was promised to investors but those deposits were actually used to pay off old investors.  As much as $13 million has been taken over the last 3 years.  The alleged offender owns two condos, one in Poipu Beach and one in Lihue.  Prosecutors said the man used the money from investors to buy the Poipu Condo, airline tickets, cars, motorcycles, meals in restaurants and other goods in Hawaii.  The man told investors that they could generate large sums of money with him but since he was not a licensed stockbroker they needed to deposit the money into his bank account in exchange for a promissory note.  State officials have filed for any future sale of these condos to be halted at this point.

*****The End For New Mokulele Airlines?????*****

Mokulele Airlines, Hawaii’s newest airline, could have its assets seized by their business partner Republic Airways.  The airline had defaulted in an 8 million dollar loan payment but made a payment on Thursday morning to stave off a takeover by Republic.  However Mokulele is not flying in clear skies yet, they owe an additional payment of $291,000.00 on Friday and if that was not made they face the same possible takeover situation this coming week.

*****Father Damien To Become A Saint*****

Well over a hundred years after Father Damien came to Hawaii and established order and stability to the leprosy colony on Molokai Sainthood will be granted on October 11, 2009.  In 1864 Joseph de Veuster, a Belgian priest, took the name Damien and came to Hawaii to minister.  9 years later he began ministering to the leprosy patients on Molokai while bringing law and order to the island where some 8,000 people lived.  Father Damien contracted the disease himself and died at the age of 49.

 *****Foreclosure Numbers Update*****So where does Hawaii stand on foreclosures?  Here’s an update:

The State of Hawaii has one foreclosure filing per 1,500 households, the national average is 1 in 466

Maui has the highest with 1 filing for every 800

The Big Island and Kauai have 1 for every 1000

Honolulu has 1 in every 2,200

For an island wide list of what came on the market last week and what sold CLICK HERE

*****Cap on Pets Considered for Hawaii’s Homeless*****

A bill is being considered to put a cap on how many pets a homeless person can have.  Inspired by a case of a homeless woman in Honolulu that keeps 19 cats in cages and shopping carts on the streets of Honolulu for the last 10 years.  Animal Advocate Inc. produced a 16 minute video of the woman in efforts to curtail this kind of activity.  Under the new law homeless could have no more than 10 cats or dogs and would ban the caging of cats or dogs on public property for more than four hours.

*****Driver of Monster Truck Arrested*****

The driver of the monster truck that ran over a sunbather at Kitchens Beach was formally arrested last Tuesday for second-degree negligent injury and reckless driving.  The driver was arrested when the incident occurred for two unrelated bench warrants.

*****Subwoofer Subculture in the Spotlight*****

If you have been bothered by the BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! of a cars soup upped up stereo system you are not alone.  Sometimes the cars are tiny and sometimes they are big SUV’s but the effect is the same; your car starts rocking and the song you are listening to is probably one you would not have chosen, but you’ll listen to it until the neighboring car drives away.  Bill H. B. 198 is being proposed to prohibit the installation, possession and operation of certain types of car stereos.

*****Hawaii Based Banks Faring Well*****The Bank meltdown has been making headlines and I often get asked how it is affecting Hawaii. Fortunately their prudent banking structure is paying off resulting in our Hawaii based banks outperforming mainland banks. First Hawaiian reported a fourth quarter net income up 8.8% and they say their growth is due to their loan and lease department. Central Pacific Bank reported earning 3.1 million in the fourth quarter but the bank is suspending dividends effective immediately to preserve capital. Bank of Hawaii reported a net income of $39.3 million for 2008 which is down from their 2007 profit figure of $40.9 million. What this translates to is fewer mortgage meltdowns which is good news for our housing market. For an island wide list of what came on the market and what sold CLICK HERE

*****Visitor Drowns at Poipu Beach*****

A 50 year old visitor from Mission Viejo, California drowned last Wednesday while snorkeling.  The man was in front of the Marriott when he became distressed and the Poipu Beach lifeguard some 800 yards away saw him and came to his aid.  The man died in route to Wilcox Hospital.

*****Hawaii to Fly Homeless Away?*****

A bill passed the House Housing Committee that proposes to give mainland homeless people living in Hawaii a one way ticket back home.  The bills supporters say it’s cheaper to spend $300 on a one way ticket out of paradise than thousands in social services and they say that no one will be forced to leave.  These tickets are not going to be handed out anytime soon as this bill needs to work its way through many committees and votes needed to pass this $75,000 measure.

*****Third Break In For Kaumakani Church*****

These might not be the kind of break-ins your used to reading about.  Kaumakani church has been broken into three times in the last year.  A year ago an intruder broke into the church and stole a toilet out of the mens room, nothing else.  6 months later another break-in and thieves took 25 pounds of of chicken and 25 pounds of pork.  After that break-in the church installed a heavy gate to the entrance of the church.  This did not stop the break-ins as the burglars just went in by foot, tore off the kitchen sink window and entered that way.  This time only food was eaten.  They also broke the door leading into the churches bell tower and stole an oil candle.  There were two at the alter originally.  Kaumakani Methodist Church dates back to 1910 when a minister called on plantation camps in the area.