Princeville condo (and house) update for the week of Aug 17th to 23rd

Aloha,

It’s been a pretty quiet week with more price reductions than anything else. It’s good to see that there was only one (yes one!) new condo listing this week. With 164 already listed, it’s not like we need a bunch of new ones. If you read my previous posting, you know I personally think that those who are not “real sellers” (I affectionally call them wanna be sellers) should withdraw their properties from the market until such time that it can support their “gotta have” prices. Having said that, lets get on to the update:

Copyright 8/23/2008 by Hawaii Information Service

NEW LISTINGS
214863 T A 4 4-5-4-5-23-49 FS $625,000 Plantation At Princeville #1311 1,140 #1311 2/2 BACK ON THE MARKET
210027 T A 139 4-5-4-5-30-6 FS $380,000 Princeville Mauna Kai #F6 1,400 ##5 3/2
199811 T A 368 4-5-4-5-39-191 FS $765,000 Cliffs At Princeville #9201 963 #9201 1/2

SALES
215085 T S 0 4-5-4-5-24-1 FS $749,000 Nihilani At Princeville Resort #1A 1,406 #1A 2/2
SOLD 4/20/2008 for $690,000 (CNV) DOM 0

PRICE CHANGES
210059 T A 131 4-5-4-5-27-18 FS $375,000- Hale Honu #9B 1,085 #9B 3/2
210522 T A 120 4-5-4-12-2-16 FS $429,000- Hale Moi #116 1,033 #116 1/2
211203 T A 88 4-5-4-5-13-9 FS $435,000- Kamahana #9 1,759 #9 2/2
211887 T A 80 4-5-4-15-21-28 FS $459,000- Sandpiper Village I #128 1,042 #128 2/2
210822 T A 50 4-5-4-5-13-28 FS $475,000- Kamahana #28 1,145 #28 2/2
212164 T A 80 4-5-4-15-21-65 FS $499,000- Sandpiper Village I #228 1,173 #228 2/2.5
213365 T A 49 4-5-4-5-24-80 FS $539,900- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #27B 1,567 #27B 3/2.5
210596 T A 110 4-5-4-5-24-23 FS $598,300- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #8B 1,567 #8B 2/2.5
210598 T A 103 4-5-4-5-24-8 FS $603,300- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #3B 1,567 #3B 2/2.5
210699 T A 109 4-5-4-5-24-31 FS $610,000- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #11A 1,406 #11A 2/2
210700 T A 109 4-5-4-5-24-98 FS $630,000- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #33B 1,406 #33B 2/2
213369 T A 48 4-5-4-5-24-94 FS $739,900- Nihilani At Princeville Resort #32A 1,874 #32A 3/2.5
200484 T A 360 4-5-4-5-39-169 FS $795,000- Cliffs At Princeville #7305 1,137 #7305 2/2
200456 T A 353 4-5-4-12-11-14 FS $1,550,000- Puu Poa #114 2,065 #114 2/2

Our only new listings this week is Plantation 1311, listed for $625K. The person who bought it from the developer made a killing, as this unit shows as sold on 11/05, first for $430K (which was the sale from the developer to the first buyer) and then on the same date, it shows a sale to the current seller for $535K. That’s the way you used to be able to do it. At $625K, it’s one of the few 2 bedroom units in the $600’s with the exception of unit 711 which has been on the market for over 722 days and is currently listed for $655K. Good luck with this one. These are the other Plantation units on the market:

Copyright 8/23/2008 by Hawaii Information Service

214741 T A 12 4-5-4-5-23-66 FS $578,000 Plantation At Princeville #1712 1,153 #1712 2/2
214373 T A 22 4-5-4-5-23-58 FS $599,000 Plantation At Princeville #1512 1,153 #1512 2/2
214863 T A 4 4-5-4-5-23-49 FS $625,000 Plantation At Princeville #1311 1,140 #1311 2/2
199861 T A 374 4-5-4-5-23-60 FS $650,000 Plantation At Princeville #1522 1,318 #1522 3/3
183699 T A 722 4-5-4-5-23-25 FS $655,000 Plantation At Princeville #711 1,153 #711 2/2
210042 T A 130 4-5-4-5-23-24 FS $729,000 Plantation At Princeville #622 1,366 #622 3/3

Two units are back on the market: Mauna Kau #5 which is a short sale at $380K, having sold for $431,560 back in 11/04. This unit had previously been withdrawn for some reason. Cliffs 9201 expired and is now back on the market at $765K which I think is a very attractive price. If you are not familiar with the Cliffs, and do not know the wonderful views available from Building 9, go take a look. This one-owner condo and has been lovingly cared for and is being held open with great regularity.

Our lone sale was a developer’s Nihilani unit 1A that went for $690K for a 2 bed / 2 bath Moana unit.

The longest part of every weekly update is always the price changes. This week we have Hale Honu 9B, which is agent owned since 4/04 with a purchase price of $355K- going from $390K to $375K. Along with this price reduction goes any hope of a profit. Hale Moi 116, purchased in 10/04 for $459K reduced from $459K to $429K moving it into the territory of a tax write off. Kamahana #9 went from $535K to $435K and sold for $280K in 8/03. At least these sellers can hold out hope of getting out of ownership without losing money. Sandpiper 128 and 228 are owned by the same person, and were bought in 6/05 for $490K and $535K respectively. Those were the good old days. They are now reducing from $479K to $459K on 128 and from $549K to $539,900 for 228.

Kamahana #28, purchased in 4/06 for $599K reduced this week from $504,617 to $475K. Maybe less numbers in the list price will bring them luck although studies showed that the fewer zeros in your list price, the higher the offer would be. I even tried it on one of my listings but all it did for me was make it so I had too many number to remember when I was asked what the price was.

The agent owned Nihilani 27B reduced yet again from $549,900 to $539,000 on the 3 bed / 2.5 bath Hoku model and from $749K to $739K on Nihilani 32A which is the Makani unit. 27B sold in 10/06 for $682,180 while 32A sold in 3/06 for an unbelievable $985K.

Even the developer has had to acquiesce and lower the prices back to what they were during their big BLOW OUT sale a month or two ago. Nihilani 8B has gone from $665,200 to $598,300, 3B from $686,200 to $603,300, 11A from $679,200 to $610,000, and 33B went from $664,200 to $630,000. How often do you see a developer lower prices? Almost never! How often do you see a developer lower prices and STILL have units that cost more than the resales? ABSOLUTELY NEVER.

Moving along, we have Cliffs 7305 which is a top floor ocean view unit purchased for $242K in 8/00 and reducing from $849,450 to $795K. The views from this unit are not quite as awesome as those from 9201 but it does offer an extra bedroom, third floor views and vaulted ceilings. Finally there’s Pu’u Po’a 114 which sold for $1.4M in 3/05. This unit started at $1.849M and reduced this week from $1.625K to $1.55M. Pu’u Po’a pricing has seen some stiff competition of late. Here are the recent listings:

Copyright 8/23/2008 by Hawaii Information Service

214847 T A 11 4-5-4-12-11-3 FS $1,399,999 Island of Kauai, Hanalei District, Puu Poa 1,800 #103 2/2
213637 T A 32 4-5-4-12-11-46 FS $1,475,000 Puu Poa #404 1,352 #404 2/2
200456 T A 353 4-5-4-12-11-14 FS $1,550,000 Puu Poa #114 2,065 #114 2/2
212665 T A 66 4-5-4-12-11-2 FS $1,595,000 Puu Poa #102 1,352 #102 2/2
208628 T A 163 4-5-4-12-11-55 FS $1,595,000 Puu Poa #413 1,777 #413 2/2
202256 T A 287 4-5-4-12-11-7 FS $1,699,000 Puu Poa #107 2,065 #107 2/2
213416 T A 38 4-5-4-12-11-20 FS $1,875,000 Puu Poa #206 1,359 #206 2/2
205418 T A 232 4-5-4-12-11-37 FS $2,245,000 Puu Poa #309 1,352 #309 2/2

Even with the most recent price reduction, 114 is still bested pricewise by both 103 and 404 which is a top floor unit. This unit was previously listed from 10/07 to 3/08 starting at $1.675M and moving down to $1.450M. At that time it needed a lot of work and after 171 days on the market it was withdrawn. It’s back on at $1.475M and has been partially upgraded with all a new kitchen with Kraftmaid Cherry wood cabinetry, Silestone counter tops, along with fresh paint, plumbing & electrical upgrades to justify the new higher price. The bathrooms, however, are pretty much original and in need of some work. What’s interesting is that, after doing all this work and spending all this money to make the unit shine, located in the middle of the living room are several large boxes which are supposedly cabinets for the bathroom. Not only does this leave the bathrooms wanting but since these boxes are the first thing you see when you walk in the door (and the first thing the agent has to explain away as they bring in their client) it detracts from the nice work that has been done. Go figure.

As for Princeville homes, here are the changes for last week:

Copyright 8/23/2008 by Hawaii Information Service

NEW LISTINGS
215193 RS T 0 4-5-4-23-8 FS $848,000 4838 Ou Pl 8,104 sqft 1,213 3/1.5

CONTINGENT SALES
200685 RS C 352 4-5-4-15-6 FS $689,000 3881 Albert Rd 11,515 sqft 1,732 3/2.25

SALES
207210 RS S 148 4-5-4-16-87 FS $739,000 4120 Nalani Ln 11,740 sqft 1,725 3/2
SOLD 8/22/2008 for $700,000 (CNV) DOM 148

TEMPORARILY WITHDRAWN
215193 RS T 0 4-5-4-23-8 FS $848,000 4838 Ou Pl 8,104 sqft 1,213 3/1.5

PRICE CHANGES
211955 RS A 85 4-5-4-13-67 FS $1,290,000- 3697 Albert Rd 10,036 sqft 3,139 3/3.5
209942 RS A 135 4-5-4-8-9 FS $1,425,000- 3887 Punahele Rd 11,139 sqft 3,246 4/3

This information has been supplied by third parties and has not been independently verified by Hawaii Information Service and is, therefore, not guaranteed.

The lone sale was my Nalani listing which started out at $865K, then went to $745K, $795K, finally making an aggressive drop to $739K which brought in a buyer at $700K. Yep, that right….be ready to still take an offer below asking even if you’ve reduced time and time again. That just means your property was priced too high to begin with.

I’m not opposed to pricing high at the seller’s request as I feel every seller has the right to see if their home will bring in as much as they think it will. My only requirement is that the seller be willing to revisit the price in 30 days or less and to come down when needed. Fortunately, this seller was willing to do that and is now no longer a homeowner in Kauai. And that’s your update for this week. Remember to call or email with questions or concerns or before you buy or sell.

Aloha Elaine

PS Here’s OLD FAITHFUL taken while on my recent Mainland trip.

Elaine Schaefer (R, GRI, ABR)
Broker in Charge – Princeville Resort Office
Graduate, Realtor’s Institute
Accredited Buyer’s Representative
Top Producer 100% Club

RE/MAX Kauai
Princeville Resort Office
POB 223632
Princeville, HI 96722
cell: 808 639 2935
home fax: 1 808 440 4552
email:soldonkauai@yahoo.com
website: www.kauairealestatenow.com
blog: www.blogs.alohaliving.com/princeville-condo-sales

……you can have your own piece of paradise
ask me how!

August 24th, 2008