I've written about the Waikiki Landmark before, but after spending nearly an entire week viewing Waikiki Condos with a client of mine, I think the Waikiki Landmark is back at the top of my list.

You might think of Waikiki as full of condos, but if you're looking for something very nice or luxurious, there aren't too many choices.  First of all, if you're thinking of Ko Olani, Hokua, or Nouru Towers, or Yacht Harbor Towers, those are all in Ala Moana.

This week we viewed several units in the $600k-$800k range, with at least 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 parking stalls, and 1100 square feet.   We visited several buildings including Waipuna, The Windsor, the brand new Allure, Lanikea, and a few others in Ala Moana as mentioned above.

After much searching around, we found a great unit at the Landmark with 1308 square feet and a 170 square foot lanai.  It has a great view of the Manoa valley, the Ala Wai Canal, and a little peak of the ocean.  Here is the view of the pool and the canal. The Landmark has one of Waikiki's best swimming pools, maybe the best. 

The Landmark was Built in 1992, at the top of the Japanese bubble, so even though it was constructed to be the best building in Waikiki, the prices have never reflected what the builders hoped for.  Now that they are 18 years old, some of the units at the Waikiki Landmark feel outdated and are a little too simple—particularly in
the kitchens.  It's now time for all the units to be renovated, and so the values in the building are probably lower than they could be. 

My very happy client is now in escrow on unit 1902, listed at about $737,500.  At the height of the market, this unit would have sold for around $900k. 

 Congrats to my happy buyer. Enjoy your new home Nancy! Here is her new living room!

Kona Coffee is one of my favorite truly locally grown Hawaiian products. The good folks at Kona Comfort coffee help me get out of bed in the morning with their freshly roasted Kona beans, and I thought I might just give a little help to a company I really believe has a great product - way better than anything you can buy from a big nationwide brand.  

Kona coffee is grown on the slopes ofHualalaiandMauna Loain the North and SouthKona Districtsof theBig IslandofHawaii. It is, in fact, the only place that coffee grows in all of America as it is the only land we have that falls in the coffee belt. The incredibly rich volcanic soil combined with Hawaii's sunny mornings and cloudy afternoons creates just about the best environment this world has to offer for growing coffee beans.

The big island of Hawaii is called "big" because it's about 5 times larger than the other islands of Hawaii.  Still it is a relatively small chunk of land just over four-thousand square miles, and, as I mentioned above, the beans only really grow on one side of two hills on the whole island. This means true Kona coffees are really limited in supply and the prices elsewhere in the world will reflect just how special this coffee is.

As for roasters, the people at Kona Comfort are really good at what they do.  When I order from them, the coffee is so fresh that nothing else can compare. They roast the coffee in small batches so that it's always fresh and although that might sound like marketing mumbo jumbo, they literally roast the beans one day and ship them to you the next. If you order coffee from Kona Comfort, you can be drinking it within 24 hours of the beans coming out of the roaster, no matter where you are in the States.

You might have tried Kona coffee blends, which are usually made up of about 10% Kona beans and mixed with other beans from Columbia, Brazilian or any other country in the coffee belt.  Read: totally bogus.  But Kona Comfort is 100 percent Kona beans, all the time.

Unlike some of the larger brands, Kona Comfort has a decisively stronger but not burnt taste.  They manage to give a unique and really delicious flavor to one of the world's rarest and most sought after coffee beans. And they do all this using 100% USDA certified organic Kona coffee beans.

All that stuff is great. True, the product is unbelievable, but what really strikes me is their customer service. This week I got a hand written letter of thanks on the back of my receipt and every time I deal with them, it always seems like a very personal experience; much more so than from other coffee roasters. These are good people who make a quality product and I recommend you give them a try.

Here they are:Kona Comfort

I just got a call from a client that has owned a house for 25 years.  He plans to sell next year and asked what he should do - leave the house has is or do some remodeling and then sell?

The answer is almost always to do some inexpensive remodeling. If the house is in the median range between $500k and $1 million, you will almost always get more money by spending some money. That's because buyers want to get paid for their time if they have to remodel a house after they buy it. They don't just add the cost of the work and subtract from the market.

But another important factor is the time it takes to sell.  A home that is in good condition will usually sell faster. A home that need a lot of work may never sell at all.   Listings that sell fast also usually get near full price, or in today's market, even over asking price. 

My client and I discussed some inexpensive things he could do to his house.  Here they are in no particular order. 

• Replace his 25 yr old carpet with bamboo flooring. It's cheap at under $1 a foot, and it's sustainable. Bamboo grows fast. For a 1500sqft house, you could install it yourself and spend very little money.
• Paint.  Inside and outside can be painted for a few thousand, and can make or break a buyer's willingness to purchase.
• Replace his bathroom vanities for a few hundred dollars each.  Even a cheap, off the shelf vanity for $300 can make the house seem a lot nicer. This vanity to the right is $199 at home depot.
• Replace his kitchen counters and cabinet doors with off the shelf non custom products for about $3000 total.
• Replace all the doorknobs, fixtures, switches, outlet covers, etc.  25 years ago, those things were ugly.  Now you can buy them online for a few bucks each.  

At this point a seller has spent well under $20k, and the house is transformed.  The list price can probably go up by $50k, and the house will sell in a few days instead of a few months. 

Bottom line - spend the money to make your house look nice, but don't overspend on it.  

Congratulations to Rick and Pat on the purchase of this beautiful ocean view property at the top of Hahaione.  With over 4000 square feet and 6 bedrooms, this awesome house has plenty of space for their soon coming wedding party.  This property borders the preservation land above Hahaione, so you have no neighbors in the back, and acres of tree lined forrest to enjoy. Check out the view from the living room!

There is even a detached cottage for their daughter to live in, with its own kitchenette, full bath, and separate laundry.  I was very happy to  deliver their keys this week as they move in to their great new home! 

Via PBN: Wahoo's Fish Taco will open a second location on Oahu by the end of the year in the Kahala Korner building near Kahala Mall. The previous tenant, The Green Door, moved out of the space in 2009.

Owner Noel Pietsch told PBN that the second Wahoo's will have a full bar and is anticipating hiring approximately 40 people.

I first tried Wahoo's fish tacos in the late 80's in California.  Great tacos, and really great rice and beans.

In the past few years, Oahu has gotten many mainland retailers to setup shop here.  Whole Foods, Target, Victoria Secret, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Taco Del Mar. 

All we need now is In-N-Out.  Anyone?  A little help here? 

For the third year in a row, Hawaii led the nation in number of millionaires per capita, with 6.9 percent of resident millionaires, according to an annual ranking by the Phoenix Affluent Marketing Service released today.

The survey defines a millionaire household as one with $1 million or more in investable or liquid assets. It does not include retirement plans and real estate.

Why do we have so many millionaires?  One simple answer:  It's the nicest place to live in America. Perfect weather all year, white sand beaches, warm water. 

Millionaires can live wherever they want, so many come to Hawaii.

Read More at Star.

There are a lot of angry people on Oahu, but none of them work for Castle & Cooke Homes. The Advertiser reported today that C&C won state approval for the new Koa Ridge community between Mililani and Waipio.  Right now that is all agricultural land. 

The State Land Use Commission approved the project with 3,500 homes, a hotel, medical campus and commercial space by reclassifying 576 acres from agricultural to urban use.  The first homes could be built around the end of 2012. 

There are already people voicing their anger about it in the comments to the article that announced it.  There is a very broad feeling on Oahu that the island is already over crowded, shown especially in the freeway traffic on H1 going West in the afternoons. 

This new project will make traffic worse, but more importantly, will permanently remove a large area of agricultural land.  50 years ago, Oahu was thriving with ag, but now there are far fewer working farms left. And Schuller homes wants to destroy some more ag land in Kapolei.

Will it ever end? Will it ever be enough? Does Oahu's population need to be capped at some point before we run out of land and water completely? 

Have you ever put your address into Zillow's search bar to see what it thinks your home is worth?  If you need a laugh, or you want to be confused, go ahead. 

This morning I saw a blog post about Zillow's home value estimates, so I decided to look up my neighborhood.  Zillow shows the value a house near me at $1,010,000.  Try it - the address is 217 Nenue st, 96821.  The problem is, that house sold in January of this year for $897,000, which is also shown right above the value. 

So Zillow thinks the market here has risen 12.59 percent in the last 8 months? Actually, it doesn't.

Another house in the same neighborhood, just 2 streets away that sold for $810,000 in May is showing a current Zillow estimated value of only $815,500, not even 2 percent. 

Even stranger, a house on Hind Iuka Dr that sold on June 30th is showing a drop in value of $8500 over the past 2 months.  It sold for $1,125,000. 

Bottom line - you cannot trust Zillow for property value estimates are not consistent in Hawaii.

I know each of these properties well, and I can tell you that in order to get a real market value, it takes a human being with understanding of condition, location, and quality.