Kaua‘i’s ongoing real estate boom is reportedly being fueled in part by California buyers, according to a study by Data@Work, a Hawaiian resort residential market research firm and reported online by Inman News. Ricky Cassiday, president of Data@Work, said real
Kaua‘i’s ongoing real estate boom is reportedly being fueled in part by California buyers, according to a study by Data@Work, a Hawaiian resort residential market research firm and reported online by Inman News.
Ricky Cassiday, president of Data@Work, said real estate investments over the past five years in resort property on Kaua‘i have appreciated by 21.5 percent annually, with the average residential price increasing from $300,229 in 1999 to $622,869 by the end of 2004.
The study shows California residents are the single largest group of Kaua‘i buyers for all resort properties (condos, single-family homes and vacant home sites), accounting for about 40 percent of all sales on the island.
The report did not provide actual numbers or demographics of Californians purportedly buying real estate in Kaua‘i.
According to data provide by the Hawaii Information Office, from January 2004 through whatever data had been complied through March there were 2082 single-family, residential home sales.
Of those, 521 or about 25 percent, were from California.
Cassiday, a real estate consultant could not be reached for comment.
Karen Ono, executive director of the Kauai Board of Realtors could not be reached for comment on this report.
Jim Pycha, owner and principal broker of Remax Kauai, said he had noticed the influx of Californians, and their money.
“I don’t know why it’s Californians, but it has always been the case they are used to being warm. Also, it’s only a five-hour flight. There’s a lot of money in California and we have lots of cash buyers,” he said.
Pycha said many of the new buyers are not asking questions substantiating the cost of homes. Instead, they are more worried about limited inventory and are ready to deal.
“There feeling is I better get it before it’s gone,” he said.
“Actually, since the first of the year I have noticed more Californians than before,” said Debra Blachowiak, principal broker and part-owner of Sleeping Giant Realty Inc. “Its certainly possible (the report is accurate).
She said people might be transferring the gain on their investment to a new property.
Despite rising prices, Kaua‘i is still a value in relation to the other islands, according to the report.
A new beachfront condo priced at $800,000 on Kaua‘i would easily sell for over $1.5 million on Maui, and Cassiday expects Kaua‘i’s values to continue to rise faster than the other islands.
