3 Strategies and 3 Homes to Consider When Looking For a Deal in Kona Luxury Real Estate

Looking for a luxury home in Kona at a great price? You need to dig a little deeper these days as the Kona real estate market continues to improve. With home inventories dropping, there is a pressure on prices to rise – and prices have – at both the low and high end. For now, prices remain stable in the one to two million dollar range.

Things are changing though, even in that range. The obvious best buys that I’ve discussed in past blogs have now all been snatched up. Short sales and foreclosures are next to non-existent in this price range now.

In the past few years, when a great home came on the market at a great price, my buyers had a few months to book their flights over and check it out. Now these homes are gone almost immediately. Here are three strategies and three homes that I suggest to my luxury buyers looking for a deal in the current market.

3 Strategies and 3 Homes To Consider When Looking For a Deal

1. The Motivated Seller

Many sellers initially list their home for too high a price. After a few months of no offers, they finally relent and decide to drop the price. In the past, I wouldn’t waste my buyer’s time showing them homes until the seller made the price drop. Now, if I wait until then, my buyers often face a multi offer situation.

To avoid that the trick is to catch the home while it is still overpriced, but the seller is considering the price drop. You need an agent who is out chatting with listing agents to catch these deals. This home (MLS# 250308), currently priced at $1.95 million (pictured below), is an example of a home that has a motivated seller.

It’s my guess that if the seller doesn’t get an offer soon they will be reducing their price. The seller is a builder and just completed this home. They sold another home in an adjacent neighborhood for a higher total price, but a much lower price per sq. ft.

I think there is some room here and would advise my buyer accordingly. This is a great house, brand new with a lot of features and amenities. Great view. The photo at the top is from this home’s lanai.

2. The Overbuilt Home

During the last boom, prior to the drop in prices, there was often no limit to the quality and materials that builders would put into new homes. This home (MLS# 239895), priced at $1.7 million, is a great example.

This home mimics the materials and style of homes built in Hualalai Resort; open walls, ohia posts, and a salt water pool. It is resort style at its best, but it’s not in a resort neighborhood. It’s a great house if you love indoor/outdoor living. The pool is a resort unto itself and the lanai has great ocean views.

It is in an upscale gated community just above Kona. The other homes, for the most part, are more traditional and older.

The majority of other homes currently for sale, or that have sold recently, are distressed homes in poor condition. This is a situation where the sellers may have to take less to get it sold. For the right buyer, this could be a great opportunity to get a first class home at a great price.

3. The Older Home in a New Home Neighborhood

New goes for a premium, especially now when so few new homes have been built the last few years. Bayview Estates is one of Kona’s finest neighborhoods. Many of the homes were built in 2005 with all the latest features, materials, and styling one would expect. 

The oldest home on the market was built originally as the model home and sales office for the neighborhood. This home (MLS# 245546), priced at $950,000, was built in 1990. At that time, it was the lastest and greatest.

It has been well maintained, has a killer view, and is priced well below the other new homes for sale in the neighborhood. If you don’t mind the older styling and/or are happy to do your own updating, this is a great home for the price in a great neighborhood.

Overview

None of these homes are a deal necessarily at their asking price and I don’t know if the sellers of any of these are ready to accept a lower price. What I do know is that there is an argument to be made and a good chance for a buyer to get a good deal. If we wait for the sellers to figure it out and drop the price, you might be facing a lot more competition. A well reasoned, sensible offer at this point might do the trick.