Last week I spent time with clients looking to buy a single-family home along the Kohala Coast, either within a resort or in one of the nearby gated communities. We toured Mauna Lani Resort, Mauna Kea Resort, Kohala by the Sea, Kohala Ranch, and Puakea Bay Ranch. An established vacation rental was a plus, although depending on the price point they might also not bother with renting. We looked at properties listed up to around $3.5 million.
Throughout our search, a few properties stood out. Hereʻs a summary of what we liked at the resorts, and why.
Ka Milo 201 – arguably the best buy in Kohala Coast Resort Single Family Homes for sale (MLS 292526)
Best Buy: Ka Milo at Mauna Lani Single-Family Home Furnished Resale
Surprisingly, one of the least expensive properties we looked at came out high on their list. While developer sales continue to show strength at Ka Milo at Mauna Lani, a resale edged its way over similar new construction. This is a single story home with a detached fourth bedroom, pool, and separate spa off the master bedroom.
What they liked:
- Fully furnished
- Established vacation rental
- Near the entrance of the community and close to the amenity area for lap swimming and sending off the grandkids
- Priced at $1,849,000 (MLS 292526), which below the most recent sales of unfurnished new construction of the same model, they felt it offered them “instant equity” if they found they were spending more time on island and wanted to trade up to a larger home on acreage.
Courtyard entrance to single-story Ka Milo at Mauna Lani home; detached guest hale to the side.
Mauna Kea Resort: Uplands or Below the Highway, that is the question
At the under-$3 million price point, Mauna Kea Resort offers options in both the Uplands, accessed via the Hapuna Prince entrance, and Mauna Kea Fairways South, accessed via the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel entrance. While some buyers (and rental guests) have a distinct preference for being makai (ocean side) of the highway, over the past twelve months, all eight of the comlpleted sales in the price range have been mauka of the highway.
New 4-bedroom homes with pool, new construction at Waiʻulaʻula at Mauna Kea (MLS 287288)
Five of these single family home sales were of new construction at Waiʻulaʻula. What buyers like at Waiʻulaʻula:
- contemporary resort styling and finishes
- big ocean views across the golf course
- its own amenity center for those who want a larger pool than the one at home, but without driving to the Hapuna Prince
- offered unfurnished, but with packages available to make it easy for second home buyers
Waiʻulaʻula 415 is offered for $2,985,415. Developers are usually firm on price, but the last two sales of this model were $100,000 off the asking price.
Pool and view from spacious lanai of single family home at Mauna Kea resort (MLS 298315)
My buyerʻs favorite at Mauna Kea Resort, however, was an older but updated and well maintained single family home at Moani Heights. In common with the Waiʻulaʻula option, this home has a separate guest suite for its fourth bedroom and its own pool. What they liked about this Mauna Kea home:
- Small community of only 17 homes
- Large lot of almost an acre overlooking the golf course with sunset-into-the-ocean views
- Good size swimming pool
- Deep lanai to enjoy the indoor/outdoor living
- Turnkey furnished
The Moani Heights home has an asking price of $2,595,000, fully furnished (MLS 298315), which seemed very competitive with the Waiʻulaʻula floorplan of similar size (3,041 sq ft versus 3299 sq ft) and bedrooms.
Which would you choose?
A hui hou,
Beth Thoma Robinson R(B)
Direct: 808.443.4588
Email: Beth@HawaiiLife.com
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