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The Big island real estate market saw an increase in the number of Hawaii island condos sales even as a major real estate project headed towards auction. According to an October 5, 2010 article from Pacific Business News, “The number of single-family homes on the Big Island dipped slightly in September, while condominium sales rose by a quarter from the previous year, according to statistics from Hawaii Information Service. There were 124 single-family homes sold on the Big Island last month, down from 127 sold during September 2009. The median price of a home, however, rose 11 percent to $251,000, up from $226,500 in September 2009. Condo sales jumped 25 percent in September to 40 units sold, up from 32 units sold during the same month last year. Prices for condos were down, however, with the median price falling 12 percent to $285,000, down from $325,000 in September 2009. The year-to-date figures show the same pattern for condo sales and prices, with sales volume up 69 percent and the median price, at $265,000, down 11 percent, according to Hawaii Information Service data. Homes sales for the first nine months of the year were up 30 percent, while the median price of $255,000 was down 4 percent.”
The “Ke Kailani” residential subdivision, which would have included dozens of Big Island homes for sale, seems to be headed for a foreclosure auction. According to a September 28, 2010 article from the Honolulu Star Advertiser, “Michael Fuchs had many hits as a former chief executive of HBO, but his dabbling in Hawaii real estate development appears headed for a bad ending. Unsold pieces of the Ke Kailani luxury residential subdivision developed by Fuchs at Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island are scheduled for a Nov. 18 foreclosure auction. Three local lenders, led by Bank of Hawaii, claim that Fuchs defaulted on $52 million in loans he took out to develop the project featuring 39 single-family home lots and 12 condominiums mostly fronting three golf fairways of Mauna Lani’s South Course. The planned auction involves 25 single-family home lots, land planned for eight condominium units and two completed condo units — all of which are being offered in bulk, not separately.”
