On Top of the Aloha Beat BLOG

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Hawaii in 2050? - Will any of us be around to see it?

What will Hawaii be like in 2050?

There have been many articles about the topic of this article in the local newspaper, on blogs, and even in the monthly Hawaii Realtors magazine, published by the Hawaii Association of Realtors. What kinds of jobs will our children and grandchildren have? Where will they live? How will the "Aloha Spirit" survive in the 21st century? Questions like these are at the core of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability plan. Hawaii 2050 was founded in 2005 and is guided by the Hawai`i 2050 Sustainability task Force, a 25-member body of private citizen, state lawmakers, and county planning officials.

There are five goals for the plan. 1) A way of life: 2) The Economy: 3) Environment and Natural Resources: 4) Community and Social Well-Being, and 5) Kanaka Maoli and Island values. Goals are broad themes that emerged from the community meetings. Strategic actions are the programs that will achieve the goals. Indicators publicly measure the progress or lack of progress in achieving the goals. You can check out the website, www.hawaii2050.org and provide your input.

0 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 28 2007 01:40AM

How's the Hawaii Market Doing These Days?

How's the Hawaii market anyway?
For those of you who are wondering or asking, "How is the real estate market over there in Hawaii?"an interesting article comes from the Pacific Business Journal on their web site today. According to the article,

Honolulu had the highest rate of home price appreciation in the nation over the past year, according to new data. Home prices rose 14.79 percent in the Honolulu market, according to the September 2007 LoanPerformance Home Price Index released Monday by First American LoanPerformance.

Home prices fell in 17 states tracked by the index, with the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario market in California seeing the greatest drop, 13.59 percent. Although five states saw price appreciation of between 5 percent and 10 percent, Hawaii was the only market to experience double-digit growth.

The company's price index covers a total of 956 Core Based Statistical Areas and 659 counties in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
OK, so Honolulu is not Kauai however the market here is still quite good. There's plenty of good inventory, and sellers are sometimes becoming more motivated to be flexible in their negotiations. Some are offering to pay closing costs or buy down points which, of course, lowers your payments.

If you want to download the Kauai numbers for October, simply CLICK HERE

4 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 28 2007 01:36AM

Moloa`a Estate - Private and Exotic

1. Exotic Country Estate in Mola`a - Located on three mostly level acres, this country estate features a spacious three bedroom, three bath home adorned with Balinese and Indonesian touches everywhere. From the exotic tile and stone as you enter, to the solid hardwood floors and covered lanai, each room and space is a work of art. Most rooms open to the lanai and have splendid mountain views, as well as privacy. Just off the granite/cherry wood kitchen is a family room with a stone fireplace. This floorplan is perfect for the indoor/outdoor living we do year-round in Hawaii.

Also on the property is a large double garage/workshop with a studio and bath on the ground floor level. The "worker's quarters" apartment above the garage has over eleven hundred square feet. Luxurious stone throughout the bathroom encircles the stunning mother-of-pearl vanity sink. Ceiling fans bring cool trades through this well-ventilated apartment with hardwood floors throughout. The living room, lanai and extra-large bedroom offer mountain and ocean views. You'll find plenty of sunlight as well as storage in this compact food prep area.

This 3.17 acre property makes an excellent family compound for a large family or creative group of individuals. Over 4000 sq. ft of living space, supreme privacy, and lots of room for expansion.For a buyer wanting a larger compound, the adjacent parcel which is over two acres with a 3000 sq. ft. minimalist home is available also. We have been working with an Accredited Staging Professional and while the owner has furnished the main home to the "nines", i suspect the stager is going to be making some major recommendations on the landscaping. i can hardly wait to see the results.

More updated photos to follow in 2 days!


VIEW the VIRTUAL TOUR
VIEW the MULTIPLE LISTING of this property


0 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 24 2007 03:35AM

Sugar Producer making the transition to Green Energy

Ethanol plant stirs coal debate

On November 7th, TGI reported that issue of "burning coal" was a devisive point in the utilization of an upcoming ethanol plant about to break ground in Kaumakani on the campus of Gay & Robinson. Gay & Robinson is one of the two remaining producers of sugar in a state where sugar cane used to be one of the islands' main industries. Then on Nov. 10th, Gay & Robinson President Alan Kennett said yesterday that coal will not power a proposed ethanol plant under development by partners Gay & Robinson and Pacific West Energy, which together have invested $80 million in the multi-pronged project.

Designed to annually produce 12-million gallons of liquid fuel from sugar juice and molasses, he said, the Kaumakani-based refinery will be the first major component as the historic Kaua‘i sugar company transitions to a renewable energy plantation. The feedstock supply will come from 7,500 acres of sugar fields the Robinson family cultivates on the Westside.

Cutting Sugar Cane on the Gay & Robinson campus



In response to community concerns over the harmful environmental impact of burning coal, Pacific West Energy President William Maloney told a leading local group advocating energy independence that cleaner power sources will be used instead.

“I am pleased to inform you and Apollo Kaua‘i (a local environmental citizen's group) that our collective boards of directors have reviewed the coal issue and we have made the decision that coal will not be part of our business model, as either a primary or supplemental fuel for the ethanol plant or power generation,” Maloney stated in a letter to Apollo Kaua‘i Chair Ben Sullivan. “We have heard your organization, and others’ voices as well, including our own senior management and directors, and we have concluded that coal has no place in our green energy business.” Apollo Kauai is one of several sustainability groups on Kauai, and a big proponent of greening the island and Kauai.

Construction for the plant is expected to begin by late-December or early-January and be operational by the second quarter of 2009, Kennett said.

9 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 24 2007 03:16AM

The Garbage Game - Check it Out

If you are interested in sustainability in Hawaii, please check out my good friend Ken Stokes' blog at

The Kauaian Institute.

I discovered a link there for something called The Garbage Game. ‘Tis a great way to play with the interconnections and the indirect consequences of our waste behaviors.

Like most American communities, Kauai spends gazillions to spirit away the detritus of our daily living.
In this game, at least, you get to make personal choices about the fate of your trash, whether you decide to compost your kitchen waste, give up bottled water, or choose cloth diapers over disposable ones, and then take on the role of a sanitation commissioner and help decide where your trash should go for processing: a landfill, another state—or even another continent.

Ron and Gwen Margolis
On Top of The Aloha Beat
Century 21 All Islands
http://www.landinkauai.com
email: ron@landinkauai.com
24 Hour Information Line: 800-582-9585
Cell: 808-346-7095

1 comment • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 20 2007 12:10PM

A Beautiful Kauai Sunrise

A beautiful sunrise...

Yesterday morning as I walked from the 1st to the 2nd hole of the Wailua County Golf Course, this is what i saw. I had to stop and take this picture with my iPhone. Lucky I live Kauai. This island is one of the most beautiful places on the earth.

I often wonder what makes the sky so purple and red sometimes in the early morning.

Ron and Gwen Margolis
On Top of The Aloha Beat
Century 21 All Islands
http://www.landinkauai.com
email: ron@landinkauai.com
24 Hour Information Line: 800-582-9585
Cell: 808-346-7095

8 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 20 2007 09:55AM

Kauai Council to Finalize Shoreline Setback this Week

Shoreline Setback Bill heading to Kauai Council.

As global warming becomes more and more of a reality facing each of us in our lives and our communities, here in Kauai as with all of the islands, the notion of sea level rising, which it is, will continue to have an effect on our shorelines and on each counties rules and regulations about such.

The Kauai county council completed hearing from state experts last week and with drafgt legislation heading to the floor Tuesday, Nov. 20, council members are expecting approve a final version of the bill by day's end. The proposed ordinance is designed to protect coastal developments while ensurig greater public beach access. Critical points in the bill are both the minimum setback and the erosion rate multiplier.

Former mayor and now councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura is strongly in favor of a 40-foot minimum setback plus 70 times the annual coastal erosion rate - as recommended in the Hawai`i Coastal Hazard Mitigration Guidebook. Other council persons are lobbying for a lower erosion rate multiplier citing the need for more evidence of the erosion through photographs and historical documentation. The guidebook was written by Dolan Eversole, a U of H geologist and Dennis Hwang, an affiliate faculty member. According to the guidebook, the ocean is slowly swallowing the Hawaiian islands.

Currently Maui has a 25-foot shoreline setback and a 50-year times erosion rate policy in place. If Kauai choose the so-called "70/40" rule, it will create one of the nation's strongest setback laws and "would be a model for others to follow".

To order the 242-page guidebook, CLICK HERE

You can view aerial photos of the island of Kauai as it relates to this subject by CLICKING HERE
3 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 19 2007 09:50AM

Rare Custom Home by Gary Tobey

Have you ever wanted to own a "Gary Tobey designed home"? Now you can! Come preview this almost 2,000 square foot new custom home. 3 bedrooms and 3 baths with a lava rock wall surrounding you creating the ultimate in privacy.

Click HERE to See Our Virtual Tour

Listed at $899,000.00

Ron and Gwen Margolis
On Top of The Aloha Beat
Century 21 All Islands
http://www.landinkauai.com
email: ron@landinkauai.com
24 Hour Information Line: 800-582-9585
Cell: 808-346-7095

 

0 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 19 2007 12:57AM

How to Modify your AR home page with rich content...

Could someone kindly tell me how to modify the right side of your home page on AR with links, animated GIFS, etc. How are you all accomplishing that?

 

Aloha,

Ron 

4 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 17 2007 04:55PM

October Sales for the island of Kauai

Traditionally, the fall selling season, September through November, is a slower period in the Kauai neighbor island market. In the state of Hawaii, only Oahu (where Honolulu is) functions as more of an urban market. The neighbor islands, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii (aka the Big Island), are more of the second home and resort markets. On the neighbor islands, the market generally picks up around Christmas as the vacationers and snowbirds arrrive, and January and February are typically robust months.

The island is divdided into five zones, and they are listed below. The resort area of Princeville is located in the Hanalei zone. The resort area of Poipu where most of the newer development is currently happening, is in the Koloa zone. Land and condo sales are down more than single family homes for the year. Although the numbers of Condos in Princeville is a bit deceiving and skewed as there is one new project, Kaiiulani, which was mostly sold last year and the year before but the units are just now being completed so the sales are registering this year. That project is skewing the Princeville/Hanalei numbers. Without that project closing, the numbers for Kauai's North Shore would be down more significantly.




Here are the sales numbers for Kauai through October of 2007.

0 comments • Ronnie Margolis, Kauai Realtor®, CDPE, ABR, RA - On Top of the Aloha Beat • November 17 2007 04:42PM