Oahu home sales reach 19-month high in October
Sales of Oahu homes rose to their highest level in more than a year and a half in October, although still below the peak of recent years.
Figures released by the Honolulu Board of Realtors also show condominium sales were up in October, but that prices are down from a year ago.
The report shows that volume continues to build from low transaction levels that occurred late last year and early this year as buyers pulled back from real estate purchases in the wake of Wall Street's financial meltdown and worries about the economy. The transaction volume was still off by more than a third from October 2004, a year in which Oahu transactions peaked.
"The current rate of sales for both single-family homes and condominiums were both slightly up in October, which is truly encouraging in light of the current economy," said Sandra "Sam" Bangerter, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors.
"The median prices for single-family homes were up a bit and down for condominiums, but still within relatively stable price ranges. The first-time homebuyers federal tax credit has been helpful in raising buyer awareness."
The report was based on sales of existing homes and condominiums as opposed to new housing built by developers and others.
There were 281 sales of single-family homes during October, or almost 16 percent more than a year earlier. It was the highest volume since March 2008, or 19 months.
Michael Pietsch, president and chief executive officer of Title Guaranty Escrow, said it appears people are a little more comfortable with their financial situation and are taking advantage of low interest rates. He said Realtors have told him inventory is drying up for higher-priced homes, including those in the $1.3 million to $1.4 million range.
In the condominium market, there is more inventory and sellers have to be flexible on pricing, he said.
"With the low interest rates, people are finally making decisions," Pietsch said. "Buyers are getting out there and sellers are getting more realistic."
He said this includes sellers being more receptive to offers and meeting buyers halfway. The market may also be affected by more foreclosure sales and a smattering of sales to buyers from other countries.
The figures also show:
• The median price of single-family homes was $605,000. Although that was down from last October's median of $625,000, it marked a high point for this year. The median is the point where half of the prices are below and half are above.
• There were 381 sales of condominiums, the most since May 2008, or 17 months.
• The median condominium price was $295,000. That compared with the year earlier median of $325,000.
Ricky Cassiday, a Honolulu-based real estate researcher and analyst, said the higher prices in the single-family market are made even more surprising by the higher number of sales.
"This is a bit out of character for a down market," Cassiday said in an e-mail. "I don't see it as the bottom, but it might be a hint of one."
The higher condo sales also pose questions about where the market is in the current sales cycles and what is causing the numbers to rise.
"This is a much bigger number than economic conditions warrant, I think, which points to the government's subsidizing first-time home buyers, as well as a higher number of distressed sales, i.e., foreclosures and other kinds of forced sales," Cassiday wrote.
Source: www.honoluluadvertiser.com, Wednesday, November 4, 2009
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Honolulu homeowner tax break approved
Council also approves measure that would allow legalization of new bed-and-breakfasts
The City Council last night voted 5-3 to approve a bill designed to shield owner-occupants from larger property tax increases by creating a new category just for them.
Also yesterday, the council heard nearly four hours of public testimony before voting to give the second of three approvals for a bill that would allow new permits to be issued to bed-and-breakfast businesses for the first time in more than 20 years.
The drama in council chambers yesterday, however, was with Bill 09-51, the homeowner tax bill. Several council members angrily accused Mayor Mufi Hannemann of trying to manipulate the council.
Yesterday morning, believing there was not the five votes necessary to move the bill out, the council voted unanimously to send the bill back to the Budget Committee.
But after 6 p.m., with the bed-and-breakfast issue finished, the council, at the urging of city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell, voted to reverse itself so the new tax category would be in effect in the coming year as the city deals with a looming budget crisis.
"This gives us the flexibility to address the upcoming shortfall ... it's very important." Caldwell said.
Council Chairman Todd Apo, who had consistently expressed reservations about how a new tax category would affect owners who did not live on their properties, as well as the effect on renters, proved to be the swing vote on the measure. Joining him were members Donovan Dela Cruz, Nestor Garcia, Gary Okino and Rod Tam.
Opposed were members Ikaika Anderson, Romy Cachola and Ann Kobayashi.
Councilman Charles Djou, among the most vocal critics of creating a new classification, was present when the council voted to send the bill back to the Budget Committee but was not in the chambers for the second, unscheduled vote.
Apo said he voted for the bill after meeting with Hannemann in the mayor's office yesterday afternoon. Apo said Hannemann convinced him how badly the administration wanted to have an owner-occupant category as a tool when it deals with next year's budget.
Cachola and Kobayashi assailed Hannemann for trying to manipulate the council by persuading Apo to change his mind.
ANGRY WORDS
Saying the council had allowed itself to be "manipulated" by the mayor, Kobayashi said she "apologized" to the public. Council members' votes, she said, are worthless when "all it takes is for the mayor to say, 'Change it.' "
Cachola said the council's integrity had been compromised and he suggested political horse-trading had taken place to change Apo's vote.
But Apo said he had been promised nothing.
Hannemann told The Advertiser last night that his conversation with Apo involved only the tax bill. Hannemann said he was able to convince Apo that if a new tax rate was going to be created in time to be reflected in property assessments that are mailed out in December, the bill had to be moved out of the council yesterday.
With the administration already expecting a budget shortfall of $150 million, it's a near-certainty that property taxes will need to be increased to maintain city services. Supporters of the bill have argued it will allow the council and the mayor to protect those most in need.
But opponents of the bill said it makes it too easy for the administration and council members to shift the burden of any tax increase to landlords and owners of lands in other categories, such as commercial or agricultural properties.
Djou has said "protecting homeowners so we can stick it to everyone else doesn't make sense."
B&B TESTIMONY
Kobayashi said there are better ways to help those most in need, such as improving upon an existing program that allows low-income families to apply for a tax credit.
Apo pointed out that it is ultimately the council which sets tax rates, and stressed that he is still not convinced that owner-occupants should have separate rates from other property owners.
Councilman Gary Okino said he had the same reservations as Apo about the owner-occupant tax category but that he voted to support the bill to give the administration more tools.
Council members spent most of the afternoon hearing from people for and against allowing new bed and breakfast establishments to be legalized for the first time since the late 1980s.
The version of Bill 08-07 that advances back to the Zoning Committee would allow for a set number of B&Bs to be granted in each of the nine council districts. Proposed by Councilman Ikaika Anderson, it limits the number of rooms per B&B to three and the number of occupants to two per room.
A B&B operator, who would only be allowed one permit at a time, would need to pay $500 for the permit and be required to provide off-street parking for guests.
More than 75 people signed up to testify on the matter, with those opposing the measure slightly outnumbering those who spoke for it.
North Shore resident David Bramlett invited council members to visit his neighborhood to learn about the ills of B&Bs.
"To state the obvious, it's spot zoning," Bramlett said.
But Will Paige, a supporter of the B&B bill, said many people living near the establishments welcome them into their neighborhoods.
"B&Bs provide a good, genuine service," Paige said.
Six votes will be needed for final approval of the B&B bill.
Source: www.honoluluadvertiser.com, Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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Howl-O-Ween Open House at Oahu SPCA's Kalaeloa Facility
The public is invited to attend the O'ahu Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (O'ahu SPCA) Howl-O-Ween open house and adoption day event at their Kalaeloa facility. The public will have a chance to tour the facility, vote for their favorite shelter dog in the spoktaculor costume contest, and find out more information about adopting, fostering, volunteering, or becoming a member. Each visiting family will be given a dog or cat goody bag sponsored by Petco.
Perspective adopters are required to bring a carrier for transport if adopting a cat or kitten and an in-depth meet and greet will be scheduled the following day or at the perspective adopter's convenience for those interested in adopting a dog or puppy. The public is kindly asked to not bring their animals to this event.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
O'ahu SPCA Kalaeloa Facility, Building 1142 on Roosevelt Ave.
(in Barbers Point between 'Ewa Beach and Kapolei)
For more information call (808) 551-7207.
On July 18, 2009, the O'ahu SPCA was involved with the largest animal rescue in the history of Hawai'i. More than 400 animals were abandoned when the owner of a no-kill shelter in Wai'anae died, leaving her widow alone and overwhelmed. Within 48 hours, the O'ahu SPCA established a temporary emergency shelter for the rescued animals at our facility in Kalaeloa.
Today, the shelter feeds and cares for more than 50 dogs and 100 cats - with another 50 animals currently in foster care relying primarily on individual donations and the kind hearts of their volunteers.
The O'ahu SPCA recognized that the growing population of people and pets in west O'ahu needed greater support. The 501(c)(3) non-profit, was established with a no-kill philosophy to reduce euthanasia through the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned, stray, feral, abused and neglected animals. The animal rescue shelter's overall strategy is to focus on high volume, affordable and free sterilization; expanded fostering networks; and humane education.
Source: www.honoluluadvertiser.com, Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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Oahu September home sales, prices rise
Sales of existing homes on Oahu rose in September, along with median prices, but the year-to-date sales for 2009 were the lowest in a decade.
There were 244 single-family homes sold on Oahu in September, 13.5 percent more than the 215 homes sold during the same month in 2008, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.
The median price for single-family homes was $600,000 in September, up 3 percent from $590,000 in September 2008.
The median price for a condominium was $305,000, up 3 percent from $296,000 in September 2008. That was based on sales of 345 units in September, up 13 percent from 305 units sold during the same month last year.
“Consumer psychology appears to be decisively turning for the better as the housing market has been showing signs of bottoming, if it is not already past a bottom point,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said of the Oahu housing market. “Affordability conditions are now at multi-year highs thanks to lower home prices and very low mortgage rates on conforming mortgages.”
The year-to-date statistics show sales and prices down in both categories.
Sales of single-family homes were down 16 percent for the first nine months of the year, while sales of condos were down 26 percent. The median price for a single-family home for the January-September period was $575,000, down 8 percent from 2008, while the median price for a condo was $300,000, also down 8 percent.
The year-to-date home sales numbers were a 10-year low, Yun said.
“One reason for the much lower sales can be explained by stricter mortgage underwriting guidelines,” he said. “In addition, Hawaii suffers from the credit freeze that is taking place in the jumbo market and for second-home purchases.
“However, the biggest reason for such low sales activity is likely due to fear of further home price declines.”
Source: www.pacific.bizjournals.com, Monday, October 5, 2009
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Travel Q&A: Cheap Eats and Adventures on Oahu
Q. My boyfriend and I are traveling to Oahu. The flight and hotel are both free courtesy of travel mile points. We are hoping to enjoy some inexpensive fun while we are there, including restaurants. Do you have any recommendations?
A. Now that's the way to do Oahu. Contrary to what you might think, it's easy to find cheap and even free things to do on this heavily developed, highly touristed island, the third largest in the Hawaiian chain.
First of all, you won't need to rent a car. The highly efficient public bus system, known as TheBus, runs all over the island, stopping at beaches, museums, shopping areas, scenic locations and more, for $2.25 each way (exact change required). There's also a four-day pass for $25. Details: 808-848-4500, http://www.thebus.org.
For cheap eats, two words: plate lunch. That's the local term for a plastic plate heaped with rice, macaroni salad and a fish or meat dish, such as Korean barbecue, mahi-mahi or kalua pork, all for under $10. They're available at mom-and-pop eateries and local chains such as Zippy's and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue well as from the ubiquitous lunch wagons you'll see around town.
As for activities, don't cheap out completely. I strongly recommend splurging on at least one grand adventure, such as a snorkeling cruise, horseback ride, kayak trip or surfing class. But here are a few less-costly options:
-- Hike up Diamond Head. Waikiki's iconic crater has a moderately challenging trail and a stunning view at the top. Take water! Admission for walk-ins: $1. Details: http://www.hawaiistateparks.org.
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-- Visit Pearl Harbor. Remember the more than 1,100 crew members who died aboard the USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941. But get there early to avoid waiting. Admission is free. Details: http://www.nps.gov/valr.
-- Take a free tour of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, a.k.a. the Pink Palace of the Pacific, recently restored to its 1927 splendor (2259 Kalakaua Ave., 808-923-7311, http://www.royal-hawaiian.com). Tours are available daily at 2 p.m. (no reservations required).
-- Check out the local art scene in Honolulu's Chinatown during the monthly First Friday art walk, with free exhibits, entertainment and refreshments. For more art, visit the free Hawaii State Art Museum (250 S. Hotel St., 808-586-0300, http://www.state.hi.us/sfca).
More info: Oahu Visitors Bureau, http://www.visit-oahu.com.
My family would like to visit a hotel within driving distance that has a water park or water play area appropriate for small children. If we don't want to splurge on Great Wolf Lodge, what are our other options?
Eliana Tapia, Alexandria
"Water resorts" -- hotels with humongous indoor water parks attached -- are popping up more and more in the mid-Atlantic. Besides Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg (800-551-9653, http://www.greatwolf.com), there's the Key West-themed CoCo Key Water Resort at the Mount Laurel Marriott in southern New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia (866-754-6964, http://www.cocokeywaterresort.com).
At 55,000 square feet, CoCo Key is smaller than the 67,000-square-foot Great Lodge, but there are still lots of ways to get wet: slides, an adventure river, an interactive play island and a shallow pool with movies and cartoons. A Halloween special offered from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1 starts at $179 a night and includes accommodations for four, water park access and a goodie bag.
For lower-key options, consider the family-friendly Hershey Lodge (717-533-3311, http://www.hersheylodge.com) or the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay (410-901-1234, http://www.chesapeakebay.hyatt.com), both with indoor pools.
Send queries by e-mail (travelqa@washpost.com) or U.S. mail (Travel Q&A, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071). Please include your name and town.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com, Sunday, September 27, 2009
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What's new in Oahu this fall
The Island of Oahu, known as the Heart of HawaiiÒ, sets the rhythm of the islands and leads by example with new improvements, changes and additions on an ongoing basis. Below is a glimpse of what’s new on Oahu:
Hotels & Resorts
The island of Oahu has fabulous hotels and resorts for people of all ages and budgets. Oahu’s hotels are constantly updating and adding an array of activities and packages that are sure to make any trip to Oahu unforgettable.
* Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk is expected to open in early November 2009. The 38-story tower has 462 hotel rooms and luxury suites, including studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites and penthouse accommodations. Each unit will feature Koa wood and granite and marble finishes, and many units will include a full kitchen with Bosch, Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. The hotel will also house BLT Steak, famed chef Laurent Tourondel’s first restaurant in Hawaii, as well as The Lobby Bar and an outdoor café. The Spa at Trump will offer signature and island-inspired services and treatments, and the Trump Attache will offer personalized guest services, including a Beach Attache to attend to guests’ needs while they enjoy ocean activities and Baby Attache who will address the wants and needs of younger guests. Additional amenities include a library, waterfall and infinity plunge pool, and fitness center.
* Serenity Spa Hawaii, located at the newly remodeled Outrigger Reef on the Beach, has re-opened following a multi-month renovation. The 45,000 square-foot spa’s rebirth includes newly decorated treatment rooms, the addition of a men’s changing room, and a new menu of services utilizing the environmentally conscious line of Aveda products. Couples treatments, kids packages and full salon services are also on the menu.
* Guests at the Sheraton Waikiki can now enjoy Oahu’s first hotel infinity pool, which opened on Sept. 3, 2009. The Infinity Edge Pool is 128 feet in length and features unobstructed views of Waikiki and Diamond Head. The pool will also feature its own bar, the Edge of Waikiki, which will offer live daily and nightly entertainment beginning on Oct. 15. The Infinity Edge Pool is considered an adults-only pool, while Sheraton Waikiki’s other recently opened Helumoa Playground pool is ideal for families with children.
* The first of its kind in a resort environment, Link @ Sheraton Waikiki combines the functionality of a business center with the activity of an entertainment center to provide guests with a place to interact with each other and connect with their friends and families while on Oahu. Link @ Sheraton Waikiki provides free 24/7 Internet and wi-fi access to its guests in a cozy, at-home setting that encourages guests to relax. Nightly rituals, such as Game Night, provide additional opportunities for guests to interact and have fun with one another while on Oahu.
* The Kahala Hotel & Resort recently completed a $52 million renovation to its guestrooms, suites, spa, meeting spaces, and porte cochere. The guestrooms and suites epitomize the resort’s signature “Kahala Chic” design. Amenities include silky heavy thread count Egyptian cotton linens custom designed by Frette of Italy and Floris of London bath amenities with the signature Kahala fragrance. Two newly refreshed signature beachfront sister suites, the Kahala Beach suite and the Kahala Kai suite, are in the most private area of the resort. The Kahala Beach Suite features Nicole Miller furniture and is large enough for formally entertaining up to 50 guests. The second-level Kahala Kai suite has a cozy beach cottage feeling with decor from the Ralph Lauren Polo Collection.
* Aston Waikiki Sunset is set to complete a $13.5 million makeover. Renovations will include: a fresh color palette, redesigned kitchen with granite countertops and new appliances that include refrigerators with ice makers and glass-top stoves, a combination microwave oven/range hood, new furniture including a desk and a taller bedroom dresser, Hawaiian-themed artwork by local artists, and new energy-efficient air conditioning units. Other renovations include a 6th floor hospitality lounge where guests have access to free wi-fi, a 52-inch flat screen TV, private shower and dressing area, retiled pool and resurfaced tennis court.
* In celebration of its 25th anniversary this fall, the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower, a condominium resort, is conducting improvements to its suites. As part of the renovations, the suites will receive upgraded kitchens, new bedding and new paint.
* The Wyland Waikiki officially reopened as Courtyard by Marriott Waikiki Beach, the first Courtyard property on Oahu. The hotel is operating under a franchise agreement with Lodging Capital Partners LLC, owner of the property, and will be managed by Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. The 400-room property features two swimming pools, Spa Pure day spa, a 24-hour fitness facility, entertainment room, business center, small boardroom, and dining at Spada Restaurant & Bar and Kimobean Hawaiian Coffee Company.
* Previously known as Honolulu Prince Hotel, Aqua Waikiki Pearl recently completed a $5 million refurbishment into a boutique hotel. Aqua Waikiki Pearl offers some of the largest rooms in Aqua’s inventory, as well as options for families and extended stay guests.
* The Ilikai Hotel reopened to guests on July 24. Hotel Management Services, LLC will manage the hotel and receive a variety of support services from Aqua Hotels & Resorts.
Activities & Entertainment
The island of Oahu is brimming with fun-filled activities that everyone can enjoy. Visitors to Oahu can choose from a wide variety of outdoor or indoor activities or choose to explore the Hawaiian culture.
• On Aug. 8, Bishop Museum reopened its acclaimed Hawaiian Hall, designed by Ralph Applebaum, which showcases the world’s largest collection of Native Hawaiian and Pacific area artifacts, many of which have never been publicly displayed before. Hawaiian Hall’s three distinct floors will include artifacts from various periods throughout Hawaii’s history, stories and legends of old Hawaii, and quotes and art pieces from contemporary Hawaiian cultural practitioners. Hawaiian Hall will also include Polynesian Hall, which traces the Pacific origins of the Hawaiian people, and an interactive resource center providing hands-on children’s activities.
• The Polynesian Cultural Center debuted its new night show, “Ha: Breath of Life,” showcasing more than 100 performers, many of whom are students at neighboring Brigham Young University – Hawaii and come from the various cultures they represent. “Ha” features original costumes, music compositions, chants, and dances produced with cultural experts from each of the Center’s island villages. The $3 million show replaces the “Horizons: Where the Sea Meets the Sky” night show.
* The National Park Service began construction on the new visitor center to replace the current USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center shoreside facility at Pearl Harbor. The existing visitor center and tours to the USS Arizona Memorial will remain open throughout the two-year construction period that is scheduled to end in December 2010. The new $58 million visitor center at Pearl Harbor will feature expanded facilities, including indoor and outdoor museum galleries and a central information and ticketing venue for all major Pearl Harbor sites.
* Inspired by the eight resident African black-footed penguins, Camp Penguin is Hilton Hawaiian Village’s new children’s program for kids ages five through 12. The program offers a full-day and two, half-day programs. The focal point of the program will be to impart knowledge about Hawaii through a Hawaiian “word of the day,” sharing Hawaiian stories and legends, making crafts, and having fun with hula and lei-making lessons. Activities will include off-property excursions to the Children’s Discovery Center, Bishop Museum, Waikiki Aquarium, and the Honolulu Zoo. Camp Penguin is limited to hotel guests and includes a Camp Penguin T-shirt.
* Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa recently introduced its new Friday evening celebration, the Rockin’ Hawaiian Rainbow Revue. The 45-minute show features Polynesian song and dance, including a keiki hula and interactive sing-a-long of favorite songs from Hawaii. Rockin’ Hawaiian Rainbow Revue is set by the resort’s Super Pool and culminates with Hilton’s famed fireworks show at 7:45 p.m.
* The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort recently introduced Aha Aina, a Royal Celebration, an oceanfront dinner and show. Aha Aina is held every Monday night on the Ocean Lawn and features interactive, traditional Hawaiian activities, a dinner feast, songs, and hula performances.
* The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort hosts “Curators of Hawaiian Music,” a cocktail-style event held each Thursday evening with performances by award-winning local musicians in the resort’s Monarch Room. The series was created in an effort to bring the rich musical legacy of The Royal back to life and to pay tribute to Hawaiian culture.
* This fall, the Battleship Missouri will become one of the largest ships to ever be drydocked at Pearl Harbor. The 887-foot battleship, site of Japan’s formal surrender that ended World War II, will temporarily close to visitor tours for approximately three months to undergo extensive maintenance, refurbishment and preservation work. The Battleship Missouri Memorial opened more than 10 years ago as a historic attraction and today welcomes nearly 400,000 visitors per year. In January 2010, the battleship will reopen, featuring many significant enhancements to its visitor and special event experiences.
* Kualoa Ranch is offering a new tour called the Kualoa Ranch V.I.P. Tour. It is designed to provide an up-close, in-depth look at the diversity of Kualoa Ranch. The program is offered daily, twice a day, and includes lunch.
* Paradise Cove, in partnership with Ko Olina Ocean Adventures, is offering a new “Snorkel By Day & Luau By Night” package. The package includes 3.5 hours of ocean activity including dolphin encounters, snorkeling with sea turtles and tropical fish, as well as whale sightings in season. Snorkel instruction, gear and a light lunch are included. Guests have access to a fresh water shower before heading to the Paradise Cove Luau where they can participate in arts and crafts, Hawaiian games, a Hukilau, and enjoy Shower of Flowers, an imu ceremony, the Hawaiian luau buffet and Paradise Cove’s own Polynesian extravaganza.
* The Star of Honolulu will offer its 2.5-hour Premier Whale Watch Cruise daily from Dec. 15, 2009 to May 15, 2010. The Star of Honolulu offers panoramic walkways, a 60-foot high observation sun deck, educational and fun whale activities with the crew of Certified Naturalists, and Hawaiian cultural activities. Or, for a more casual and affordable whale watch, Star of Honolulu offers a two-hour Wild Whale Watch Cruise aboard the Starlet from Jan. 2 to April 15, 2010. The two-deck, 340-passenger motor vessel also offers casual Polynesian sunset dinner cruises daily.
* On Sept. 4, the Hawaii State Art Museum opened a major new art exhibition on hula called Hooulu: The Inspiration of Hula. It includes more than 100 pieces of hula-related art, including pieces on loan from the Bishop Museum and Hula Preservation Society. The exhibition will remain up until July 17, 2010.
* Honolulu Academy of Arts’ fall exhibition will present Katushika Hokusai’s entire “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” for the first time in a decade from Sept. 24, 2009 to Jan. 3, 2010. Fragile and sensitive to fading, many of the prints in this series are among the Academy’s rarest and most precious works. The series will be accompanied by other Hokusai prints.
* As an ending to its year-long celebration of its 20th Anniversary, The Contemporary Museum presents “At 21: Gifts and Promised Gifts in Honor of The Contemporary Museum’s 20th Anniversary,” an exhibition highlighting the major gifts and promised gifts made to the museum in recent years. The exhibit will be on display from Nov. 14, 2009 to Jan. 24, 2010. The Contemporary Museum will also feature artists from the Morinoue family at the First Hawaiian Center from Oct. 9, 2009 to Feb. 19, 2010.
Restaurants & Cuisine
Oahu is known for its diverse culture, which is exhibited by the island’s assortment of foods. With wonderful choices and an array of cuisine options, there’s sure to be a restaurant for everyone.
• Tropics Bar & Grill at the Hilton Hawaiian Village recently reopened following an $11 million renovation. The restaurant and bar now has a contemporary new island design, featuring glass tiles, warm wood tones and floral fabrics. Its space has significantly expanded with more indoor and outdoor seating, a 36-seat bar, larger kitchen, and a private dining room. The main architectural highlight is the new outdoor fire pits around the restaurant’s perimeter that fronts the beach. Tropics Bar & Grill also features nightly live Hawaiian music and a revamped menu.
• The Outrigger Reef on the Beach recently introduced a new restaurant, Kani Ka Pila Grille. The poolside bar and grill offers casual and tasty lunch and dinner fare daily, but its specialty is live nightly entertainment by renowned Hawaii musicians as well as the island’s hottest up-and-coming artists. Kani Ka Pila means “to make music,” and the new restaurant is the latest example of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts’ long-time commitment to supporting and sharing Hawaii’s rich musical heritage.
• The Halekulani now offers a new, one-of-a-kind dining experience called Table One. Located in the atrium of Orchids restaurant, adjacent to the Living Room of Halekulani’s historic Main House, Table One offers a five-course or seven-course tasting menu with additional selections of internationally acclaimed two-tier wine pairings. Each menu, personally designed by Chef Vikram Garg features regionally inspired global cuisine using the finest in local seasonal ingredients.
• Sheraton Waikiki’s newest dining experience, Kai Market offers farm-to-table cuisine inspired by Hawaii’s plantation era. Breakfast and dinner experiences provide guests a taste of Hawaii’s different ethnic foods, as well as more traditional menu items. The cuisine is made with Hawaii’s freshest, locally grown products.
• Twist at Hanohano at the Sheraton Waikiki now offers a new concept in wine tasting, Flights at Twist. “Flight attendants” present guests with a choice of five airline boarding passes – each featuring wine varietal combinations of three glasses including: Go Green (sustainable and organic wines), ABC Whites (anything but chardonnay), International Flight to Europe, ABC Reds (anything but cabernet), and Thunder from Down Under (big, bold and full-bodied). The “in-flight service,” or new tapas menu, complements each wine selection.
• Azure at The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort now offers the Royal Papaaina (Royal Table), a five-course tasting menu, focusing on rare, local ingredients, by Executive Chef Jon Matsubara. Complete with wine and cocktail pairings, the intimate culinary affair is set in the private beachfront Chef’s Cabanas at Azure. The Royal Papaaina menu includes delicacies such as Amuse Bouche of Akolea Smoked Sturgeon with Soy Caviar, Potato Scaled Hawaiian Moi & Kona Abalone, and “Hawaiian Red Veal Raviolo.” This exclusive dining experience is available for $150 per person, including wine and cocktail pairings for a maximum of four guests.
• The Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa has added a lunch menu to its popular Afternoon Tea on the Veranda. New menu items include caesar salad, crème de chèvre, ahi salad nicoise, portobello mushroom Wellington, and seafood crepe. Guests can order dishes a la carte or as part of the full afternoon tea service.
• Naked Cow Dairy in Waianae is the only local dairy farm serving gourmet butter and soft cheese with no preservatives or stabilizers. Naked Cow Dairy products are available at the Kapiolani Community College and Waianae farmers markets on Saturdays, the Haleiwa Farmers Market on Sundays and at the Honolulu Farmers Market on Wednesday evenings.
• Apartm3nt Lounge and Restaurant (pronounced “Apartment 3”) opened this summer at Century Center, across the Hawaii Convention Center. Apartm3nt features an exotic wine cellar, a vogue-like New York City lounge, flat screen televisions, banquet seating, and reasonable prices. The lounge and restaurant is open nightly Tuesday to Saturday from 5 p.m.-2 a.m. with dinner served until 12:30 a.m.
• Located in Chinatown, The Manifest is a modern coffee shop that offers a place for downtowners to network with one another and recharge themselves during the day. By sundown, The Manifest transforms into a culturally sophisticated cocktail bar which has also been arranged as a venue for artists of all art mediums.
• Haili’s Hawaiian Foods opened a convenient lunch wagon located in the open-air parking lot across from Ward Entertainment Center. The lunch wagon, branded as Haili’s Backyard Luau, serves old Haili’s favorites as well as new menu items, including fish, steak and kalua pig wraps, Haili’s Hot Dog with pineapple and kim chee, and a grilled banana with ice cream and chocolate sauce dessert. Haili’s Hawaiian Foods will continue its retail and catering service from its warehouse located behind the Ward Farmers Market.
• Goma Tei Ramen is the newest restaurant to open at Ala Moana Center. Goma Tei offers authentic Japanese ramen, noodles and other Japanese food specialties. It is located on the ground level at Ala Moana Center.
• MAC 24-7 at the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio debuted a new Create-Your-Own Pancake Service: a Topping Trolley hosted by a MAC 24-7 Pancake Stylist. Guests can choose from 20 different toppings to dress and customize their MAC-Daddy Pancake.
Shopping
Oahu is a shopping mecca with something for everyone. Home to hundreds of fashionable designer stores as well as markets that carry locally made crafts, visitors are sure to love the shopping experience no matter where they go.
• On Aug. 8, Martin & MacArthur opened its flagship store at Ward Centre. Martin & MacArthur’s new store features newly designed Koa wood pieces inspired by furniture owned by Hawaiian monarchs and original Hawaiian artifacts, including handwritten letters by King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani, feather kahili and lei, and original Webber engravings of Captain Cook’s voyages. The store offers a wide assortment of handcrafted Koa jewelry boxes, bowls, and home accessories, as well as sterling silver and red coral jewelry and ceramics made by local artists.
• Through the end of the year, Honolulu-based elle Couture Jewellers will be donating 10 percent of the proceeds of its Roberto Coin sea-life collection to the Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA). As an additional benefit of membership, FOWA members will also receive a 10 percent discount off their purchases of the Roberto Coin sea-life collection.
• Kailua Sailboards & Kayaks now carries Twin Island Surf Co., a clothing line featuring men’s and women’s t-shirts based on the twin Mokulua Islands in Kailua. Twin Islands Surf Co. was founded by Mike Miller, a local competitive surfer who grew up in Kailua with his twin brother Peter. In 2006, Peter died tragically in an airplane crash, and his death devastated the local surfing community. Mike began the Peter Miller Foundation and Twin Island Surf Co., in his memory.
* Sugarcane Boutique is a new Kaimuki boutique featuring furniture, home accents and consignment clothing, as well as a few new products. All of the store’s products are conservation-minded, including locally made apparel from Blue Geisha and contemporary styles from vintage muumuu to used pieces from Free People, Ella Moss and Velvet.
* Reduce, reuse and recycle with Crazy Shirts new “Eco” Board Shorts collection. Made with recycled plastic bottles, the synthetic material is converted into 100 percent polyester polyethylene teraphthalate (PET) microfiber. Each Eco Board Short is made from roughly seven 16-ounce bottles and the lightweight, quick-drying material features Crazy Shirts HydroPrint technology, which reveals a different pattern when it gets wet. The shorts are available in men’s, women’s and kids sizes.
Festivals and Events
Oahu is home to the largest number of festivals and events in Hawaii. Each year, visitors have the opportunity to connect with the local community and experience renowned events that showcase the island’s rich arts and culture scene, the world’s top amateur and professional sporting competitions and championships, and the many ethnic celebrations that are exclusive to Hawaii.
• Polynesian Cultural Center’s (PCC) Haunted Lagoon will launch its canoes to thrill-seeking visitors this October. With this spooky canoe ride, hauntings will begin Oct. 2, and will depart periodically from 6:30-9 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday through Halloween night.
• The 28th Annual Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), the premier international film event of the Pacific, will take place from Oct. 15-25, 2009. HIFF showcases features and documentaries from Asia, the Pacific Islands and Hawaii, and all films depict their region/culture in a culturally accurate way. HIFF is a statewide event and the only one of its kind in the U.S. It has more than one dozen screening sites on six Hawaiian Islands and draws an audience of 65,000 or more from around the state, the nation and the world.
* The Waikiki Aquarium is hosting a Makahiki Celebration on Oct. 17 from 9-11 a.m. to celebrate a time of peace, feasting and games when Alii (royalty) and makaainana (commoners) refrained from work and wars. On display will be rarely seen symbols of the Makahiki – Akua Loa and Akua Paani, along with poi pounders, fish traps, fish hooks, information about fishing kapu-conservation, and breeding cycles.
* The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing returns to the North Shore of Oahu from Nov. 12 to Dec. 20, 2009 when the best professional surfers take on the world’s largest waves for surfing’s most prestigious titles. Kicking off with the Reef Hawaiian Pro in Haleiwa from Nov. 12-23, the series continues with the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach from Nov. 24-Dec. 6 and the Billabong Pipeline Masters at the famous Banzai Pipeline from Dec. 8-20. Competition runs on the biggest and best days of surf from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
* Each winter from Dec. 1-Feb. 28, the world’s best big wave surfers are invited to Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore to compete in the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational In Memory of Eddie Aikau. The Eddie can only be held when surf measures at least 20 feet (Hawaiian scale) for a full day. The holding period for the event is between December 1 and the last day in February. When the surf is big enough, thousands flock to watch the likes of Kelly Slater and Andy Irons compete in the prestigious surfing competition.
* The historic Hawaii Theatre Center presents “A Cazimero Christmas,” its annual Christmas concert starring acclaimed Hawaiian musicians, The Brothers Cazimero. The concert also features the hula stylings of kumu hula Leinaala Kalama Heine. Robert Cazimero’s award-winning Halau Na Kamalei and the Ladies of the Royal Dance Company will act as the dance corps. Special guests include Miss Keiki Hula 2009 and Master Keiki Hula 2009.
* This holiday season the Outrigger Reef on the Beach and Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach hotels will welcome Santa Claus to spread holiday cheer on Waikiki Beach when he arrives by outrigger canoe at the Outrigger Waikiki on Dec. 12. On Dec. 22 and 23, kids can enjoy breakfast with Santa at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach’s Kani Ka Pila Grille. Other scheduled public events will include the Outrigger Reef’s annual tree lighting ceremony, holiday music at the Outrigger Reef’s Kani Ka Pila Grille, and a week-long display of employee-created gingerbread houses at Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach.
* The Polynesian Cultural Center’s 20th Annual Moanikeala Hula Festival in January 2010 is a hoike, or exhibition, that will showcase dancers of all ages from some of the world’s best hula halau. The festival honors the late Aunty Sally Wood Naluai, who was the PCC’s first kumu hula (hula instructor) when it opened in 1963 until 1980, after which she was a consultant until she passed away in 2000.
Miscellaneous
* WestJet is offering a new, seasonal Saturday flight between Victoria, B.C. and Honolulu beginning on Nov. 7, 2009. The Canadian-based airline will also increase the frequency of its Vancouver-Honolulu service to 11 flights a week in November and 12 flights a week in December.
* Beginning on Dec. 5, 2009, Air Canada will offer nonstop, seasonal service between Calgary, Alberta and Honolulu. The airlines will offer up to two flights per week from Honolulu. This will be the only non-stop service offered between Calgary and Honolulu.
* US Airways will begin its daily, nonstop service between Charlotte, N.C. and Honolulu on Dec. 17, 2009. US Airways also offers nonstop service between Phoenix, Ariz. and Honolulu.
* Interisland Airways now offers private air charter flights from Oahu to Hilo, Kona and Kamuela on the Big Island, as well as to Lanai, Molokai, Kahului, Maui, and Lihue, Kauai. In addition, Interisland Airways offers private one-day tour charters from Honolulu to Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. Professional bilingual tour guides who speak various foreign languages are available on all charters.
All information is subject to change without notice. For more information, please go to www.visit-oahu.com or follow OVB’s tweets at www.twitter.com/OahuVB.
Source: www.examiner.com, September 21, 2009
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Honolulu seventh heaven for raising families
Honolulu ranks a lucky seven on the Children's Health magazine list of the 100 best and worst U.S. cities in which to raise your family.
Burlington, Vt., rated No. 1 for having the highest in the country for per-student spending, graduation rates, percentage of population with advanced degrees and median family income as well as its scenic views and tourist- and photographer-drawing fall foliage color explosion.
The magazine's online coverage only provides an explanation of its ranking for Burlington and a list of the other 99 cities.
The print edition hits newsstands today and features first lady Michelle Obama encircled by children, on the cover.
Children's Health focuses on health, nutrition and educational guidance for parents of infants and children, and its editors considered 30 factors in preparing the list, including crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions and health.
The information was gleaned from sources including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and independent experts of various stripes.
Source: www.starbulletin.com, Sep 15, 2009
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Get locals' lei of the land in Oahu, Hawaii
With Hawaii's impossibly perfect temperatures and enviable scenery, it's easy to forget that there's life off the beach.
But with Hawaii celebrating its 50th anniversary as a state, it's definitely time to look past Oahu's Waikiki Beach and experience the most populous island's abundance of local flavor.
Hang like a local
The best place to start is downtown Honolulu, where about 80 percent of the state's population resides.
As a result, Honolulu is home to an incredible array of nationalities, creating an environment where there's always something different to taste, try and see.
The arts district, between Honolulu's business district and historic Chinatown, "houses art galleries and 20 or 30 bars, three of which were added in the last year," said resident Tim Bostock.
"[The district] can be casual, or it can be wild with street parties. We're really turning a corner that there's always going to be something going on downtown."
One such party that has earned a huge following is First Friday, a homegrown street festival that occurs -- you guessed it -- on the first Friday of each month. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., you can cruise through a number of art galleries for refreshments, art and live entertainment free. After 9 p.m., the district gets a little livelier, thanks to a growing number of bars and clubs. See Hawaii's statehood history. »
"There's been an explosion -- there are three or four venues with something going on every night," Bostock said. "There are bars with a visual angle like Thirtyninehotel, and the Soho Mixed Media Bar that just opened and proved to be a force; the crowd going into that place is huge."
At Thirtyninehotel, a unique space where you can stumble upon either an art exhibition or a party, you'll also find what can be a bar's best asset: an outdoor area where partygoers can escape to enjoy a breeze. Soho Mixed Media Bar had its grand opening in early June, but is already keeping a full calendar, from '70s, '80s and '90s-themed "Acid Wash" Wednesdays to hosted Friday night events.
Grub like a local
If you're looking for a tamer evening in downtown Honolulu, all is not lost, said Ed Korybski, executive director of the Honolulu Arts and Culture District. There are plenty of midpriced restaurants in the area such as Indigo and Epic, Korybski said, both of which serve Asian fusion cuisine.
But for Asian food so authentic you've probably never heard of it, head into Honolulu's Chinatown.
"In some ways, it's the Ellis Island of Hawaii," Korybski said. "We have a lot of Vietnamese, Filipinos and Samoans. When you're here, you smell smells you've never smelled before and see food you've never seen before; things that you wouldn't see on the mainland."
During the day, Chinatown is filled with food stalls, some of which can cause the average visitor to be a little wary. "Be prepared to try stuff," Bostock recommends. "The booth food will be completely strange to you, but try 'em, they're good."
If you're in the mood for authentic Asian but don't want to eat on the run, Korybski recommends Café Joy in Chinatown, a "really local place that has character and serves traditional Thai and Laotian food," Korybski said. "In the back it has seating in the traditional Chinese courtyard, but you would never know driving past it."
If you head over to Kapahulu, a neighborhood just inland of Waikiki, you can discover a wealth of local culinary treasures, said Oahu tourism spokesperson Rebecca Pang. Ono Hawaiian Foods is one small restaurant that always seems to have a line out the door.
As any Hawaii resident will tell you, if you want to truly eat like a local, you'd better add a plate lunch to the day's menu. It's an only-in-Hawaii concoction that usually features a side of macaroni salad, some form of protein, plenty of rice and a healthy dose of gravy. Pull up a chair at the Rainbow Drive-in or Kanak Attack in Kapahulu to get a forkful.
Road trip like a local
The last must-do before leaving Oahu, Bostock said, is a trip to the North Shore.
"Haleiwa is a wonderful surf town with good boutiques and good restaurants," he said. "It's going to change one of these days; it's been the same way for 30 years, so you should see it before it changes."
While you're up there, make sure to snag Hawaii's popular warm weather treat of shave ice, slivers of ice with a consistency similar to a snow cone covered with sweet, colorful syrups.
It can be found at Matsumoto's, a decades-old Haleiwa staple that can rake out 1,000 shave ices on a sunny day. You can take your pick of tropical flavors, including lychee, guava and passion fruit. Or try this local combination: rainbow-flavored shave ice -- that's strawberry, pineapple, and lemon -- along with a scoop of ice cream and red Azuki beans, which are grown throughout East Asia.
For more great food with a side of history, make the trek over to Waipahu. This small neighborhood west of Honolulu still carries the remnants of plantation life, but offers a bit of modern relaxation in the form of one of the most challenging golf courses on the island, Coral Creek Golf Course.
After you've cruised the fairways, head to Tanioka's Seafood and Catering, which earned the honor of "best poke," a raw seafood dish that's usually made with fresh fish, seaweed and kukui nut relish, in 2008 from the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper.
But on your next trip, don't just stop at Oahu on your hunt for unique Hawaii finds. Check out http://www.gohawaii.com/ to get ideas on finding local haunts and hot spots.
Source: www.cnn.com, Fri August 21, 2009
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Oahu home sales edge upward
Sales of single-family homes on Oahu were up in July over the same month a year before, and median prices also rose over the previous month’s prices.
There were 265 single-family homes sold in July, a 5.6 percent increase over July 2008 when 251 homes sold, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported.
The median price was $595,000, down 4 percent from $620,000 in July 2008. But it was up almost 5 percent over the median price of $569,000 in June.
The median price of a condominium was $312,000, down 5 percent from $329,900 during the same month a year ago but up slightly from $310,000 in June.
“This is the second consecutive month we’ve had an uptick in single-family home resales and it is a welcome change for the current housing market,” said board President Sandra “Sam” Bangerter. “While we’re continually monitoring economic conditions, both nationally and locally, the numbers we’re seeing for the Oahu residential real estate market may be indicating that we’re already past the bottom.”
Sales of condos, however, fell 10 percent in July, to 327 units, down from 365 units sold in July 2008.
“Credit our small, continually shrinking inventory for maintaining relatively stable price levels, even with the lower demand for housing,” said Harvey Shapiro, the board’s research economist. “President Obama says that the government stimulus programs are bearing fruit, particularly for the auto sector, so we’re hopeful that the housing industry will follow suit.”
The Ewa plain region, which includes Ewa Beach and Kapolei, saw the most sales of single-family homes last month with 51 houses changing hands, up 13 percent from July 2008. The areas that saw the greatest increases were Makakilo and the Makaha-Nanakuli area.
Source: www.bizjournals.com, Tuesday, August 4, 2009
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How "Hawaii Five-O" made the Ilikai Hotel an icon
The Ilikai has been generating its own drama of late: foreclosures, closings, reopenings. But it became an icon in 1968 when a brand new TV cop drama named Hawaii Five-O used it as part of its title sequence.
Jack Lord was still an obscure TV actor when, as Det. Steve McGarrett, he stood on Ilikai’s 30th floor balcony—an aerial camera zooming in on him (or, if you look closely, it’s probably a double in a dark suit). The real Lord then turned to pose tousle-haired with Diamond Head outlined over his shoulder. All set to Morton Stevens’ pulsing theme song. (If you haven’t seen it in a long time, watch the video below.)
The Ilikai, Hawaii’s first luxury high-rise hotel, was at the time the newest, most striking building in Waikiki, designed by architect John Graham, who created the futuristic Space Needle for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.
The force behind the Ilikai was another Hawaii legend—Chinn Ho. Ho, who died in 1987, began by working in his father’s Waikiki rice fields and ended a real estate tycoon. He’s credited with breaking down many barriers to Asians in Hawaii business.
Ho persuaded 20 of his classmates from the McKinley High School class of 1924 to invest a certain amount of money with him each month. That money built the luxury 1,050-room condo and hotel complex.
Hawaii Five-O gave a nod to the real Chinn Ho: The character played by actor Kam Fong was named Chin Ho Kelly. Of course, the show was full of Hawaii in-jokes. The arch-villain of the series was Wo Fat, named after a prominent Chinatown restaurant.
There were some scenes later filmed at the Ilikai pool, but in general, it was those few seconds of film that made the Ilikai a worldwide recognizable location.
Source: www.hawaiimagazine.com, Mon Jul 27, 2009
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On Oahu, They All Scream for Shave Ice
There are two ways to approach the line that wriggles out the door of Matsumoto Shave Ice and hooks left along the sidewalk: You can (1) moan and complain about the wait under the hot Hawaiian sun or (2) use the free time to pick your flavors and visualize the overall composition of the supreme frozen treat. (Option 3 -- skipping the queue -- is not an option.)
"Matsumoto's has been here forever. It's an institution," said Brian Zagami, a banker who lives in Honolulu and drives to Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore for his fix. "So many places are changing in Hawaii. It's nice to come to a place that's static."
Shave ice is a local specialty found throughout the islands, but Matsumoto stands out for being the oldest continuously run operation on Oahu, going back more than half a century. "When you come to Hawaii, you have to eat shave ice, Leonard's malasada and poke," said owner Stanley Matsumoto, who runs the operation with his wife, Noriko. "It's part of the tradition of Hawaii." (Another tradition: Using the pidgin English variant of "shaved ice," which omits the "d.")
The line outside the store is a common sight on Kamehameha Highway, and on a weekend afternoon, it was moving along like a snail in sneakers. After 30 minutes, Zagami had in hand a pineapple- and coconut-flavored ice atop vanilla ice cream and azuki beans. "You get in line and you talk story," he said before taking a much-anticipated first bite.
If you need some good story during the wait -- or shave ice advice -- flag down Matsumoto, a store fixture often found working the line or straightening the stacks of souvenirs. The man with floppy black hair, matching mustache and surfer shorts paired with flip-flops is the son of the Japanese American couple who created Matsumoto Shave Ice out of a humble grocery store. He is also a master ice shaver and a beguiling raconteur.
His tale begins in the 1950s, when Haleiwa was a low-key coastal town surrounded by sugar and pineapple plantations and populated by old Hawaiian families and Japanese immigrants and their offspring. (The big-wave surfers and free-lovin' hippies arrived a decade later.) Mamoru Matsumoto was born in Hawaii, lived in Japan during his formative years, then returned to the islands, where he met his wife, Helen, and opened M. Matsumoto grocery store in 1951. "I remember my parents didn't have a lot to sell. But his dream was to have his own business and send his three kids to college," said Matsumoto, the youngest of the brood and now a father of three teens. "They never trusted me with the store. I'd put my board in the truck during deliveries and go surfing instead."
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In 1956, the family expanded the business to include the frozen treat that's known as kakigori in its place of origin, Japan. "The Japanese immigrants moved here with ice shavers," he said. "The equipment works like a wood planer." When Stanley Matsumoto took over in 1976, he bumped the canned goods to make space for the growing shave ice (and Matsumoto T-shirt) enterprise, which had been garnering attention from the Japanese media and visiting celebrities from both sides of the Pacific (among them: Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, sumo wrestler Konishiki and local musician Jack Johnson). In the busy summer season, the shop makes 1,000 ices a day; when school's in session, the number drops to 500. "My father would be so happy with how the store has gotten so big," said Matsumoto, whose father died in 1994 at age 85. "But he'd probably scream at us for changing everything."
Shave ice greatly differs from its stateside frozen counterpart. "People in Hawaii get very upset if you confuse it with the snow cone," said Rachel Laudan, a culinary historian and author who lived in Hawaii for 10 years. "What really makes it good and different from the snow cone is the texture. The syrup floats down through the layers, which have to be feather-light."
The mainland snack, as most sweaty and sticky kids know, is basically a ball of crushed ice doused in tart or sweet flavors and served in a paper cone; its consistency is similar to the ice released from soda dispensers. Shave ice, by comparison, is more of a culinary art: The machinery's rotating blade whittles down a three-pound block of ice, creating shavings as delicate as snowflake crystals. From there, Matsumoto's staff, working in an assembly line, takes a large plastic holder and drops in sweetened red azuki beans (optional) and vanilla ice cream (also optional), then plops down the frozen orb, which has been molded into a softball shape. The treat advances to the flavoring station, rows of glass bottles glistening with extracts covering a rainbow of tastes: fruity (banana, green apple, honeydew), tropical (mango, guava), candy-sweet (bubble gum, cotton candy, creamsicle), cocktail hour (piña colada), exotic (dried salty plum, passion fruit). For the final flourish, the colorful confection is coated with condensed milk.
Eating the icy skyscraper takes as much orchestration and skill as building one. "You got to work your way down and watch the colors change," Matsumoto advised, pointing to a thawing Rainbow special (lemon, pineapple and strawberry). Patrons have at their disposal a spoon and a straw to suck up the syrup that pools on the bottom. Yet when the end is in sight, you have no choice but to toss back your head and drain the dregs. Prepare for a rivulet of sweetness.
At this point, you can go for a second round or return another day. With the exception of major holidays, the store is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The line starts forming around noon and doesn't peter out until the doors are physically shuttered. Of course, that doesn't stop last-minute stragglers from begging for a treat.
"I saw the line at 5 p.m., so we decided to come back," said Californian Karen Kaiser, who arrived 15 minutes after closing time. "How long did we press our noses at the window?"
Long enough for Matsumoto to return to the kitchen for the last two shave ices of the night.
Matsumoto Shave Ice (808-637-4827, http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com) is at 66-087 Kamehameha Hwy. in Haleiwa, on Oahu's North Shore. Cost: $2 for six ounces, $2.50 with beans or ice cream, $3 with both; $2.25 for eight ounces, $2.75 with beans or ice cream, $3.25 for both. Condensed milk is an additional 50 cents.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com, Sunday, July 12, 2009
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Local Economists Optimistic about Oahu's Real Estate Market
There's a bit of optimism from the experts on the local economic picture.
Some say the recession has hit the bottom.
And for those who still have money to spare, they say the Oahu real estate market is a good long-term investment.
The Hawaii developers' council, a non-profit organization got together for it's mid-year real estate forecast. And it wasn't all gloom and doom, although the experts remain cautious.
"I don't want to be too optimistic but it looks like we might have already passed the bottom," says Harvey Shapiro.
Some of that cautious optimism is shared by economist Paul Brewbaker, who sits on the council on revenues.
"It's looking like the bottom is starting to form," says Paul Brewbaker, Council on Revenues.
But before everyone goes on a spending spree, it's important to note that recovery is still at least a year away.
"The key here is we're gonna form a bottom, it's gonna take a while and the recovery won't come until next year or the year after," says Brewbaker.
As for real estate, the research economist for the Honolulu Board of Realtors points out that mortgage rates are low. So this is an opportune time for investors, and even more so for first time buyers who are now renting.
"In the long term it's always been money in your pocket to buy property here in hawaii. our prices double approximately every ten years and you might not hit the exact bottom but why wait around and pay rent?," says Harvey Shapiro, Honolulu Board of Realtors.
Shapiro says a lot still depends on the stability of the financial markets. But don't expect a major drop in prices on Oahu, like those seen on the mainland. Shapiro says prices have held steady because of the limited amount of properties to be sold.
"This is different than all the other cities on the mainland where they've had a huge explosion of properties available on the market and their prices subsequently drop because there were so many choices for buyers," says Shapiro.
Shapiro says we'll likely see a drop in sales, but prices should hold up well.
Source: www.khon2.com, July 8, 2009
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Showing signs of life
Oahu home sales in June were up 9.5%, providing hope that the worst is over
There was a glimmer of hope for the residential real estate market on Oahu as June home sales showed a slight jump compared with a year ago, according to the latest statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.
A total of 254 homes were sold in June, up 9.5 percent compared with June 2008, when 232 homes changed hands.
The June median home price was at $569,000, down 9.0 percent from June 2008. It was, however, a slight 3.5 percent uptick from the median price in May.
Condo sales, on the other hand, dropped 17.3 percent to 293 in June, at a median price of $310,000. The condo median price was down 5.3 percent from a year ago but up slightly from May.
"We don't want to seem overly optimistic, but it looks like we could be nearing the bottom of the current market slump," said board President Sandra "Sam" Bangerter.
Board economist Harvey Shapiro characterized the jump in home sales as a seasonal spike, given that many people buy and sell during the summer.
The sales speed, or number of days on the market for both homes and condos, in June was 45, the lowest this year, for both categories.
In January, homes sat on the market for a median of 71 days, according to Shapiro, and for condos the median was 59 days.
Inventory levels on Oahu also continue to remain low. In June there were 1,700 single-family homes on the market, down 18.3 percent from the 2,080 homes a year ago.
Last month there were 2,381 condos on the market, down 11.4 percent from 2,687 a year ago.
"People are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what's going on," said Shapiro. "I think the attitude now is, if you don't have to sell, you don't."
Still, interest rates this week were at historically low rates of about 5.0 percent or lower for 15- and 30-year fixed mortgages.
Shapiro says he's not sure whether there's a turnaround in the market yet.
"It looks like we're near bottom or even past it," he said.
For the first six months of this year, 1,107 homes have been sold, a 21.7 percent drop from the same period a year ago. Total condo sales through June were recorded at 1,380, a 36.1 percent decrease from last year.
Homes in the metro, Diamond Head and East Oahu neighborhoods continued to command higher median prices in June, while the lowest prices were recorded on the Leeward Coast.
Total sales volume generated for the first six months of the year was $1.23 billion, down 37.8 percent — or $744.8 million — compared with $1.97 billion a year ago.
Times have been tough for real estate agents on Oahu, whose board membership ranks have shrunk by about 10 percent in Honolulu this year compared with last year. Statewide, the Hawaii Real Estate Commission saw license renewals drop 21 percent this year.
Jim Wright, chief executive of Century 21 All Islands, said many part-timers have dropped out of real estate. He lost about 100 agents but still has a core of 350.
The company closed four offices last year, leaving it with 10 in the state. But sales volume has been improving over the last three months.
"This is a seasonal spike," he said of June's home sales numbers. "When you come into the fall and winter, it's going to fall back down again."
More real estate-owned foreclosures are also going to drive price points down, according to Wright. He doesn't expect Hawaii's market to hit bottom until the second quarter of 2011.
Still, he expects to weather the recession.
"We're finally through the red and starting to hit a balance again," said Wright. "We really had to contract the organization and get it in line. We know we're not out of this for a couple of years, but at least we'll be here at the end of the day."
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
Oahu single-family home and condominium resales data for June by neighborhood, with the change from last year:
| SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES |
| No. |
Neighborhood group |
Sales |
Pct. change |
Median price |
Pct. change |
| 1 |
Moanalua-Kalihi |
11 |
-21.4% |
$600,000 |
21.5% |
| 2 |
Honolulu |
12 |
33.3% |
$730,000 |
7.4% |
| 3 |
Kapahulu-Diamond Head |
15 |
66.7% |
$780,000 |
-1.3% |
| 4 |
Waialae-Kahala |
7 |
-12.5% |
$1,387,500 |
-4.0% |
| 5 |
Aina Haina-Kuliouou |
3 |
0.0% |
$790,000 |
-2.5% |
| 6 |
Hawaii Kai |
15 |
0.0% |
$750,000 |
-13.8% |
| 7 |
Kailua-Waimanalo |
20 |
-37.5% |
$712,500 |
-5.3% |
| 8 |
Kaneohe |
19 |
72.7% |
$619,000 |
-3.9% |
| 9 |
Windward Coast |
9 |
50.0% |
$670,000 |
-1.2% |
| 10 |
North Shore |
7 |
250.0% |
$873,000 |
-54.9% |
| 11 |
Wahiawa |
3 |
-25.0% |
$345,000 |
-2.1% |
| 12 |
Mililani |
17 |
-39.3% |
$570,000 |
-9.1% |
| 13 |
Makaha-Nanakuli |
18 |
50.0% |
$282,000 |
-32.2% |
| 14 |
Ewa Plain |
49 |
11.4% |
$458,000 |
3.3% |
| 15 |
Makakilo |
10 |
150.0% |
$487,500 |
-29.3% |
| 16 |
Waipahu |
27 |
92.9% |
$520,000 |
-10.0% |
| 17 |
Pearl City-Aiea |
12 |
-29.4% |
$555,000 |
-18.1%
|
| CONDOMINIUMS |
| 18 |
Moanalua-Salt Lake |
13 |
-23.5% |
$247,000 |
-17.7% |
| 19 |
Kalihi-Palama |
4 |
-55.6% |
$300,000 |
-4.8% |
| 20 |
Downtown-Nuuanu |
25 |
4.2% |
$340,000 |
-27.4% |
| 21 |
Ala Moana-Kakaako |
25 |
19.0% |
$400,000 |
-2.4% |
| 22 |
Waikiki |
43 |
-43.4% |
$235,000 |
-19.7% |
| 23 |
Makiki-Moiliili |
41 |
-24.1% |
$320,000 |
6.3% |
| 24 |
Kapahulu-Kuliouou |
11 |
10.0% |
$435,000 |
7.0% |
| 25 |
Hawaii Kai |
19 |
46.2% |
$426,000 |
-29.0% |
| 26 |
Kailua-Waimanalo |
10 |
0.0% |
$392,500 |
-22.7% |
| 27 |
Kaneohe |
13 |
18.2% |
$365,000 |
-8.3% |
| 28 |
Windward Coast |
1 |
N/A |
$700,000 |
N/A |
| 29 |
North Shore |
2 |
-33.3% |
$217,500 |
-27.5% |
| 30 |
Wahiawa |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| 31 |
Mililani |
27 |
-6.9% |
$280,000 |
-23.3% |
| 32 |
Makaha-Nanakuli |
5 |
25.0% |
$122,000 |
-24.2% |
| 33 |
Ewa Plain |
17 |
6.3% |
$270,000 |
-4.0% |
| 34 |
Makakilo |
4 |
-42.9% |
$212,500 |
-29.6% |
| 35 |
Waipahu |
13 |
-45.8% |
$235,000 |
-16.9% |
| 36 |
Pearl City-Aiea |
20 |
-25.9% |
$283,500 |
-0.5% |
Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors
HOME SALES
The number of homes sold on Oahu in June with the median price and percentage change from the same month last year:
| HOMES |
| SALES |
| June 2009 |
254 |
| June 2008 |
232 |
| Change |
+9.5% |
| MEDIAN PRICE |
| June 2009 |
$569,000 |
| June 2008 |
$625,000 |
| Change |
-9.0% |
| CONDOS |
| SALES |
| June 2009 |
293 |
| June 2008 |
355 |
| Change |
-17.3% |
| MEDIAN PRICE |
| June 2009 |
$310,000 |
| June 2008 |
$327,500 |
| Change |
-5.3% |
Source: Honolulu Board of Realtors
News Source: www.starbulletin.com, Jul 03, 2009
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Home sales up in Honolulu in June, but prices are down
The median sales price of a single-family home on O'ahu fell to $569,000 in June from $625,000 in the same month a year earlier, but the volume of sales rose for the first time in two years, indicating that lower prices were luring more buyers back into the market.
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The $56,000 — or 9 percent — price drop, reported by the Honolulu Board of Realtors, continues a slide in O'ahu median home resale prices that began as a small one last year but has grown close to 10 percent for this year, through June. For all of last year, the median price dipped just 3 percent.
Nonetheless, there were some signs that the housing market is recovering in the Board of Realtors' monthly report. June's median price was up from $550,000 in May. And the 254 homes sold in June were 9.5 percent more than the 232 sold a year earlier. It was the first increase in two years, said Harvey Shapiro, a research economist for the Board of Realtors.
In addition, homes that sold in June spent an average of 45 days on the market before selling, the shortest period of any month so far this year. Also, the inventory of unsold homes fell to 1,700 in June, down 18.3 percent from 2,080 a year earlier.
Honolulu has fared better than many Mainland housing markets, some of which have seen their median prices tank 30 percent or more, in some cases due to huge inventory overhangs produced by developers — something that didn't happen significantly in Hawai'i.
"The available inventory continues to be quite low and this appears to be the reason for the small decreases in home prices for Honolulu compared with the sizable declines for Mainland cities," Shapiro said.
Still, it probably will be several years before the Honolulu housing market returns to a more normal sales pattern, said James Wright, president and chief executive officer of Century 21 All Islands.
"We're doing better coming into summer pretty much across the state. But as much as we get excited, we're probably a couple of years from working our way through this process in Hawai'i," Wright said. "This by far is the worst mess that has hit the state housing market in the 20 years I've been following it."
He said the recession, along with tightening lending standards, is making it much more difficult for borrowers to get mortgages.
"We're having trouble with appraisals knocking deals down. Some people don't even want to apply for a loan because of the documentation. And troubles at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have pretty much sunk the lending market."
In O'ahu's condo market, the median price in June fell 5.3 percent to $310,000, from $327,500 a year earlier. In terms of month-to-month changes, the June median condo price was up from $305,000 in May.
There were 293 condos sold in May, down 17.3 percent from 355 a year earlier.
Board of Realtors president Sandra Bangerter said she was encouraged by some of the single-family sales data, including the boost in sales volume and decline in days on market. She also noted that June's median price for both homes and condos was up from May.
"We don't want to seem overly optimistic, but it looks like we could be nearing the bottom of the current market slump," Bangerter said.
Source: www.honoluluadvertiser.com, Friday, July 3, 2009
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Honolulu among world's most livable cities
Honolulu has been named the world’s 11th most livable city by Monocle magazine.
It is the most livable city in the U.S.
The top city was Zurich followed by Copenhagen, Tokyo, Munich, Helsinki, Stockholm, Vienna, Paris, Melbourne and Berlin.
Honolulu placed 12th in last year’s ranking.
The magazine noted Honolulu is a “combination of big-city excitement and natural beauty.”
Monocle was launched in February 2007 as a “global briefing” covering international affairs, business, culture and design. It is printed 10 times a year and is updated at monocle.com.
Source: www.bizjournals.com, Monday, June 22, 2009
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Free (or Almost Free) Things to Do on O'ahu
A trip to Oahu can be expensive, but there are many free or almost free (less than $20 per person) things to do.
Even if you don't rent a car, almost all of the places and activities I've selected can be reached by foot from Waikiki or by using Oahu's excellent public transportation system called TheBus. TheBus has more than 90 routes and 4,200 stops around Oahu, and is a quick and inexpensive way to get around. The one-way fare is just $2.00 and a four day pass costs just $20.00.
Here are picks for some free or almost free things to do on Oahu.
Source: www.gohawaii.about.com, Monday June 15, 2009
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Hawaiian Electric reaches milestone 50,000 solar installations
A Honolulu resident became the 50,000th customer of Hawaiian Electric's residential Solar Water Heating Rebate program announced Keith Block, director of the Oahu utility's Customer Efficiency Programs. "It's a significant milestone for the solar industry and for Hawaii as a state," said Block, who has been involved in the utility's rebate program since it debuted in 1996 on Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii Island. The 50,000 systems installed under the utilities' programs combined with previously installed solar systems brings the total statewide to more than 80,000, making Hawaii a national leader with an estimated one out of three single-family homes equipped with solar water heating.
Block noted that over the past 13 years the utilities' solar water heating program has reduced the demand for electricity by 111,328,000 kilowatt-hours annually (the equivalent of the estimated annual electric usage of more than 14,000 households), avoided the use of 210,000 barrels of oil annually and reduced carbon dioxide emissions a major contributor to global warming by 116,000 tons annually.
"This is an achievement we share with the solar contractors, developers, the military and our customers," said Block. "Hawaiian Electric started out with just a handful of participating contractors and today that number has grown to some 35 solar contractors on Oahu, 15 in Maui County and 29 on Hawaii Island."
Block said the military was one of the first to install solar water heating in their family housing projects as an energy saving move, and that local developers followed with solar in new home construction projects to attract buyers by offering energy efficiency upgrades. "In recent years, it's a combination of high energy prices, improved product, attractive government tax credits, and the $1,000 incentive from the utilities that have contributed to the demand for solar," added Block.
Jim Case, the Honolulu resident who was designated the utilities' 50,000th solar water heating customer after he installed solar on his 63-year-old house, agrees with the motivation. "I had looked at solar about a decade ago but didn't think it would be effective given the cloud cover and rainy conditions where I live on Round Top Drive."
"My daughter, who lives next door, installed solar water heating and photovoltaic panels on her rooftop with successful results and that's what convinced me. It also seemed timely to go solar because of technology improvements and as fuel prices were going up," added Case.
Case's daughter is Suzanne Case, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii. The organization's Honolulu office installed a 12.6 kW photovoltaic system (http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/hawaii/press/press3849.html)on their building in 2008 in keeping with their conservation mission, and Case herself decided to "walk the talk" personally by choosing solar for her home which in turn inspired her father.
Asked what benefits he derived from installing a solar water heating system, Jim Case noted a substantial reduction in his electric bill. "That's partly due to solar and also to the decrease in fuel prices since the beginning of the year. I also turned off one of our heaters after we did some plumbing upgrades, so all of these improvements combined including installing compact fluorescent lights throughout most of the house helped us to reduce our electricity use and see a lower bill," he said. "My wife and I also had concerns about how the solar panels were going to work in this mostly cloudy area but they were positioned to capture the maximum amount of sunlight and yet they're not visible to our neighbors, a fact that pleases my wife," said Case.
Hawaiian Electric's solar water heating rebate program currently provides a $1,000 instant rebate for installations done by an approved solar contractor and includes a 100-point post-installation quality control inspection by the utility. Federal and State tax credits also are available for qualified homeowners. Since 1996, the program has awarded more than $45.5 million in rebates. For more information about the utility's program on Oahu, visit heco.com or call 94-POWER.
Source: www.honoluluadvertiser.com, Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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Oahu home sales show signs of recovery
Single-family home prices on Oahu fell 15 percent last month compared to last year, while condominium prices dipped as well.
The median price for a single-family home was $550,000 in May compared to $649,500 a year ago, according to data from the Honolulu Board of Realtors. It also was the second lowest price in the past 12 months.
The median price was based on 225 sales, down 11 percent from the same month in 2008, when 252 houses were sold, but far better than the first four months of 2009.
“The Oahu residential housing market is still weak but there are indications that we may be near the bottom,” said board President Sandra “Sam” Bangerter. “Single-family home sales rebounded a bit in May and the sales speed of 49 days was faster than at the same time last year.”
Bangerter noted that while single-family home prices dipped, “the condominium median price has been holding quite steady at just over $300,000. These are just some of the signals that our housing market may be starting to return to normalcy.”
The median price of a condo on Oahu in May was $305,000, which was 10 percent less than $337,300 in May 2008. That was based on 263 sales, down 31 percent from the 382 sales in May 2008, but the highest monthly number since October 2008.
The median condo price in May was on a par with March, January and December, and higher than two of the past 12 months.
“Mainland cities have experienced significant inventory bloat and, with limited demand, this is the culprit in their falling prices,” said Harvey Shapiro, the board’s research economist. “The fact that Oahu’s inventory of available properties continues to be low is the important factor that is keeping our prices more stable.”
Shapiro noted that single-family home prices in Hawaii Kai and Mililani decreased by only 7 percent, and that prices for condos in Kapahulu, Ala Moana-Kakaako and Kailua actually rose last month.
“In an otherwise lackluster housing market, these positives may predict a turnaround for real estate, even as the state’s economic conditions continue to deteriorate,” he said.
Source: www.pacific.bizjournals.com, Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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Oahu's South Shore Glowing with Lanterns
If you saw the ocean glowing Monday night off Oahu's south shore, it wasn't a mistake. You were looking at more than 2,000 lanterns set adrift off Ala Moana Beach.
It was all to honor the memory of those who've passed on. More than 40,000 people filled the shores from magic island all the way down to kewalo basin. KGMB9 brought you the ceremony live in high definition right after our 6 o'clock newscast. People enjoyed live performances including hula, taiko drums and a Buddhist service.
"I'm honoring the spirit of those that have come before me just like everyone else, and having asian parents particularly, I know that soon, I'll be honoring them," First time attendee Tom Powell said. "They're alive now, but at age 90, we don't know for how long."
Monday night's lanterns were eventually retrieved and will be re-used next year. Any donations will be gifted to the city for the upkeep of Ala Moana Beach Park.
Source: www.kgmb9.com, May 25, 2009
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Thunderbirds to return to Oahu in September
The Air Force’s aerial demonstration team “Thunderbirds” will perform over Hickam Air Force Base Sept. 19 and 20.
The “Wings Over The Pacific” show will include the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team, airplane static displays, food and drink vendors, and other activities.
This is Hickam’s first open house since 2003.
The Thunderbird’s last performance here was in September 2007 and their F-16 flights were off Waikiki beach. A month later the Navy’s “Blue Angels” put on a show over Kaneohe Bay at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The Air Force’s aerial demonstration team “Thunderbirds” will perform over Hickam Air Force Base Sept. 19 and 20.
The “Wings Over The Pacific” show will include the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team, airplane static displays, food and drink vendors, and other activities.
This is Hickam’s first open house since 2003.
The Thunderbird’s last performance here was in September 2007 and their F-16 flights were off Waikiki beach. A month later the Navy’s “Blue Angels” put on a show over Kaneohe Bay at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
Source: www.starbulletin.com, May 20, 2009
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