East Hawai‘i Real Estate: Sweet Deals and Stunners

By Nate Gaddis, Hilo Brokers Ltd.

This article is part of Big Island Now’s real estate series featuring affordably priced “Sweet Deals” and big-buck “Stunners.”

This week’s article focuses on the highest and lowest priced properties that sold on the East Side of Hawai‘i Island in the first half of 2016.

East Hawai‘i is defined for the purposes of this article as Honoka‘a to the north through Ka‘u to the south.

Sweetest Deal: Nanawale, $50,000

This sweet deal sold for $50,000. Photo: Doris Smith

Bargain of the year? It just might have been. Big Islanders in the know will tell you that when it comes to the Puna District, finding a home with county water connectivity is a total score.

This one had that and more.

With a built-in fireplace, an extra bedroom (this one has four), custom archways and a covered patio, this was one heck of an investment property.

But getting deals like these takes serious patience and cash-on-hand.

The home came with a built-in fireplace. Photo: Doris Smith

This house was first listed on the market for just under $100,000 before eventually being scooped up for half that amount after nearly a year of gradual price reductions.

That lengthy transaction time is typical of bank-owned properties, a bargain-hunting topic we’ll cover in a separate article in the future.

Doris Smith represented the seller in the cash sale, which (as noted earlier) took over 300 days.

For property details, click here.

Biggest Stunner: Waterfalling Estate in Nino‘ole, $6,800,000

Let’s get this out of the way: I’ve been involved in the past two sales of this property. As a rule, Big Island Now avoids covering properties its writers are involved in, with the exception of reporting on past (already closed) sales, since they are—for lack of a better term—history.

At $6.8 Million, Waterfalling Estate is East Hawai‘i’s highest sale of all time. Kelly H. Moran photo.

In case you’re not familiar with Waterfalling Estate, it’s been referred to as “Hawai‘i’s Soap Opera of a Gargantumansion.” Killer adnoun, right?

With triple-decker waterfalls, a rooftop helicopter pad and an awe-inspiring Olympic infinity pool, the home has had no lack of interest from the press.

A pneumatic elevator connects all three floors of the mansion. Kelly H. Moran photo.

It’s a bunch of house (nearly 11,000 square feet), with a pneumatic elevator connecting all three travertine-clad floors.

Like basketball? There’s room for your pals at the nearby court (it seats 450 people).

Nine acres of golf course-style landscaping surrounds the tri-level mansion, which is now being listed as a high-end vacation rental.

An olympic infinity pool dominates the front of the mansion. Kelly H. Moran photo.

Kelly H. Moran represented the seller in the hybrid cash/mortgage sale, which took a little less than a year and a half to accomplish, breaking East Hawai`i’s all-time price record in the process.

For property details, click here.

Big Island Now’s “Sweet Deals and Stunners” list includes permitted structures only.