Jan 15

9 Reasons to Buy a Brand New Home

iStock_000000974184XSmallIf you’re in the market for a new home or condominium in Hawaii, have you considered buying a brand new home?  Not only do you get a home that’s as close to custom-built as possible, you also get energy efficiency, modern floor plans and excellent value!

Here are 9 fantastic reasons why you consider buying a brand new home rather than a pre-existing, used home.

1. Competitive Pricing

Compare prices of existing homes to those of comparably-sized new homes!  In today’s real estate market, home builders are competing for your business, and when builders compete, you benefit.  Most home owners looking to sell their homes cannot offer incentives or attractive financing options like builders can.

2. Choices

When shopping among existing homes, buyers have to take the previous owners’ style into consideration.  Do you pay even more to redecorate or do you make do with someone else’s choices? With a new home, however, you have choices in design, color and material options.  Having the luxury to tailor a home to your tastes can be one of the greatest features of buying a new home.

3. Home Location

Location, location, location. New home buyers often get to choose which individual unit they prefer within a new home development.  Would you prefer your bedroom get morning sun or afternoon sun? Would you prefer to live near the pool or closer to the beach in Maui?

4. Convenient Financing

In today’s market, securing financing for home ownership can be tedious and stressful.  Many new home communities have simplified this process in order to provide you the best deal possible that gets you into your new quickly and easily.

5. Low Maintenance

Why worry about upgrading or constantly maintaining your home if you don’t have to?  New developments like Kai Ani Village use the latest and greatest materials that technology can offer.  The result?  New homes are virtually maintenance-free for many years.

6. Floor Plans

Never thought about the convenience of modern floor plans?  Take a tour of many existing condos and you’ll find bad layouts and wasted or unusable space.  New home buyers, however, benefit from modern layouts suitable for today’s lifestyle.

7. Energy Efficiency

New communities are required by law to meet stricter energy codes than in the past, which benefits YOU, the consumer.  This is an enormous cost-saving benefit when considering the costs of fuel and energy today.  Many existing homes were built when energy codes were either more lenient or nonexistent.

8. Modern Appliances

Appliance manufacturers introduce new models every year and new home communities are able to offer the latest state-of-the-art equipment at the time of completing a new home.  And, because builders buy for the entire production of new home, the purchasing power often reduces the buyers’ costs.

9. Appreciation

The typical home needs remodeling after 25-30 years. Since new homes have an assured longer life, appraisals are generally higher than on comparable existing homes.  That means new homes will likely sell for a higher value in the future.

Jan 04

Walkable Communities Protect the Environment, Your Budget and Your Waistline

couplewalkingHow far have you walked today?

Besides the shuffle from your bed to your bathroom, or from your car to your office desk, how far have you really walked? Most people don’t spend enough time enjoying the world’s oldest cardiovascular exercise, shunning numerous opportunities to put one foot in front of the other and actually going out of their way not to walk (yeah, we know you’ve waited an extra 5 minutes for that close parking space at the mall to keep from walking an extra 20 feet).

But did you know there are those among us who actually enjoy walking and prefer living in a walkable community?

It’s true!

There are places, like the brand new Kai Ani Village in Kihei, Maui, where most of your daily needs are mere steps away and where you rarely need to use a car.

Not only are walkable communities good for your health (duh!), they are also good for the environment. Walkable communities:

• Reduce air pollution
• Reduce traffic congestion
• Conserve energy

In addition, walkable communities promote spending in local businesses, keeping local dollars local to enhance an area’s economic vitality.

When looking at new housing options, be sure to consider your new community’s walkability quotient.

Are there recreational areas within walking distance? What about shops, entertainment districts and restaurants? Are there opportunities to work near or in your new home?

And when evaluating costs, be sure to consider your reduced automobile costs – maintenance, insurance and gas – and time saved during commutes and errand runs.

Purchasing a new home in a walkable community can save your waistline, but it can also help protect the environment and add to your family’s bottom line as well.

Dec 10

Get to Know Kihei!

iStock_000011201677XSmall

Life in Hawaii is good.  Life in Kihei is even better!

Kihei (pronounced KEY-hey) is a beautiful village in south Maui with so much available within walking distance!  Great beaches.  Fantastic dining.  Top-notch water sports.  We really have it all!

When you move into your brand new home at Kai Ani Village, you’ll find lots of activities to keep you busy, no matter where your interests lie.

Of course, the beach is nearby.

Kama’ole I, II & III are Kihei’s most popular public beaches and offer fantastic views of the famous Hawaiian sunset.  All have playgrounds and bathrooms and are wonderful for family excursions.

Hawaii is known for its whales, and Kihei has the privilege of being home to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s Education Center.  The sanctuary is one of the world’s most important whale habitats.  In 1992, Congress designated it a National Marine Sanctuary to protect the endangered humpback whale and their marine habitat in the North Pacific.

The Education Center features exhibits about the natural and cultural history of humpback whales and other marine life found in the sanctuary. Public education programs and lectures are available, as well as a significant marine science library.

And if you’re into fish, you definitely will want to check out the Maui Ocean Center just 7 miles north of Kai Ani Village on the other side of Maalaea Bay.  There are lots of activities for kids, and who doesn’t like to watch sharks swim (behind glass, of course)?  The aquarium offers discounts for Hawaii residents, and at $150, the annual family pass for two adults and two kids is an excellent value!

For excellent libations, walk over to Henry’s Bar & Grill, located on Lipoa Street adjacent to Kai Ani Village.   It’s a cool, down home pub off the beaten track with pool tables and plenty of sports on the TVs.  Henry’s also features live music frequently and is a local favorite.

Also hit up Jawz Fish Tacos for Mexican food with a Hawaiian twist! They also boast one of the largest beer selections on Maui and have a great mobile truck so you can get your taco fix and shaved ice on your way to the beach.  And don’t forget to stop by Stella Blues Cafe and Pizza Madness, both excellent joints a short walk from Kai Ani.

But perhaps even more popular than the food are the fabulous water sports available in Kihei.  Kayaking is particularly popular in Kihei, and Kelii’s Kayak Tours can show you a great time, as well as take you to some killer snorkeling spots.  Also, the Maui Dive Shop is close to Kai Ani and can set you up with equipment (buy or rent) and show you the best places to get wet!

Want to know more about Kihei?  Check out these great resources:

Nov 19

Buying a New Home? Make Sure It’s Green!

These days it seems like everything is green.

Green cars.  Green furniture.  Even green clothing lines.

Sometimes it may seem like overkill, but there is one area of “green” that you need to pay attention to if you’re in the market for a new home:  green building.

That’s because “green” isn’t just a catchphrase when it comes to home construction.  It’s a philosophy and a building practice that impacts everything from the way a home is designed to what types of building materials are used to how construction waste is disposed of and reused.

Green residences like Kai Ani Village, a Hawaii Built Green community, incorporate environmentally friendly features that can add value and reduce the lifecycle cost of the home.  It’s all about bringing together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and on the occupants’ health.

Many environmentally friendly products provide benefits that help improve the performance of a home. For example, Kai Ani Village uses durable building products that not only save resources, but also reduce maintenance and replacement costs.  It also uses energy efficient appliances and water-saving fixtures that save buyers money over time through lower utility bills and maintenance costs.

Often, it’s the little details that have the biggest impact.  The pool and spa at Kai Ani Village will use saline instead of damaging chlorine.  The native Hawaiian landscaping will save precious water.  Even the paints consist of low volatile organic compounds, which means less indoor air pollution.

But it’s not just about the products and landscaping.  In a green built community, the community’s overall design should lend itself to a shrinking carbon footprint.

“Smart growth” communities are getting a lot of ink lately, but what exactly does that mean?

Well, communities like Kai Ani Village are built near the town center, which encourages walking and less driving.  Smart growth development maximizes space through better land use.  Kai Ani Village’s live/work residences incorporate office or retail space within the residence, reducing sprawl, traffic congestion and excessive energy consumption.

It’s a lot to consider, but oh so important.  The next time you’re in the market for a new home, make sure it’s a green built home – for your health and our planet’s.

Nov 17

Live/Work Units Popular With Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs

Want a shorter commute?  How about upstairs to downstairs?

Live/work residences are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people start small businesses and look to save expenses.

Though the concept harkens back to days when the corner grocer lived in an apartment above the store, today’s condo hybrids allow professionals, entrepreneurs, artists and others to own a space that’s well-suited to serve both home and work needs.

Live/work residences, such as those at Kai Ani Village, offer modern, at-home work spaces specially designed to meet the needs of professionals and entrepreneurs.  In addition to providing a great street-front, business-building location, they also save the owners fuel and leased office space costs.

There’s little doubt that the live/work concept is growing.

In 2000, U.S. census found nearly 4.2 million people age 16 or older worked at home most days during the week, up from 3.4 million in 1990.  That 23.5% increase over 10 years almost doubled the growth rate of the overall work force.  The Census Bureau’s most recent estimate, made from community surveys conducted in 2003, raised the number of home-based workers to 4.5 million — an increase of slightly more than 7% in only three years.

Live/work residences like those at Kai Ani Village offer prospective buyers a range of possible floor plans to help them visualize possible uses ranging from a contemporary office with reception area to a small retail shop to a service-based small business.

Kai Ani Village’s live/work units offer professionals, such as attorneys, accountants or writers, the opportunity to have offices with separate entrances on the street and their living quarters above.  Plus, the downstairs work space is easily adaptable and accessible from the street level and the garage, making it easy for residents, guests and customers to come and go.

Artists and photographers requiring studio space, salespeople and home-business owners who need a combination of work and living space, are all prime candidates for live/work residences.

One of the most common uses for a live/work space is an artist’s studio.  Artistic endeavors such as sculpture, painting and installations require large workspaces, but the artist may want to live close to the project.  A well-designed live/work space such as those in Kai Ani Village provide artists with both home amenities and the space necessary to create and store finished works securely.

In today’s economy, the number of people looking for new careers makes live/work spaces attractive options for those who may not have considered them before.  A professional who once had an office, and has clients they still need to see, needs dedicated office space, not just a room in their home.  The hybrid units also eliminate the need to lease costly retail space for their business.

In addition, working in a vibrant neighborhood such as Kiehi, Maui, Hawaii gives business owners a new community with new clientele.  The close proximity to other small business owners also offers fresh ideas to grow a business.

But can young professionals, often cited as the likely target market for live-work condos, afford to purchase them?  A study of affordability prepared by The Live/Work Institute, a nonprofit organization in Oakland, Calif., says yes.

An owner of a live/work unit saves money by not paying separate rents for living space and work space, as well as reducing transportation costs, according to the institute.

And with sustainable living becoming more in vogue, and with gas prices not expected to drop substantially, experts say live/work units will only grow in popularity because they combine personal living space and professional workspace in such a way that neither is compromised.

Nov 11

Brokers Tour Kai Ani Village’s Brand New Models in Kihei

BrokersOpen3At Kai Ani Village, we’re happy to show off our brand new live/work units and gorgeous condominiums anytime we have a chance.

We were thrilled recently to host dozens of local real estate brokers for a special two-hour open house.

Brokers were treated to tours of three of our model units – Live/Work 3-101, Live/Work 3-102 and Residential 2-101 – and we received lots of fantastic feedback.  Thanks to everyone who came out to see us!BrokersOpen4

We’d also like to thank Aloha Catering for providing such yummy refreshments!

Of course, you don’t have to be a broker to stop by and see our models.  We’re open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and we’d love to show you around! Our brand new Maui condos are the perfect blend of business and pleasure!

Nov 05

Kai Ani Village Opens On-Site Showroom in Kihei, Maui

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Senter
Senterline Communications
310.975.5058


October 28, 2009 – Kihei, Maui – Kai Ani Village, a brand new live/work community conveniently located on South Kihei Road in Kihei, announces the grand opening of its on-site showroom.

With 20 live/work residences and 79 home-style condominiums, Kai Ani is the perfect blend of business and pleasure. The community, located at 1367 South Kihei Road, offers two and three-bedroom homes in seven distinctive open-style floor plans.  The 6.4-acre development nestles free-standing buildings, quiet lanes and winding walkways next to a beautiful rehabilitated wetlands area, just one block from the ocean and Kihei’s main shopping district.

Homes prices start at an affordable $329,900 and are environmentally friendly, having been built to the exceptionally high Hawaii Built Green program standards.  All homes are built to conserve energy and water and feature well-appointed kitchens and baths, including granite countertops, maple cabinets and ceramic tile floors. Each home includes a separate laundry room or laundry area and an expansive lanai. Community amenities include an infinity pool and spa with recreation area and spacious poolside deck, separate men’s and women’s bathrooms at pool area, a BBQ area, poolside cabanas, relaxing hammocks in recreational area and lush tropical landscaping.

For those wanting to work and live in the same location, Kai Ani offers three distinctive live-work floor plans, all of which feature an exclusive first-floor work area with street visibility and a separate bath, large, livable area upstairs with two bedrooms, a two-car attached garage with direct access and customer parking.

“We created Kai Ani Village to be a walkable, smart growth community that provides opportunities for both business and pleasure in the paradise that is Maui,” said Tim Piasky, COO of Victory Development Hawaii, Kai Ani Village’s environmentally conscious developer. “Our homes have the conveniences and amenities today’s buyers want, at a price they can afford.”

Piasky went on to say that with today’s low mortgage rates, buyers who qualify can often pay about the same amount for a mortgage on a Kai Ani Village home than they pay a landlord for rental housing.

“Prices have dropped so significantly it’s again a good time for renters to become buyers,” he said.

About Kai Ani Village

Located at 1367 South Kihei Road in Kihei, Maui, Kai Ani Village is a 99-unit, new-home community featuring 20 live/work condominiums. Amenities include two and three bedrooms, granite countertops, separate laundry areas, expansive lanais, and communal pool, barbecue and walkways. A Hawaii Built Green community, Kai Ani Village is a smart growth development located within walking distance of Kihei’s main shopping district and recreation areas. The sales office is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Showroom: (808) 875.7878 – Fax number: (808) 874.8713

Jun 28

TWO WEEKS TO OPENING OF KAI ANI VILLAGE MODEL UNIT

In two weeks, Kai Ani Village unit 3-102, a live work unit, will be available for public tours. Look for us!

Jun 28

NATIONAL INVENTORY STABILIZING

As the attached chart shows, national for sale inventory has stabilized over the past several months. This is good news for property owners and may be signalling a bottom to prospective buyers. How does this affect Maui real estate? Directly not much. But changing mainland mindsets is the first step to increasing demand on Maui.

CR May 1.png

Jun 28

SALES ACTIVITY INCREASING EVERYWHERE

And that includes Maui. We would expect that sales activity increases are necessary to see price stabalization. So this is good news for Maui real estate.
 

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales ticked up 2.4% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million units compared to the downwardly-revised rate of 4.66 million in April. The sales missed expert forecasts of 4.82 million annual units, according to a consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Briefing.com, and are off 3.6% from the 4.95 million-unit pace 12 months ago.

Page 4 of 8« First...23456...Last »