Discovery Harbour Subdivision, Kau, Big Island - what you should know before moving there (Hilo: for sale, foreclosure)

[freeandclear]

Aloha!
This is for all the future retirees still on the mainland or simply anyone considering buying in this area:

The current sugar coating by realtors has to stop and it is very misleading.

The pros:
It is in Hawaii, it has nice green vegetation not just black lava fields, with some nice hills in the distance, it is in a safe lava zone, you get to see a nice sunrise, the climate is mild, not too hot, not too cold, sunny with a comfortable amount of rain, it has county water, it is on a golf course, many lots have distant ocean views, it is quiet and peaceful.
The cons:
It is truly in the middle of nowhere, I can’t stress that enough, it is literally surrounded by two huge black lava deserts in both directions going on for many, many miles. The closest “town” is Naalehu (5 miles) with a small hardware store, bakery, small grocery store and a post office.

Hilo is 70(!) miles away and Kailua Kona 60(!) miles. If a realtor tells you it takes an hour to get to these places they are flat out lying. The road to Kona is a narrow winding road, getting more and more congested. Your gas bill and car maintenance/repairs will go up considerably, do not underestimate this. The golf course, well, to be honest, it is quite a joke, it is poorly maintained, if at all. Every few years you hear these rumors that someone is going to buy and actually improve this so called “golf course“, but so far this has never happened and I have known this area for the past twenty years.

I know people who bought houses there in the early 90’s for more or less a $100k only to sell them 10 years later for only slightly more or even less than they paid a decade before. This is a dirty little secret, but you ought to know. Check the TMK records before you buy. Most homes, even just three, four years ago sold between a 100k and 200k. If you are paying more than 200k for a house in this area you are seriously overpaying.
The only thing that made this area somewhat tolerable in the past were the reasonable prices. Please keep this in mind. There are no decent beaches close by. Punaluu Black Sand Beach will disappoint almost anyone and "Green Sands Beach" at South Point is virtually inaccessibly, dangerous and not even pretty and oh, did I mention the wind? The entire South Point area is extremely windy: strong, strong wind most of the time!

This is the truth as I see it, I hope it helped. I have known several couples who regretted living out there bitterly, but they felt stuck because they could not sell their house for many, many years.
Please consider all this before you buy.
All the best and good luck! Aloha!

[cynmkolohe]

Most of us who post here on the forum are very careful to encourage anyone thinking of purchasing a home in Kau to visit and carefully evaluate the area before making a purchase. The majority of posts on this site are quite revealing if you read them carefully. That said, the southern part of the island really appeals to some people looking for distance from busy commercial areas.

Here is a sample of a Market Analysis that show what has been happening in a couple Kau subidivisions since the beginning of the year:

Sales in Discovery Harbor since 1/1/07:
3-9-4-16-30 FS $279,999 Kalakau St
SOLD 5/17/2007 for $279,999 (CASH) DOM 311

3-9-4-19-123 FS $325,000 94-1612 Kaulua St
SOLD 3/14/2007 for $280,000 (CNV) DOM 40

3-9-4-22-28 FS $349,000 Hekau St
SOLD 6/29/2007 for $323,000 (CNV) DOM 22

3-9-4-16-72 FS $350,000 Kai Holo Pl
SOLD 4/11/2007 for $316,000 (CNV) DOM 149

3-9-4-17-69 FS $379,000 94-1673 Haehae Loop
SOLD 6/26/2007 for $350,000 (CNV) DOM 113

3-9-4-21-139 FS $379,000 94-1543 Kaulua Cir
SOLD 3/14/2007 for $360,000 (CASH) DOM 30


Sales in Mark Twain since 1/1/07:
3-9-4-10-55 FS $135,000 94-6433 (no name given)
SOLD 7/7/2007 for $110,000 (CASH) DOM 85

3-9-4-6-100 FS $197,000 94-6511 Kamaoa Rd
SOLD 2/23/2007 for $195,000 (CNV) DOM 326

3-9-4-11-45 FS $358,000 94-6547 Pu'ukani
SOLD 6/25/2007 for $340,000 (CNV) DOM 139

Hawaiian Ocean View Estates since 1/1/07:
Of the 49 homes sold in HOVE this year, 35 sold at a price over $200,000. The highest recent sales price was $417,000.

Source: Hawaii Information Serivce (MLS), September 11, 2007

Hope this data is helpful to anyone considering a purchase or sale in the area...

With aloha,

Cynthia

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Freeandclear, thanks for your very frank assessment of DH subdivision. It's always good for people to go into any housing market with their eyes open.

We love our home in DH for many of the reasons that you state are problems. We specifically bought in DH because we do like the rural community. Everyone we've met there is very happy because while they have a slower lifestyle there are still a lot of things to do. There are lots of ways to get involved in the community, take classes, volunteer, etc.

When we move next year, we will be retirees, so the drive times to Kona or Hilo are not an issue. We plan to drive all over the island exploring and hiking and visiting friends. It's only 5-1/2 hours to drive completely around the island, so no big deal.

We also have met many people from various forums who are planning to retire and move to property they own in DH, Mark Twain, etc. in the next couple of years. I think there will be changes, because as the population grows so does the commercial to serve them. Hopefully the infrastructure will also improve. We are hoping that it doesn't change too much because, as I said, we like the rural location.

It is more like "old" Hawaii, and that's why we love it so much.

Babette
p.s., thanks Cynthia for the sales data!

[IntoTheMystic]

Good post. I always cringe when people post about buying property there, just for the reasons you mentioned. It really needs to be visited and researched before buying. You can go rural Hawaii without going to HOVE or Ka'u.

[Mvn 2 Paradise]

where would you recommend that has good weather and is still reasonably priced?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Have to ask you a couple of questions in return: 1) do you need to commute to Kona or Hilo for a job, 2) what do you consider "reasonably priced"?

[almost_hawaiian]

Just discovered this thread since I'm looking at buying in DH and it's a year old! Still the original posting is quite thoughtful but I agree with others that we also find the isolation and lava zone 6 to be the appeal. It is true that current MLS listing is > $200k (after the price drops) for a 3bdrm. But is freeandclear correct that they were around $100k 4 yrs ago? Why are there so many empty lots still in DH? Golf course status?

[cynmkolohe]

Discovery Harbour: http://www.discoveryharbour.org

Hi almost_hawaiian,

I just checked the MLS and there is one listing (of 20) priced under 200K. There are also prices up to $549,000. In 2004, there were 19 sales. Two were under 200K. The highest closing price that year was $315,000. (In comparison, there have been only 8 closings in the subdivision this year.)

I'm not sure what the current status of the golf course is as far at the possible sale is concerned, but the link at the top states that the course is currently closed. The latest newsletter posted on the site is the March 2008 letter--it states that the possible buyer wants to see 350 purchases of memberships as a gesture from the community before they will proceed. I haven't seen any further updates. Maybe someone who lives/owns property there can provide more insight?

Please research the area carefully, especially how the Vog is impacting the Southern part of the island.

If you aren't already working with an agent, feel free to DM me if you have more specific questions or would like to see the MLS listings with links to tax records for sales history, etc. (There are also lots of other threads on the forum dealing with living on the Big Island and things to consider if you are thinking of living quite a distance from Hilo or Kona. Especially familarize yourself with the locations and limitations of the health care facilities that service areas distant from population centers.)

Good luck with your research--the area is quite beautiful, but living there certainly has its challenges.

With aloha,

Cynthia

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Almost_Hawaiian, we own a house in DH that we built in 2005. We love the area and have lots of connections. Feel free to send me a private message if you would like to discuss your specific questions further.

Prices have gone way, way up and then way down in the past couple of years. Just like everywhere else, prices fell in the last half of 2008. And there are quite a few vacant lots and some houses in foreclosure, which doesn't help when you're trying to get comparables. In DH we know a lot of people who own second homes, and when the prices on your first home drop it's going to affect the buying of the second home or your retirement home.

Regarding the golf course, we understand that the sale is moving forward. This is going to be a very positive thing for DH, and once the course is fixed up we think that prices will start going back up. A part of the purchase of the course is that they want people to buy memberships to support the golf course, tennis courts, clubhouse, etc. There's an article about this in the November issue of the Ka'u calendar that you can read on-line. If you want more info, let me know.

[almost_hawaiian]

I'm looking for a licensed plumber to do some repair work in a single-family home in Discovery Harbour. Any recommendations? I need to get in touch with them this week.
Thanks
Lok