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I think the overall answer as to why things are more expensive in Hamakua than in Puna isn't because of the soil (or lack thereof in Puna) so much as it is the social climate. Thefts are rare out along the coast. There is less population and anyone who isn't a resident is pretty easily identified and watched. Not suspiciously watched or anything, just kept an eye on because they aren't from the area and might need help. Kids will leave their unlocked bicycles parked outside the grocery store and they will still be there when they come back out. Everyone pretty much knows everyone, even if it is just by sight and not by name. So if a stranger was looking at the kid's bicycle, someone would be watching them, but not in a suspicious manner, more of a curious "who are you? Do I know you?" sort of manner.
We had a new neighbor move in from the Puna district and so we wandered over to say "Hi" and see who they were. We were initially met with semi-hostility and suspicion. That was the default setting from where they were from, I guess. They got over it after awhile, but it took them awhile to figure out that nobody was gonna bite 'em. They had moved out from one of the big subdivisions, I forget which one. Hawaiian Acres, Fern Forest, or one of those around or up above Keaau.
I think the overall answer as to why things are more expensive in Hamakua than in Puna isn't because of the soil (or lack thereof in Puna) so much as it is the social climate. Thefts are rare out along the coast. There is less population and anyone who isn't a resident is pretty easily identified and watched. Not suspiciously watched or anything, just kept an eye on because they aren't from the area and might need help. Kids will leave their unlocked bicycles parked outside the grocery store and they will still be there when they come back out. Everyone pretty much knows everyone, even if it is just by sight and not by name. So if a stranger was looking at the kid's bicycle, someone would be watching them, but not in a suspicious manner, more of a curious "who are you? Do I know you?" sort of manner.
We had a new neighbor move in from the Puna district and so we wandered over to say "Hi" and see who they were. We were initially met with semi-hostility and suspicion. That was the default setting from where they were from, I guess. They got over it after awhile, but it took them awhile to figure out that nobody was gonna bite 'em. They had moved out from one of the big subdivisions, I forget which one. Hawaiian Acres, Fern Forest, or one of those around or up above Keaau.
Thanka hotzcatz, would you say Puna gets "better" the closer you are to Volcano rather then say Pahoa or are both towns very similar? My uncle just bought some land between Pahoa and Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park I think. He loves it, but I feel it may be too hippy for me. Nothing against hippies personally, just not my lifestyle. I have a business partner who lives near Honokaa on the old highway, can't remember the name. But it's an absolutely beautiful area and the weather seems about as perfect as possible imo. That's where I was really looking at until I started comparing land prices.
There are generally less thefts and property crimes up towards Volcano than in the lower Puna area, but they still happen. HPP isn't particularly "hippy", it gets much more "eclectic" the closer you get to Pahoa.
Near Honokaa on the old highway could be Pauuilo, Ookala, Kalopa, Ahualoa or perhaps even Laupahoehoe?
Near perfect weather (IMHO), deep soil, law abiding social climate and an established social group is what makes the Hamakua coast more desirable, I think. Views and breezes are good, too. Which, of course, then equates to more expensive. There's less properties up this way, too. Not necessarily less land, but less number of properties. Puna has the big "sub-divisions" which have loads of lots, but many of them are pretty small. No corresponding commercial areas to go along with them, either, so it's basically a bedroom community with no real reason of it's own to exist. That makes for an odd social climate, I think. But, it's beginning to morph into something of it's own and not just a bedroom community but it's still new and raw and will need another twenty years or so to be a true place with diversified uses and old time families.
There are also festivals and such which happen along the coast, I'm not sure if they have the same in Puna? Lots of obon dances at the different Judo missions and Hongwanji's along the coast, the Peace Parade in Honokaa, the Parker Ranch and Honokaa rodeos - although Hilo has one, too; the Waimea truck parade, the Laupahoehoe Music Festival, the Cherry Blossom Festival, First Fridays in Honokaa, there's lots of different festivals which help give the communities their own sense of self.
Puna does have the Makuu Market, which is becoming a huge weekly event, although it's kinda free form and rough around the edges last I heard. Kinda like Puna in it's way.
can you elaborate on "hippy" and "eclectic" please? looking at Puna for a move, feeling a little nervous with the hurricane damage I'm seeing and the obvious lack of infrastructure and support... but that may be improved by the time we move. (note to self: bring a generator!!)
also I'm very interested in the type of people in the area. I kinda have an idea in my head, maybe from too many movies. Also is haole in reference to white people, or mainlanders in general? I am from Uruguay and I have a... Mediterranean look? I blended in well in Italy, where I drove a Fiat and when not in uniform everyone thought I was a local national. On my middle east deployments I also looked like I was from there, and more than once I was confused for a Syrian interpreter. My husband is white and Filipino, but here in Texas everyone thinks he is Mexican lol.
I don't worry about racism or anything like that, but just curious to know bc so many times I am trying to read between the lines of what people are saying about certain areas, or types.
I'm not sure if I'm "allowed" to mention other forums but you may want to spend some time looking at Pubaweb.org. This forum is for the entire Big Island while Pubaweb.org is specific to that area. I've learned a lot on both sites over the last few months and my idea of the places I'd like to live have changed because of these forums.
Thanka hotzcatz, would you say Puna gets "better" the closer you are to Volcano rather then say Pahoa or are both towns very similar?
The towns are very different. Pahoa proper only has a population around a thousand, but it is an active little commercial center that serves the fastest growing surrounding area on the island, with something like 16 restaurants of various descriptions, several groceries (including a big natural foods store), a couple of drugstores, a couple of banks, a big new district police and fire department, and a lot of local color. It was a terminus for the sugar train to Hilo back in the plantation days, and a few of the old shops from that era with the covered board sidewalks are still in use. It also became a destination for hippies in the 70s, and you can still see tie-dyed clothing and floral prints being worn non-ironically about town. The word is that if you want to buy pakalolo, the dealers line up on the steps of the First Hawaiian Bank in the mornings, convenient to the ATM machines. It's also quite a gay-friendly town and there are a number of B&B properties in the area that identify themselves in various combinations as vegan, organic, yogic, clothing optional, spiritualistic and others. Kind of something for everybody, I guess.
Also, at only about 650 feet elevation in the bellybutton of Lower Puna, and just a few miles from the shore, Pahoa tends to be warm and humid. It sits on Highway 130 from Kea'au to the ocean, which is widely considered to be one of the worst roads in the state, but that road is the sole route in and out of Puna, in the middle of an area largely served by rough gravel roads.
Official Volcano population is 2.5 X as large, but it's got far fewer stores and restaurants, no bank, no drugstore, etc. Rather than a market center like Pahoa it serves as gateway to the National Park and as bedroom community to a lot of people who work at the park or in Hilo. It's also home to an active arts colony, with some outstanding professional artists of renown. It's at the farthest southwest corner of Puna District, on the edge of Ka'u District, and at 3,850 ft elevation it is much cooler and rainier and mistier than any other part of Puna. But it's been a recognized town on the maps since the 1800s, has some really lovely older homes and a few amazing estates, and has a very active Community Center.
It's on Highway 11, which is the Belt Highway that rings the island, just before the entrance to the park as you travel south from Hilo.
Between Kea'au and Volcano, along Highway 11 are smaller towns and some old subdivisions that tend to be most civilized near the highway, drifting towards more rough and tumble (and cheaper) as you get further back into the rainforest. Mountain View, at maybe 1,850 ft elevation, was the end of the line station for the old railroad, and it's where the local schools are centered.
The power should be back by the time you move, Modogs. But if you bring a generator to Puna, try not to advertise that you have one and keep it securely locked up at all times. Active security is better than passive security, they will break through locks if they know there's good stuff inside.
Hawaiian Paradise Park, frequently called HPP, is one of the first of the big "sub-divisions" as you come out of Hilo so it's the most "gentrified". It still has some rock and gravel roads, no sewers, no County water (folks catch rainwater for household use), no mail service to the houses, lots of vacant lots with tall and troublesome albizia trees and still has a somewhat rural feel to it. So, when folks here call it a "sub-division" it's possibly not like what you're used to when folks use the term. It is beginning to get more houses there and some areas are more built out than others.
Some of the older houses are built in non-traditional shapes and a lot of them are owner-builders so it's what the owner fancied at the time. A lot of them are built up in order to try for an ocean view over the trees, sometimes that gets interesting. The newer houses being built in there (say over the past decade or so) are more traditional and standard types of houses. HPP has always had more expensive lots than some of the other "sub-divisions" so they are generally a touch more towards the mainstream than some of the other housing areas.
As you get further away from Hilo, then the people and the structures have a tendency to get less "mainstream". There are quite a few illegal structures in Puna still, although the hurricane probably got a few of them. Puna is the least expensive place to buy land in Hawaii that I know of, so you occasionally get folks who have more ideas than money. There also isn't a lot of social pressure to conform in Puna so that also allows for interesting characters and architecture.
It's zoned "agricultural" and the property taxes have been historically very low, although the tax department is now starting to require folks to show that they are doing agriculture on agriculturally zoned properties in order to get the lower property taxes. However, the land is mostly leaf litter over a lava rock base so traditional mainland agriculture isn't gonna work there. Raised bed gardening, green houses, that sort of agriculture would work, but not really enough room to graze much livestock.
If pot ever gets legalized in Hawaii, then Puna can go back to it's more or less historical methods of financial gain, no doubt. "Puna Butter" used to be quite famous back in the day. Legalize it, tax it and the state and County shouldn't be lacking for money to make improvements to the infrastructure.
Right outside of Pahoa, there has been a lot of commercial building going on so there may be a enough that folks won't need to go to Hilo for everything anymore. Give it another ten or twenty years and it will have a much more mainstream and mainland feel to it. The old hippies still influence Pahoa and Puna, but they are being diluted by the new influx of non-hippy folks.
The only thing I'd add to OpenD and hotcatz comments about the Puna sub-divisions is that while some, as mentioned, are a little rough/unique/colorful (insert whatever word is appropriate here), there appear to be a few that are a little more, for lack of a better word, upscale. I say appear because I don't live there and don't pretend to have any first hand knowledge. I've been soaking in as much info as I can from every source I can.
I've found Sub divisions like Leilani Estates and a few others have CC&Rs which mandate minimum house sizes, need for building permits, paved roads, power, cable etc... Houses and lots in these areas cost more. To me these things help protect your investment by fortifying the value of your house and the desirability of the neighborhood.
If Hamakua is out of your price range (it's probably out of mine) then there appear to be some nice alternatives in Puna if you want/need a little more - really struggling with finding the right words and not offending anyone - infrastructure and consistency in your neighborhood.
Anyway, as I said I don't have first hand experience yet and would love to hear thoughts from others there on my thinking.
Thanks for all the replies! It's all been extremely helpful, after reading everything I don't think most of Puna is for us except between Mountain View and Volcano. Hamakua is still what we are aiming for if we can afford it. After reading all your posts it does seem like Punas property values will probably start to rise dramatically in the not so long future, which is a good thing if I buy soon. I looked it up and my business partner lives on the Old Mamalahoa highway half a mile west of Honokaa.
After reading all your posts it does seem like Punas property values will probably start to rise dramatically in the not so long future, which is a good thing if I buy soon.
Rise dramatically...no! Painfully slow...yes! Time to buy is when you find what you want at the price you want. For Puna time is on your side. Don't get me wrong, i love Puna but i know its bad sides.
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looking at Puna for a move, feeling a little nervous with the hurricane damage I'm seeing and the obvious lack of infrastructure and support... but that may be improved by the time we move. (note to self: bring a generator!!) 
