Friday's broker caravan at the tiny beachfront community of Puako ran the gamut of properties for sale, from tiny classic beach shacks on the mauka side of the street, to large estate-size homes on the oceanfront side of the street. This cottage for sale across the street from the beach is the least expensive home for sale in Puako at $799,000 (MLS 241165) There is just one small street running through Puako, and because the ocean side tends to have large homes on small lots, very few of the houses on the opposite side of the street have any ocean view at all. In compensation, it is never more than a few steps to the beach from either side of the street, since the public has access to all beaches in Hawai'i. Three homes are for sale on the mauka side of the street.  The least expensive ... 05/21/2011

  When you sell real estate for Hualalai Realty but you need to live closer to the schools in Kamuela for your young children, where do you choose to live?  A friend and colleague of mine is facing just that puzzle. We spent the weekend brainstorming about the choices in properties for sale on the Kohala Coast. He and his family have narrowed it down to just two oceanfront communities:  Halii Kai at the Waikoloa Beach Resort, and the small community of Puako, nestled between the Mauna Lani Resort and the Mauna Kea Resort. Buying Oceanfront in a Buyer's Market The appraisers tell us that in a buyer's market, "location premium" gets squeezed.  What that means is that the premium a buyer would pay (and a seller receive) for oceanfront or ocean view real estate, relative to a similar proper... 02/08/2011

Although we've shared the space with our vacation rental partner for months now, after a complete remodel our Hawaii Life Real Estate Services LLC's Big Island Branch Office is having its grand opening in Puako on Friday, July 23rd! What's so special about Puako? For 45 years since the completion of the Mauna Kea Resort, visitors have known the Big Island's Kohala Coast as THE destination for sunshine and beaches.  Twenty years later, two more beautiful resorts, Mauna Lani and Waikoloa Beach, joined Mauna Kea along this strip of Gold Coast.  But in between Hapuna Beach (where the second of the Mauna Kea's hotels is located) and Mauna Lani Resort, the tiny oceanfront town of Puako kept its low key style even as prices on the oceanfront side of the street soared. Puako is a place where "k... 07/21/2010

"This feels like 'Old Hawaii'" is a statement we often hear when someone “discovers” Puako Beach on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii for the first time. Don your pareo, we’re going back in time with recently sold property prices as well. New Oceanfront Listing in Puako—coming soon! While the first quarter volume of 2010 shows improvement over 2009 for Puako Beach sales (no sales in Q1 2009), prices have continued to decline. Two second floor condo units sold for $275k and $225k. At the market high, these units would have traded from $400-500k. There haven’t yet been any mauka (mountain) side properties sold in Q1, but as far as oceanfront property sales go, we’ve seen one 750 sq ft traditional beach cottage conveyed for $1.8M and a bare oceanfront parcel sold for $1.6M. Um. Wow. These... 04/19/2010

2009 year-end results for Puako Beach, show that neighborhood sales are looking positive! Out of the six properties sold in 2009, 4 were mauka side and 2 on the makai (oceanfront) side of the road. Compared to 2008’s two properties sold - 1 mauka, 1 makai, and 2007's  8 properties  - 2 mauka and 6 makai, I would say it looks as if Puako beach has come through the economic crisis intact, and is on the upswing again. It appears possible we’ve hit the “bottom” of pricing in Puako, at least on the mauka side of the street.  The lowest-priced mauka sale since #35 sold in April, 2003 for $499k*, lot #27 went for $500k in May, and comparable sold property prices indicate an increase in value since then. This is good news for the “desirability” of Puako in general. As for the makai side of the ... 12/29/2009

Tucked in between the upscale Kohala Coast resorts of Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea, are the cottages, homes and even a few condos of the beachfront community known as Puako.  Compared with the hustle and bustle of the Kailua Kona beachfront, Puako feels like an oasis, a step back in time to the Old Hawai'i. The just-renovated Mauna Kea Beach Hotel inaugurated the era of tourism on the pristine Kohala Coast when it opened in 1965, but kama'aina (local) families had been swimming, fishing, and relaxing at their tiny beachfront Puako cottages for decades before. Puako is the kind of sheltered beach where children, turtles and surfers share the sands.  There is only one two-lane street running the length of the community, with a row of houses on the ocean side, and a row of houses across the st... 07/26/2009