Big Island Open Houses

How Open Houses Work on the Big Island

There are fewer of them here than in a mainland suburb, and they cluster on weekends in the town neighborhoods of Kailua-Kona and Keauhou. Gated and resort communities rarely hold them at all, because access is controlled and those sellers prefer scheduled showings.

So an open house list is a useful sample of this market, not a picture of it. A large share of what sells here, particularly at the upper end, is never open to the public on a Sunday afternoon.

What to Look for When You Walk Through

Look at things photographs hide. Which way the house faces and what that does to afternoon heat. Whether there is trade wind through the living space or none. Salt damage on hardware and screens. Water source, roof age, and whether the lanai is usable at four in the afternoon or an oven.

Then step outside and listen. Highway noise, roosters and neighbouring construction do not appear in a listing and are the things people actually complain about a year later.

If You Cannot Be Here in Person

Most of my buyers live on the mainland and see a property once or twice before deciding. I walk houses on video, point the camera at what the listing photos avoid, and say plainly when something is not what it looks like online. That is most of the job.

If you are working a search from a distance, the full property search is the better tool than an open house list, and my buyer’s guide covers how the process runs here.