FAQ
General
Common Questions About Buying Real Estate on The Big Island.
It depends on how you plan to use it. Kailua-Kona and Keauhou suit buyers who want walkability, ocean access, and strong short-term rental potential. The Kohala Coast resort communities, Waikoloa Beach Resort, Mauna Lani, and Mauna Kea, offer amenities, gated security, and established rental programs with on-site management. Waimea draws buyers who want cooler weather, upcountry ranching character, and a quieter pace fifteen minutes from the coast. There is no universally best answer, only the right fit for how you actually plan to spend your time here. That is the first conversation I have with every buyer.
The whole island, with the depth concentrated in West Hawaii. Kailua-Kona, Keauhou, the Kohala Coast, and Waimea are where I live, where I sell, and where I can tell you which unit in a project gets the afternoon trade winds and which one gets the parking lot. I also represent buyers and sellers in Hilo, Volcano, and the Hamakua Coast. If you are seriously considering the east side, I will tell you honestly how my knowledge of it compares.
More than most buyers expect. Leasehold ownership, CPR structures, and Hawaiian Home Lands do not exist in most states. Lava hazard zones affect insurance and financing. HARPTA and FIRPTA withholding applies when non-resident owners sell. Vacation rental eligibility is governed by county zoning, which varies from street to street and can determine whether a property pencils at all. Contracts here are date-driven rather than contingency-driven, and closing occurs when the deed is recorded in Honolulu, not at a signing table. None of it is difficult once someone walks you through it, but it is not the process you went through in Denver.
Sometimes, and it is entirely property-specific. Short-term vacation rental permits are issued by Hawaii County, tied to the property rather than the owner, and require annual renewal. Resort-zoned properties along the Kohala Coast and in parts of Kona are generally eligible. Elsewhere, eligibility depends on zoning, permit history, and whether the AOAO or CC&Rs allow it regardless of what the county says. Verify before you make an offer, never after.
It can be, and the spread between a good one and a bad one is wide. A permitted unit in a high-demand location commands a real premium over an identical unit without a permit, and that premium exists because the income is genuinely different. What separates the properties that work from the ones that disappoint is honest math: actual occupancy for that specific project, rather than island-wide averages; maintenance fees; management splits; GET and TAT; insurance; and what the AOAO permits. I will run those numbers with you before you write an offer, and I will tell you when they do not work.
The range is wide. At Waikoloa Beach Resort, condos generally start in the $800,000 to $900,000 range, with single-family homes running $1M to $2M and above. Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea resort properties typically begin around $1.5M and climb well into eight figures for oceanfront and estate parcels. The private club communities of Hualalai, Kukio, and Kohanaiki occupy their own tier, with most transactions starting near $5M. Inventory and rates move these numbers, so treat them as orientation rather than gospel and reach out for a current picture at your price point.
Most of my clients are three thousand miles away, so the practice is built for it. I preview properties on video, walk the neighborhood, and tell you about the road noise and the afternoon sun that photos never show. I attend inspections on your behalf and send you the findings the same day. Documents are handled electronically, and escrow can arrange remote notarization. When you do fly out, the trip is spent efficiently touring a shortlist rather than starting from scratch.
A real shift, and for the right person, extraordinary. The pace is slower, the community is small enough that you will run into your contractor at the grocery store, and West Hawaii gets sun close to year-round. You can swim, hike, or paddle any day you choose. The Ironman World Championship comes down Alii Drive every October, and I have raced it three times. The farmers’ markets and the sense of aloha are not a tourism veneer. The trade-offs are real, too: shipping costs, limited retail options, long travel days to the mainland, and a cost of living that requires planning rather than optimism. I moved here in 2001 and raised my family here. I will give you the honest version.
Buying
Common Questions About Buying Real Estate on The Big Island.
Yes. There are no citizenship or residency requirements to own real estate in Hawaii, and that applies to homes, condos, and land alike. What changes for out-of-state and international buyers is the mechanics: financing options narrow, notarization takes more planning, and non-resident sellers face withholding at closing under HARPTA or FIRPTA when they eventually sell. None of it is difficult. It just needs to be handled by people who do it regularly.
Fee simple means you own the land and the improvements outright, permanently. Leasehold means you own the structure but lease the land beneath it, typically for a fixed term, with monthly lease rent on top of your other carrying costs. Nearly everything I sell in West Hawaii is fee simple. Leasehold shows up occasionally in older condo projects and can make sense for a short-horizon buyer, but the remaining lease term, the rent escalation schedule, and the lender’s willingness to finance it all need review before you go under contract.
Buyers do it regularly, and I have closed transactions for clients who did not see the property in person until they picked up the keys. I preview the home on video, walk the neighborhood, note road noise, afternoon sun, and the things photos never show, and attend every inspection on your behalf. Documents are handled electronically, and escrow can arrange remote notarization. That said, if you are relocating rather than investing, I would rather you spend a few days on the island first. Choosing the wrong side of the island is a more expensive mistake than choosing the wrong house.
Sometimes, and the answer is property-specific. Short-term vacation rentals on the Big Island are defined as stays under 30 days and are regulated by the County of Hawaii. Properties in resort and certain commercial zoning districts are generally eligible. Properties outside those districts require a Nonconforming Use Certificate, which must be renewed annually and kept in good standing. Zoning is only half the question, since the AOAO or HOA can restrict or prohibit rentals regardless of what the county allows. Before you write an offer on an income property, I verify zoning, permit status and renewal history, house rules, and actual rental performance. Assumptions are expensive here.
The USGS divides the island into nine lava hazard zones, with Zone 1 carrying the highest risk and Zone 9 the lowest. The West Hawaii markets I work in fall well down that scale. Zones matter primarily for insurance and financing. Most national carriers decline coverage in Zones 1 and 2, which pushes owners toward the Hawaii Property Insurance Association and can complicate a loan. People live happily in those zones, but the cost and resale picture deserve an honest evaluation before you buy.
Not required, but usually worth it. Local lenders understand lava zone classifications, leasehold structures, condotel rules, and CPR ownership, all of which routinely stall mainland underwriters who have never seen them. They also share a time zone with your escrow officer. If you already have a lender you trust, keep them and get a second quote from a Hawaii lender for comparison. I am happy to make introductions either way.
Thirty to forty-five days is typical from accepted offer to recording. Cash can close in as little as two weeks. Hawaii contracts are date-driven rather than contingency-driven, so every milestone has a fixed deadline, and closing occurs when the deed records at the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu rather than at the signing table. Condos and leasehold properties can add review time for association documents.
Since August 2025, buyer-side compensation is negotiated directly between you and me in a Buyer’s Representation Agreement rather than assumed to come from the seller. In most of my transactions, the seller still covers it, and that request is written into the purchase contract. The difference is that the terms are spelled out in advance instead of surfacing at closing. I walk through the agreement with you before you sign anything and before I show you a property.
Because the details that decide whether a Big Island purchase works out are local ones. Which condo projects allow vacation rentals. Which subdivisions have water meter issues. Which coastline gets vog and which gets trade winds. Which inspector actually understands post-and-pier construction. I have lived in Kona since 2001 and sold here full time, and when you are buying from the mainland, you are hiring eyes and judgment on the ground, not just MLS access.
Selling
Common Questions About Selling on the Big Island
A comparative market analysis built on actual closed sales in your specific project or subdivision, adjusted for the things that move value here: view corridor, floor level, lot orientation, lava zone, leasehold or fee simple, permit status, and condition relative to what else is coming to market. Island-wide averages are useless at this level. What a top-floor ocean view unit sold for tells you very little about a second-floor garden view unit in the same building. I bring you the data and my read on it, and I am direct when the number is lower than you hoped. Accurate pricing from day one outperforms optimistic anchoring in every market I have worked.
Plan on roughly five to seven percent of the sale price all in. The largest line is the brokerage fee, which is negotiated in the listing agreement rather than set by any rule. Since August 2025, buyer-side compensation has not been published in the MLS and is negotiated separately. You decide whether to offer it as a concession, and I will walk you through how that decision affects your buyer pool before you commit either way. Remaining costs include escrow fees, typically split with the buyer; the owner’s title policy; termite inspection; conveyance tax; recording fees; and prorated association dues or transfer fees. If you are a non-resident, HARPTA withholding comes off the top at closing. I prepare a net sheet before we list so you know your proceeds, not just your price.
No. Most of my sellers are not here. I handle property preparation, vendor coordination, photography, showings, and inspection access. Listing documents and disclosures are signed electronically. Escrow arranges remote notarization for closing documents, and proceeds are wired to your account. If the property needs cleaning, repairs, or furniture removal, I schedule and oversee it. The only thing that genuinely requires your attention from a distance is responding to timeline deadlines, since Hawaii contracts are date-driven and every milestone has a fixed date.
If you are not a Hawaii resident, escrow withholds 7.25 percent of the gross sale price at closing and sends it to the Hawaii Department of Taxation. It is a prepayment against your Hawaii tax liability, not an additional tax, and it is calculated on the full sale price rather than your gain. You recover any overage by filing a Hawaii return, or you can apply for a reduced withholding before closing if your actual liability will be lower. That application takes time, so raise it with your CPA when we list rather than in the final week. Foreign nationals face federal FIRPTA withholding of 15 percent on top of HARPTA.
Usually the answer is targeted preparation rather than full staging. Deep cleaning, decluttering, touch-up paint, and landscaping return more per dollar than anything else and matter enormously in photographs, which is where mainland buyers meet your property. Vacant homes and higher-end listings benefit from professional staging. Furnished vacation rentals often photograph well as-is, provided the furnishings are current and the styling is not tired. What I will not tell you to do is renovate a kitchen before listing. Buyers at this price point rarely pay back a pre-sale remodel, and the time it costs you is real.
A property with a valid, current short-term vacation rental permit sells for meaningfully more than an otherwise identical property without one, because the income stream is genuinely different and cannot be recreated. The certificate attaches to the property and continues with a new owner provided renewals have been kept current, which makes your renewal history a marketing asset worth documenting. Before listing, I confirm permit status, renewal record, and any AOAO restrictions, and I gather your actual occupancy and revenue history. Buyers and their lenders will ask, and having it organized in advance shortens escrow and strengthens your position in negotiation.
Yes, with planning. Fixed-term leases survive the sale unless the buyer negotiates otherwise, while month-to-month tenancies can be terminated with 45 days notice if the buyer intends to occupy. Tenants get at least 48 hours notice before showings, so build that into the schedule. For vacation rentals, forward bookings are an asset to an investor buyer and an obstacle to a second-home buyer, and the calendar needs to be disclosed either way along with deposits held. The right approach depends on which buyer you are targeting. That is a conversation to have before we go live, not after an offer arrives.
Sixty to one hundred twenty days from listing to closing is typical, with escrow accounting for thirty to forty-five of that and cash purchases closing faster. Price is the largest variable by a wide margin. A correctly priced property in Kailua-Kona or on the Kohala Coast moves; an aspirationally priced one accumulates days on market, and that number follows the listing. When a property sits and then reduces, buyers read the reduction as evidence of weakness and negotiate accordingly. Getting it right initially is the shortest path.
I handle photography, video, aerials, the 3D walkthrough, and the floorplan myself, so the property is fully documented before it goes live and I control the schedule. Every listing gets a pre-listing inspection, Zillow Showcase placement, syndication across the major portals, targeted Google advertising, direct outreach to a buyer database of more than 4,000, and personal contact with the agents who are actively working in your price range. Mainland buyers are shopping on screens, sometimes for months, before they ever board a plane. The listing has to answer their questions before they can ask them.
North Kona
Common Questions About North Kona Real Estate
North Kona runs from Honalo in the south to Puuanahulu at the northern district line, and from the shoreline up the western flank of Hualalai. Kailua-Kona is the business center. Keauhou sits five miles south along Alii Drive. Holualoa, Honalo, and upper Kalaoa climb into the Kona coffee belt. Kalaoa spreads north of town toward the airport, and Puu Lani Ranch anchors the upper northern edge at 2,000 feet. The private club communities of Kohanaiki, Hualalai, and Kukio occupy the coastline north of the airport. Nine distinct places, one district, and prices that vary by a factor of ten across them.
The district median for single-family homes was $1,250,000 in 2025, with condominiums at $635,000, but the district figure hides more than it reveals. Keauhou homes ran a $2,300,000 median with condos at $750,000. Holualoa came in at $1,750,000, Puu Lani Ranch at $1,437,500, Honalo at $1,194,250, and the Kalaoa and Kona Palisades area at $1,100,000. The oceanfront club communities operate in a separate tier entirely, generally opening near $5M. Pull the number for the specific area you are considering rather than the district average, and reach out for what is actually available right now at your price point.
The single decision that shapes everything else here. Makai, closer to the water, means warmer nights, easier ocean access, walkable town in parts of Kailua-Kona and Keauhou, and where nearly all of the vacation rental inventory sits. Mauka, upslope in Holualoa, Honalo, or upper Kalaoa, means ten to twenty degrees cooler in the evening, sunny mornings and misty afternoons, more land for the money, coffee and fruit trees, and a ten to twenty minute drive to anything. Buyers planning to rent the property lean makai. Buyers planning to live here full time split about evenly, and most change their mind at least once during the search.
In specific places, yes. The resort-zoned corridor along Alii Drive and portions of Kailua-Kona and Keauhou hold the bulk of the legitimately permitted inventory, which is why those condos price at a premium over comparable units elsewhere. Outside of resort zoning, a property needs a nonconforming use certificate with an unbroken renewal history, and those are finite. Upslope residential subdivisions in Holualoa, Kalaoa, and Honalo are generally not eligible. The AOAO or CC&Rs can also prohibit rentals regardless of what the county allows. I verify zoning, permit status, renewal history, and association rules before you write an offer, never after.
Most of North Kona is on county water rather than catchment, which is one of the practical advantages over other parts of the island. Meter availability is the exception worth checking, particularly on vacant land upslope, where an existing meter can be worth a substantial share of the parcel’s value. Wastewater matters more than most buyers expect: Hawaii requires all cesspools to be converted by 2050, and older upslope properties frequently still have one. Factor the conversion cost into your offer. Electricity is expensive here, which is why photovoltaic systems are common and why an owned, paid-off system is a genuine asset rather than a decorating choice.
Kohanaiki, Hualalai, and Kukio are membership communities where the real estate purchase is one part of the cost, and the club initiation and annual dues are a separate, substantial commitment. Membership structures, transfer rules, and dues differ meaningfully among the three, and they are not interchangeable despite sitting within a few miles of each other. Buyers usually decide between them on culture and amenity fit rather than on the houses. If you are considering this tier, that comparison is worth a conversation before you tour, and I am happy to walk you through how each one actually operates.
For many people, yes, and I have lived here since 2001. The west side stays dry and sunny most of the year; the town has real infrastructure with Costco, hospitals, and a genuine airport fifteen minutes from Kailua-Kona, and you can be in the water before work. The honest tradeoffs are cost of living, shipping and retail limitations, occasional vog when the winds turn southerly, and long travel days to the mainland. Kona is not remote by Big Island standards, but it is still an island. I would rather you hear that clearly before you buy than discover it in year two.
Kailua-Kona
Common Questions About Kailua-Kona Real Estate
It is a working town of about 16,000 people that happens to sit on one of the prettiest coastlines in the Pacific. That surprises buyers who arrive expecting a resort. Kailua-Kona has the hospital, the airport fifteen minutes north, Costco, the courthouse, and the contractors, which means you can live an ordinary life here without driving an hour for it. Historic Kailua Village along the waterfront is genuinely old Hawaii, with Mokuaikaua Church, Hulihee Palace, and Ahuena Heiau within a few blocks of each other. The town is small enough that you will run into your escrow officer at the farmers market. Most people consider that a feature.
The most common question I get, and the answer usually comes down to how much activity you want outside your door. Kailua-Kona puts you in town: restaurants, the pier, the Sunday market, the busiest stretch of the vacation rental corridor, and traffic on Palani Road at five o’clock. Keauhou sits five miles south down Alii Drive, trading that energy for quiet, with its own shopping center, golf, and the calmest ocean access on this coast. Kona buyers tend to want walkability and rental income. Keauhou buyers tend to want the ocean without the crowd. Prices reflect it, with Keauhou single-family homes running well above the district median.
The ocean is the answer most days. Snorkeling at Kahaluu, swimming the Ironman course off the pier, outrigger paddling, diving with manta rays after dark, and some of the best deep-sea fishing in the world out of Honokohau Harbor. On land, there is hiking above Kaloko, coffee farm tours through the belt above town, and beaches from Magic Sands to Kua Bay within twenty minutes. The calendar has real anchors: the Ironman World Championship comes down Alii Drive every October, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival runs in November, and the Jingle Bell Beach Run fills the waterfront in December. I have raced Ironman here three times and co-founded the Jingle Bell run, so I am biased about both.
Three broad zones. The Alii Drive corridor holds most of the oceanfront and ocean-view condominiums, where the vacation rental inventory is concentrated, and prices per square foot are highest. The hillside subdivisions above town offer single-family homes with wide ocean views, cooler evenings, and a five- to ten-minute drive down. Closer in, older kamaaina neighborhoods near the village offer walkability and larger lots across a wider range of conditions and prices. Which zone fits depends almost entirely on whether the property needs to generate income, and that is worth sorting out before we start touring.
Some of it, and location decides. The resort-zoned stretch along Alii Drive holds most of the legitimately permitted short-term inventory, which is exactly why those condominiums carry a premium over comparable units a few blocks inland. Outside resort zoning, a property needs a nonconforming use certificate with a clean renewal history, and the supply of those is fixed. Even where county zoning allows it, the AOAO can restrict or prohibit rentals, and several buildings along that corridor do. Verify zoning, permit status, renewal record, and house rules before writing an offer. Assumptions here cost real money.
Kailua-Kona is one of the driest, sunniest places in the state, with rain that tends to arrive as afternoon showers upslope rather than all-day weather at the coast. Daytime highs sit in the mid-eighties most of the year, and evenings are warm near the water, cooler by ten degrees or more a few hundred feet up. Vog is real and it is intermittent, arriving when winds turn southerly and carry volcanic haze up the west side. Some weeks you notice it, most weeks you do not, and sensitive people do feel it. Anyone with a respiratory condition should spend time here before committing.
Traffic and cost of living, in that order. Kona has essentially one main road through town, and the afternoon backup on Palani and Kuakini surprises people who pictured island life as frictionless. Electricity runs several times mainland rates, which is why photovoltaic matters. Shipping adds up, the retail selection is limited, and a mainland trip is a full day of travel. None of it is a reason not to buy here. All of it is worth planning around, honestly, and I would rather walk you through it now than have you learn it in your second year. I have lived in Kona since 2001.
