After 30 years of marriage, there is one thing my husband, Mark, definitely knows and understands about me and that's my love of chocolate!  He just got back from spending 12 days in Hawaii and guess what he brought back - a box of gourmet chocolates from Kona Hawaii!  Man oh man, are they good!  I'm trying so hard to be good and just eat one a day but it sure is difficult.  He also brought home a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts.  I've had those before from Hawaii and I already know they are awesome.  Once the box gets opened up, they will be gone quickly.  Now, Jess' love is coffee so she was treated to Hawaiian coffee beans.  I'm not a coffee drinker but it sure smells delicious when it is brewing. Since Mark is a pilot, he travels quite a bit all around the world.  Unfortunat... 10/12/2009

There are 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii).Below is a chart that shows the number of North Kona Home Sales on the Big Island of Hawaii. The data are over the last 5 years, starting with September 2004 and ending in September 2009. More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com (Data Source: Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI 96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifie... 10/05/2009

Aloha all Many people have asked this question over the last 2 months, and this is a blog that has been kind of hard to write! Back in July I received a call from my mother - dad has had a bad fall and broke his hip. Don't ask me why - but my gut told me this was it - somehow you just know these things. So he went in for a routine operation, actually came out of it OK, walked a few feet the next day, but on day 2, he fell into a ??? I don't know, it wasn't a code, but he had to be put on life support. Mom actually called me when they were hooking everything up. My big question - was why - why are we hooking all this up? I asked her to stop. She actually took it pretty good, but told me to call my brothers and get their blessings also. We all agreed and made the decision to remove everyt... 09/16/2009

There are 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii).Below is a chart that shows the number of North Kona Land Sales on the Big Island of Hawaii. The data are over the last 5 years, starting with August 2004 and ending in August 2009. More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com (Data Source: Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI 96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a re... 09/12/2009

The ocean-view apartments at the Regency at Hualalai in downtown Kailua Kona are not properties for sale.  And aside from the fact that my mother lives there, I am surprised at how often I end up talking with my clients about our local continuing care retirement community, the Regency, and its wonderful independent and assisted living facilities. Most of what I sell are resort and second home properties, along with ranches and acreages for active retirees to build their dream homes.  Unlike most real estate agents who are always being asked questions about the local schools, I find myself answering questions for my "sandwich generation" clients about the options for bringing their aging parents with them when they move. By the way, Hualalai is the name of the dormant volcano rising up a... 08/03/2009

There are 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Click here to view a map that shows the location of each District on the Big Island of Hawaii).Below is a chart that shows the number of Land Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii. The data are over the last 5 years, starting with June 2004 and ending in June 2009. More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com (Data Source: Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI 96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a ... 07/26/2009

As of 9:00 am on July 23, we are dead even with July 2008 home sales - so unless we dont sell another home for the rest of the month, id venture to say we are going to surpase last years sales. I know I am really stepping out on a limb making a preditcion like that - but you know, I was raised in Vegas. Even better news for Kailua Kona real estate, is the fact that the amount of money exchanging hands this month is up over + 39.% over last years, and we still have a week to go. Remember I am talking about North Kona Home Sales, I will follow later on the Condo market. I always like to leave with a nice Hawaii photogragh My 8 year old son Dean and I down at South Point 3 weeks ago - got in a good ride. Aloha, and have a great day   Lance Owens (RS) (808) 936-8383 Lance@KonaHomeTeam.com w... 07/23/2009

Hawaii Real Estate Market - a spike or are we are on our way to recovery? With less than a week left in the month, Kona is still tracking just one shy of last years home sales. I think that is pretty good - considering that we were off by <65%> in January. I pulled out my crystal ball and cleaned it up a bit - and it told me that we would match last years sales, if not beat it by one. Is this a trend? or just a spike ? Well - last months sales were dead even  with May 2008 numbers, so I would say that we may be recovering? I think a lot of it has to do with the prices - we now have 16 homes listed as active for under $300,000 !!! Here is a list of those  homes Copyright 6/24/2009 by Hawaii Information Service    Search criteria: TMK Taxkey 3-7. MLS Status Active. MLS Form Residential. M... 06/24/2009

Its really hard to concentrate on work - when all you hear is the surf slamming in the background - here is the surf report 3-4 ft. waist to chest high with occasional 5 ft.and fair-good conditions. New SSW swell looks like it is trying to fill in along the coast this morning. Waves are in the waist to chest high range with some near head high sets. Winds light in the morning with onshore sea breezes in the afternoon. WEATHER:Mostly sunny in the morning, then mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs around 86 at the shore to around 71 at 5000 feet. Light winds becoming west around 10 mph in the late morning and afternoon. Chance of rain 40 percent. BIG ISLAND HAWAII SOUTH'S REGIONAL OVERVIEW:Another day of solid waves for southern exposures as t... 06/10/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii).Below is a chart that shows the number of Land Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii. The data are over the last 5 years, starting with April 2004 and ending in April 2009. More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com (Data Source: Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI 96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership m... 05/31/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii).Below is a chart that shows the number of Home Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii. The data are over the last 5 years, starting with April 2004 and ending in April 2009. More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com (Data Source: Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI 96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership m... 05/23/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii.  (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii). Below is a chart that shows the number of Home Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The data are over the last 10 years, starting with March 1999 and ending in March 2009. (Data Source:  Big Island MLS) According to this chart, the North Kona District has LESS monthly sales in 2009 than it did in 1999.  More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity •... 05/02/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii.  (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii). Below is a chart that shows the number of Land Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The data are over the last 5 years, starting with March 2004 and ending in March 2009.  More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com  (Data Source:  Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI  96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membe... 04/25/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii.  (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii). Below is a chart that shows the number of Home Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The data are over the last 5 years, starting with March 2004 and ending in March 2009.  More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com  (Data Source:  Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI  96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membe... 04/18/2009

Many of you helped me out with decisions I had to make on our renovation of our 2nd home/vacation rental in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  Here's how it started.  I wanted the colors of the ocean for accents with a pop of orange as the complement for the blues.  Here the silk taffeta panels are aqua.  Since I had to plan the entire project from California, before I purchased any furnishings or artwork this color seemed fine to me.  However they were a BI%$H to hem and I wasn't at all happy with them, but since fabric is limited on the Big Island (unless you want a tropical print) I had to settle.  Once that we bought the art I knew that the aqua was all wrong.   So here's what I did for the next trip. It's another silk taffeta but a full panel width (54") and in this much bolder color to bring o... 04/05/2009

I have a homeowner (condo) and this is her primary residence, and it is in foreclosure. Pay off is roughly about $300,000. The offer is for $195,000 - CASH. Which by the way is about 10,000 under fair market value - of course that is reason for a whole new blog - what is fair market value when you 848 active listings, with only 13 sales last month? Needles to say I think this is a very good offer and I let the bank know this also.Here is there response to me - by the way the names have been changed to protect the guilty :)Hello Lance, I submitted the short sale to the MI (Mortgage Insurance) company for their approval.  I have received a response from them.  They said they would approve the short sale but the seller will have to sign a 40,000 promissory note.  It is interest free and th... 04/02/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii.  (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii). Below is a chart that shows the number of Land Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The data are over the last 5 years, starting with February 2004 and ending in February 2009.  More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com  (Data Source:  Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI  96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective... 03/23/2009

North Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii.  (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii). Below is a chart that shows the number of Home Sales in the North Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The data are over the last 5 years, starting with February 2004 and ending in February 2009.  More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com  (Data Source:  Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI  96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective... 03/21/2009

Over the past few months my sunny optimism has been stunned into silence.  Advisers are saying don't read the news.  Pay close attention to the market and prepare for the turn around.  I can't stop reading the news.  I'm a voracious reader.  I read, listen and watch international and national economists, and discuss the local market with professionals I trust.  Consequently, I've been in a funk.  I don't know if it's the decision by opinion leaders to moderate the gloom and doom, but this morning I heard a fleeting bit of good news from the powers that be in Honolulu.  I didn't hear the source, but someone said prepare now for the 2010 turn around in the real estate market. I am so ready to believe this.  My spirits immediately jumped.  I have noticed neighborhoods favored by second hom... 03/13/2009

N Kona is one of 9 Real Estate districts on the Big Island of Hawaii.  (Click here to view a map that shows the location of the N Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii).Below is a chart that shows the number of Home Sales in the N Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The data are over the last 5 years, starting with January 2004 and ending in January 2009.  More sales data and info can be found at LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com  (Data Source:  Big Island MLS) Stop by, visit and talk story at our office on the Big Island of Hawaii! John Petrella, REALTOR®ABR®, GRI, Broker/Owner Direct: 808.640.3953Local@LocalHawaiiRealEstate.com Local Hawaii Real EstateHonesty • Integrity • Commitment 159 Keawe St., Suite 1Hilo, HI  96720 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mar... 02/21/2009