Hokua Luxury Condo Tower – Where are the owners from?

September 7, 2013

The Hokua condominium, located at 1288 Ala Moana Boulevard, is arguably Honolulu’s most prestigious high-rise address.

Hokua - Image Sourse: Bing Maps

Hokua – Image Source: Bing Maps

The 40-story tower, built in 2006 as a joint development venture between the MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group, and A&B Properties Inc,, sits between two highly desirable shopping destinations (Ala Moana Shopping Center to the east and Ward Center to the west), and benefits from excellent ocean views over Ala Moana Beach Park.

Where are the 248 Hokua unit owners from?

When appraisers are valuing a proposed high-rise condominium project, it is often appropriate to develop a market study that analyzes where potential purchasers are likely to come from.  According to tax records as of September 2013, Hokua units are owned by individuals from the following locales:

HOKUA UNIT OWNERS BY STATE / COUNTRY
State / Country # of Units Owned % of Total
Hawaii 177 71.4%
Japan 20 8.1%
California 18 7.3%
Other U.S. 5 2.0%
China 4 1.6%
Korea 4 1.6%
Canada 3 1.2%
Nevada 3 1.2%
New York 3 1.2%
Taiwan 2 0.8%
Florida 2 0.8%
Illinois 2 0.8%
Massachusetts 2 0.8%
Washington 2 0.8%
Switzerland 1 0.4%
Total 248 100.0%

In total, 86.3 percent of current Hokua owners are US based (71.4 percent from Hawaii) and 13.7 percent are foreign (Japan leading the pack with 8.1 percent).  These figures skew more toward Hawaii than I was expecting, although 35 or so units (about 14 percent) are owned by corporations, partnerships, LLC’s, or other entities that have Hawaii addresses, but are not necessarily controlled by owners who reside primarily in the Aloha State.  But by and large, it appears that Hokua’s reputation as the premier luxury tower for wealthy Hawaii residents is deserved.

Hokua owners by state and country

Source: Honolulu Tax Office records and Chris Ponsar, MAI

Future articles will analyze other luxury properties to see how other prestigious developments in Honolulu compare.

Questions, comments?  Please leave them in the comment box, I would be happy to clarify and/or expand.

Aloha, Chris

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Proposed Honolulu Condo Towers – The List of 12

August 4, 2013 2 Comments

These days in Hawaii, one of the most common topics real estate appraisers are confronted with is: “Have you heard about that new tower they announced in Kakaako?”

Very often, I’m asked for specifics about a new high rise condominium development in Honolulu.  I decided to compile a concise list.

There is an enormous amount of development activity happening in Hawaii right now, especially in urban Honolulu.  Major developers, lenders, and landowners are involved, including: Alexander and Baldwin (A&B), Howard Hughes Corporation, The MacNaughton Group, Kobayashi Group, OliverMcMillan, Tradewind Capital, Kamehameha Schools, Stanford Carr, American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Wells Fargo, and First Hawaiian Bank.

As I started to put this list together, I quickly realized that the variety of residential projects being planned was staggering: High-rise condos, student housing, timeshare, hotel, high-rise apartments, low-rise condominiums, senior housing, and even affordable housing for artists!

Here are the parameters for inclusion in this article:

  • High-Rise Construction
  • Fee Simple Condominiums
  • Whole Ownership (No Timeshare)
  • An active development plan on track for approvals, financing, and construction.

12 Oahu towers made the cut, a total of 4,166 proposed units–web links and a brief summary of each project is included below:

2013 PROPOSED / COMPLETED HIGH RISE CONDOMINIUM TOWERS
Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii
# Tower Name (click name) Stories Units Status / Timing
1 Holomua 23 176 Completed: Early 2013 
2 Waihonua at Kewalo 43 341 Under Construction
Completion: 2014 of 2015
3 ONE Ala Moana 23 210 Under Construction
Completion: Late 2014
4 Symphony Honolulu 45 388 Groundbreaking: Late 2013
Completion: 2015
5 801 South Street 46 635 Groundbreaking: “Mid-2013”
6 Ritz-Carlton Residences,
Waikiki Beach		 36 309 Groundbreaking: Late 2013
Completion: 2016
7 The Collection
(3 buildings, 1 high rise)		 43 460 Groundbreaking: Mid to Late 2014
Completion: Late 2016 to 2017
8 404 Ward Ave 38 424 Groundbreaking: Early 2014
Completion: 2016
9 Keauhou Lane in Kakaako 40 600 Groundbreaking: Mid to Late 2014
10 Aloha Kai 39 128 Completion: 2016
11 “Fishnet Tower” 38 177 Proposed
12 “Wave Tower” 38 318 Proposed
Compiled by: Chris Ponsar, MAI   4,166 Total Units

The map below shows the location of each project in urban Honolulu:

Oahu Condo Project Map - Chris Ponsar, MAI

Click HERE to view details in Bing Maps

This link: http://binged.it/13RCPpX takes you to an interactive Bing Map that shows photos and details of each project.  As shown, most of the activity is in Kakaako.

Want more details?

Here you go:

Proposed Honolulu Condo Towers - Detail

CLICK CHART TO ENLARGE

Comments and/or Questions?  Please leave them in the comments section below–I’d be happy to clarify or expand.

Aloha, Chris

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