“More than half of the top 25 homes in Hawaii are located on the Kona Coast, and they’re all in private resort communities–Kukio, Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani and Hualalai.”

Top 25 Hawaii Homes

This month’s Honolulu Magazine features some of the most exclusive luxury homes in Hawaii. And many of them are on the Big Island’s Kona and Kohala coasts.

Senior Writer Mike Keany says that when he started doing research for the article he was somewhat surprised at how prominently Big Island real estate factored into the list. “As Honolulu residents, we tend to be a little Oahu-centric,” he said, “but 9 out of the top 10 homes are along the Kona coast.”

Keany says that he and a photographer from Honolulu Magazine rented a helicopter to get the photos that are featured in the article. “Flying along the Kona-Kohala coast was a memorable experience. There is such contrast between the stark lava and the lush resort properties.”

The print edition of the September issue of Honolulu Magazine is available now. When the article is available online, we’ll let you know.

Visit the Luala’i at Parker Ranch website to view floor plans, site map and energy efficient features.

View current prices for Luala’i models available or near completion.

This luxury estate is located on the Hamakua coast of Hawaii's Big Island

Exclusive, private, extraordinary. Hamakua coast luxury at its finest.

Inside, several Hawaiian hardwoods were used in the construction of this 3,592 sq ft home. Outside, established palms, mangosteen and citrus trees create an atmosphere of tropical serenity.

The covered lanai and grounds of this meticulously maintained property offer comfortable entertaining areas, a gazebo with a gas-pit and a high tech lap pool as well as an outdoor shower room and a separate guest cottage. This estate was designed to capture the best of island living.

For more information about this listing, please contact us at 808 329-5255 ext. 5259 or visit the Property Detail page to view additional photos or a virtual tour.

This week, you have given us even more reason to celebrate.

Readers of the Big Island’s West Hawaii Today have also voted Clark Realty Corporation the Best Real Estate Agency and the Best Property Management company in West Hawaii.

For the first time in Clark Realty’s history, we have made a “clean sweep” in the real estate categories of the readers’ choice “Best Of” awards island wide and we are deeply honored that our Big Island community has recognized us in this way.

West Hawaii Today:
Best Real Estate Company
Best Property Management

North Hawaii News:
Best Real Estate Company

Hawaii Tribune Herald:
Best Real Estate Company
Best Real Estate Agent: Dayna Oda-Kell

Recognizing our West Hawaii Offices

Clark Realty has two offices located in West Hawaii. Our Keauhou office is led by Broker-in-Charge Gae Callaway who has lived in the Kona area since 1965. She heads a team of 25 busy agents. Our Kailua-Kona office is led by Broker-in-Charge Larry Hull, who taught at the Stanford University School of Education before joining the Clark Realty team in 1990. Larry heads a team of 24 agents.

Clark Commercial Group (CCG) is also based in West Hawaii. CCG and our Residential Property Management Divison have a reputation for expert care of the properties in their portfolios and for careful selection of tenants. Islandwide, our residential property managers oversee approximately 400 long-term rentals, while Clark Commercial Group manages more than ½ million square feet of office, retail and industrial space across the Big Island.

Mahalo Nui Loa

Thank you to all the readers who took time to cast your vote for Clark Realty Corporation this year.

Each of the nearly 160 agents, staff and managers at Clark recognize the tremendous responsibility we have to every client with whom we work, as well as to the larger community we all call home–and we are  committed to continuing to earn the respect and trust of our Hawaii Island ohana.

Thank you for your vote of trust and confidence in us. We look forward to many more years of meeting your residential and commercial real estate needs. Mahalo Big Island!

Final destination in the land of cliff diving’s origin: Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2010 comes to Kawainui Falls in Hilo, Hawaii for its final stop.

Kahekili, the last independent king of Maui, used cliff diving as an initiation rite for his warriors back in the 18th century. Leaping feet first from a high cliff into water without making a splash – otherwise known as “Lele Kawa” – is still the ultimate goal of these brave modern warriors.

Cliff Diving Heads To Hawaii for Series Decider – September 12

Photo by Gary Christenson

Competition at Kawainui Falls

Having once been a competitive diver, I am fascinated and heartened to see the art of cliff diving promoted to the ranks of a world class extreme sport.

Hawaii is hosting the Red Bull cliff diving finals in Hilo and what I would give for a ticket! But, alas, none are available, unless you are a lucky listener to radio call in shows on 94.7 Hilo and 101.5 Kona.

Along the Hamakua Coast, the only place on the Big Island where we have tumbling streams and giant active waterfalls year round, Red Bull has chosen the gorgeous location of Kawainui Falls in Pepeekeo near Onomea Bay for their Cliff Diving World Series event. (Kawainue falls is located on private property and is the home of a private bed &  breakfast, thus the limited attendance to this world class event.)

I get nervous just THINKING about the 3 meter board. Cliff diving? Really! At 65, I prefer my desk at the real estate office in Waimea, but what I would give to see these amazing athletes in my own back yard, twisting and turning in the air on their way to fame and ultimate glory.

Best of luck to each of the competitors and congratulations Hilo, Hawaii for hosting such a unique World Series event!

Cliff Diving Highlights on YouTube

The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is high diving at its most death-defying – an acrobatic descent into water from heights of up to 28m. Once in the air, the divers have approximately three seconds to coordinate their movements before they break the surface of the water at around 100kph (60mph).

Bailey Wharton, R, is a resident of the Big Island’s Hamakua coast.

Kona Bali Kai in North Kona

New Listing in Kona Bali Kai

List Price: $80,000

This 538 sq ft 1 bedroom/1 bath unit is definitely worth a look. It is the lowest priced unit available in Kona Bali Kai and no one bedroom unit has sold for less than the list price in the last year!

Unit #172 has a new kitchen sink and counter top, good condition appliances, a washer/dryer, and the carpets have been professionally cleaned.

View Property Detail page for MLS 238253

Partially furnished unit located in the back of the complex

One of the best features of this condo is its location. It’s just a minute’s walk to Banyans, one of Kailua-Kona’s best surf breaks. There are beach chairs readily available so you can lounge around all day by the ocean. Or, you can bring food for the BBQ grill and have a picnic right at the beach while enjoying the view of a breathtaking Big Island sunset on the Kona coast.

Listing agent Dorlene Kolina Chao, R(S) Kailua-Kona

Please contact me for more information about this unit or other North Kona condos or residential listings or to discuss the most recent activity in the Hawaii real estate market.

Mahalo North and East Hawaii!

Readers of the Hawaii-Tribune Herald and the North Hawaii News have voted the Hilo and Waimea offices of Clark Realty Corporation this year’s Best Real Estate Agency in both East and North Hawaii.

Each year, these newspapers ask readers to choose “the best of what makes the Big Island a great place to live, work and play” in a number of categories. We sincerely thank all of those who cast a vote for Clark Realty Corporation – mahalo for your expression of confidence and trust in us!

Our core philosophy is “the client first.” From there, good things follow.

And There’s More…

Not only did Clark Realty win Best Real Estate Agency of East Hawaii, Dayna Oda-Kell, R(S) of our Hilo office also won Best East Hawaii Real Estate Agent.

Dayna, a local girl from Hilo and a hula dancer for over 20 years, also has a background in insurance and the mortgage industry. She often uses her expertise in these fields to benefit her real estate clients.

Broker-in-Charge Adele Eggel describes Dayna as someone who is “generous by nature and who gives beyond her best to all her clients.”

Congratulations to our Award Winners

Congratulations to our agents and staff in Waimea and Hilo and congratulations Dayna! Thank you for your hard work and your commitment to ethics and to your buyers and sellers. The readers have spoken and have recognized the contribution you all make our Big Island community. Mahalo for helping make the Big Island a great place to live, work and play!

Enthusiastic Clark Realty agents: Chiaki Yamada, Beverly Kanda, Kathy Jensen, and Penny Merryman

The Big Island’s Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort was headquarters yesterday for the 2nd annual Lavaman Keauhou Triathlon.

Kailua-Kona is well known as home of the Ford Ironman World Championship Triathlon, but to provide a shorter training event for local Hawaii residents and visiting elite triathletes, long-time volunteer race director and Clark Realty agent Gerry L. Rott, R, founded the Olympic-distance Lavaman Triathlon (also held in Waikoloa) more than a dozen years ago.

At yesterday’s event, Clark Realty agents from our Keauhou office volunteered to man the aid station at the finish line, offering water, fruit and cookies (most popular!) to participants. The job began before Race Day, setting up and decorating the tent on the hotel grounds. With a 7:00 am swim start at Keauhou Bay, both volunteers and participants had to get up early on the big day.

The fastest finishers breezed through in just over 2 hours, but the Clark Realty Aid Station Team stayed through until the end when all 200-plus athletes had completed the event. Everyone was a winner on a beautiful Kona day filled with sunshine, smiles and sportsmanship!

Clark Realty Keauhou agents Eddie Underwood, Beverly Kanda (aid station coordinator), and Paul Jensen

Lavaman Triathlon makes a donation to each aid station’s charity of choice. The Clark Realty-Keauhou beneficiary is a member of agent Beverly Kanda’s family who is faced with a medical emergency.

The Clark Realty volunteers were enthusiastic to be able to cheer on their community’s triathletes as well as give generously to a local family.

The next Lavaman will be held on April 3, 2011. Visit www.lavamantriathlon.com for details or connect with Lavaman Triathlon Series on Facebook for updates.

West Hawaii Nightingales | Photo courtesy of Margie Simms

The Waikoloa Nightingales are not a chorus or a local band but what we Big Islanders fondly call the wild donkeys that roam the arid lands of Waikoloa.

After World War II, the donkeys that once transported coffee were set free and left to fend for themselves. They survived and multiplied over the years, but current drought conditions leave their descendants vulnerable to starvation and dehydration. Some have been shot by landowners who don’t want them on their property and some have been killed when they cross Big Island highways, posing a safety hazard to humans as well.

Unlike the mustangs of the West, however, our donkeys are not under the protection or jurisdiction of any public agency. They are not considered wildlife or native species and so are not protected under federal laws. They are not livestock, so they don’t come under the jurisdiction of any State agencies. It’s up to Big Island animal lovers to help them.

The Hawaii Island Humane Society has kindly offered to help with community outreach to find a solution to the donkeys’ dilemma. Susan Whittaker, Inga Gibson (Hawaii State Director of the Humane Society) and Donna Whittaker (Director for Hawaii Island Humane Society), co-chaired a roundtable discussion at the 2010 Hawaii Horse Expo at Waikoloa Stables on August 22. Guest speakers included veterinarian Dr. Brady Bergin and Keith Dane, Equine Director of the Humane Society of the United States. Dr. Bergin and Mr. Dane had just completed an aerial survey of the wild donkeys. They saw approximately 200 animals, in scattered bands of 8-12 individuals, but they believe there could be as many as 600 donkeys in the area from around Waikoloa Village to Waikoloa Mauka and beyond.

View  Waikoloa Donkeys Discussed at Hawaii Horse Expo – Big Island Video News

Dr. Bergin explained that the westerly slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are the ideal environment for the donkeys. Limited forage keeps their weight in check, constant movement keeps them fit, and the rocky soils keep their feet trimmed. However, the population continues to increase and is unsustainable. He discussed the possibility of using birth control (which can be delivered by darts) on the jennies and castration of the jacks, a more difficult and permanent procedure. In any event, the animals need to be contained so they can be treated and so they are not able to get out on the highways.

Keith Dane discussed placing the animals with Big Island residents but there are too many animals and too few people who are qualified or who would want to adopt these wild creatures. Participants brought forth the idea of finding a landowner who would donate or lease land for a sanctuary or identifying State lease land that might be available for either a temporary or permanent home for the donkeys.

Karen Clarkson, R Waimea

If you know of a landowner who would be amenable or if there is lease land available please contact me, or if you have any suggestions or resources to help these endangered equines please email Anika Glass at waikoloanightingale@gmail.com. Anika is the founder of Malama Waikoloa Nightingales–she maintains a blog with ongoing updates about the donkeys.

Juanita Montgomery

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to attend the 2010 Hawaii Horse Expo at the Waikoloa Village Stables, along with two other avid horse enthusiasts who work with me at the Clark Realty-Waimea office.

Paula Beamer, Karen Clarkson and I had a chance to watch a colt training and ranch horsemanship and were treated to lunch-time entertainment by a young vaulting team.

One of the most memorable moments for me was meeting Richard Winters, a National Reined Cow Horse Association A-Rated Judge and the Horsemanship Instructor-in-Residence at The Thacher School in California.

This annual event benefits the Hawaii Island Humane Society’s Horse Rescue Fund, which helps abused and abandoned horses on the Big Island. You can learn more about the fund and connect with this great group on their HAWAII ISLAND HUMANE SOCIETY: EQUINE RESCUE FUND Facebook page.

Here are a few photos we took at the Waikoloa Village Stables this weekend. We’re already looking forward to the 2011 Expo!