Planned luxury condos in Kaka'ako hot sellers
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Amy Ayako Wong was prepared to wait 15 hours in line to get one of the hottest tickets in town: dibs on a new luxury condominium planned for Honolulu.
Hundreds of others joined Ayako Wong last week, gathering outside a sales office for an early opportunity to spend an average of $1 million for a unit in one of the most exclusive high-rise condominiums to be built in Hawai'i.
In six days, buyers signed contracts to buy about 200 of 248 units. Prices ranged from $535,000 to $5.5 million
Never mind that the Hokua tower, to overlook Ala Moana Beach Park just diamondhead of Ward Centre, won't break ground for six to nine months.
Or even be finished until late 2005.
"It is an amazing story," said Joyce Timpson, who was hired to market Hokua but has barely had the opportunity. "We haven't seen this ever in a luxury, high-end condominium."
The demand was described by local real estate brokers as surprising and unprecedented in the state, based on the sales pace and prices.
The overwhelming response, real estate observers said, reconfirms just how hot Hawai'i's condo market has become. Spurred by low interest rates, consumers have snapped up condos, pushing sales on O'ahu up 25 percent this year through November.
The Hokua sales will push future statistics higher, but while they are part of the booming condo-market trend, experts said they likely have more to do with pent-up demand for spacious luxury high-rise living in the heart of Honolulu.
Project broker Karl Heyer said prospective buyers typically either want to upgrade from smaller, older luxury condominiums or are looking to replace a single-family home and simplify their lives.
Roughly 90 percent of Hokua customers — a mix of professionals, retirees and investors — are Hawai'i residents, he said. The balance comes from Japan and the Mainland.
Ayako Wong, a broker with Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties in Waikiki representing five Hokua buyers, said one client earlier this week tried to find a mid-floor unit for between $700,000 and $900,000 but couldn't get one.
"He'll have to wait for a cancellation," she said.
The most popular choice seemed to be two-bedroom, two-bathroom units with about 2,000 square feet of space priced between $800,000 and $1.5 million, Ayako Wong said.
Heyer said the most expensive penthouse, a $5.5 million unfinished loft space, was coveted by several potential buyers. Units for $5 million and $3 million also are under contract, though a couple are still available. About 10 customers are buying two units to combine into one, he said.
"It looks like a product that hasn't been produced. People want it," said Eric Tema, director of real estate for The MacNaughton Group, which is partnering with the Kobayashi Group to develop Hokua.
Heyer said the project was designed as the "live" component in Victoria Ward Centers' evolving urban village in Kaka'ako, where Hokua residents will be able to walk to Starbucks, the beach, movie theaters, shopping areas or restaurants.
Amenities offered at Hokua also include a Zen garden, dog park, valet parking, doorman, library, fitness center and business center.
Herb Conley, co-managing director of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, said there is definite pent-up demand for such a product.
"If you look at the last several years, there's been no new high-rise product to come on the market in Honolulu," he said. "You couple that with the condo marketplace having really taken off ... obviously you would count on having a strong response."
Ricky Cassiday, a real estate analyst who produced a market study for Hokua developers, was stunned by the pace of sales.
"They're going to get mad at me because I told them they wouldn't sell that fast," he said. "They've done real well. Wow. That's awesome."
Heyer, who slept inside the posh Hokua sales center in the IBM building on Dec. 11 so he could wake up at midnight and pass out reservation tokens to prospective buyers willing to stay overnight outside in the parking lot, declined to disclose total sales figures.
Rough estimates put the total between $100 million and $200 million.
Still, the contracts are not binding because the developer still must publish a final condominium report due out next September.
Until then, buyers can cancel, which would be all right with Ayako Wong, who said she has other interested clients lining up in reserve.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
