Lana'i real estate joins boom of other islands
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Lana'i may not have a big, bustling resort, but like other high-end vacation destinations in Hawai'i, the private island owned by David Murdock is cashing in on multimillion-dollar home sales.
Murdock's Castle & Cooke Resorts LLC has sold $26 million of homes and home lots since January — more than it sold in the previous three years.
Marc Duncan, company vice president of real-estate sales and marketing, said he expects another $10 million in sales will close next month.
The transactions reflect demand that has been hot for luxury homes at other Hawai'i resorts, from more recent projects at Ko Olina and Turtle Bay on O'ahu to projects on the Big Island's Kohala Coast, where developers have sold million-dollar homes with success for many years.
At Kapalua Resort on Maui, seven house lots released for sale July 15 sold out, with another 18 lots three to 15 acres in size available for sale starting at $1 million.
The resort home lots on Lana'i — situated around the 249-room Manele Bay Hotel and 102-room Lodge at Koele — range widely in price, from $325,000 to $15 million.
Duncan said the $26 million in sales this year represent 10 homes and seven lots that ranged from $360,000 for a lot fronting the Koele golf course to a $4.2 million home.
Duncan said most buyers were older than 50, and at Koele were primarily residents and some "price sensitive" Mainland buyers.
At Manele, buyers were mostly from the West Coast, with some from the East Coast.
Castle & Cooke Inc. established the two resorts in 1989 and 1991 at the direction of Murdock, who in 1985 invested in the financially troubled company, phased out pineapple operations on Lana'i and envisioned selling 400 homes at $1 million-plus around the two hotels.
Murdock's development plan for the Island struggled during the past decade, but has managed to get on the resort-home wave since the billionaire bought out public shareholders of Castle & Cooke four years ago.
Duncan, a former Big Island developer who joined Castle & Cooke Resorts last November, said part of the trouble was that the company had a reputation for being difficult to work with and not being responsive.
"We've tried to solve that," he said. "Our mindset has been to understand our present owners, know what they like about Lana'i, leverage that into our product mix and design, and get the word out."
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
