148 resort homes sold in 10 days

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

The first phase of Ko Olina Kai Golf Estates and Villas should be done by next year and includes 102 condo villas and 46 single-family homes. Centex Destination Properties

It's another example of the blistering residential real estate market's high end where predominantly Mainland buyers are clamoring for million-dollar second homes at Neighbor Island resorts and on O'ahu where more residents are aspiring to live resort lifestyles.

Last week, Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore reported selling 22 of 45 oceanfront condos for an average of $1.5 million since mid-April.

Sales on the west side of the island at Ko Olina Kai Golf Estates and Villas happened at a more dramatic pace.

"We were overwhelmed," said Michael Kosmin, sales and marketing vice president for the Hawai'i division of developer Centex Destination Properties.

Ko Olina Kai buyers had about three weeks during April where they could make reservations and refundable $10,000 deposits to register for a June 1 lottery, but the registration process was cut short.

Kosmin said so many people were interested that the company had to cut off applicants at 415.

"We just shut it off because we didn't want to set expectations for people when we knew we wouldn't have enough product," he said. "The response ... has been nothing short of incredible."

Of the 415 applicants, only a few passed up the chance to buy one of the 148 homes, as the last home was selected by lotto winner No. 171. The homes sold for a total of $112 million.

"Essentially, we were selling new homes as fast as we could write the contracts," Kosmin said.

Roughly half of the buyers are second-home purchasers, 70 percent of whom are from the Mainland, Kosmin said. The other half, he said, are local people seeking a primary residence.

"They want a resort lifestyle on O'ahu, and they really haven't had that opportunity in the past," he said.

Ko Olina Kai, ringed by several holes of the Ko Olina golf course, is the third residential community added to the master-planned resort since local developer Jeff Stone and partners acquired the mostly undeveloped property in 1998.

The first-phase of Ko Olina Kai consists of 102 condo villas and 46 single-family houses ranging in price from $468,000 to $1.4 million. A second phase of 176 homes is expected to be released for sale this fall.

Construction of the first phase began in February and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of next year.

Centex Destination is the resort-home unit of giant Dallas-based homebuilder Centex Homes. The company bought 34 acres of land for Ko Olina Kai last October for $30 million.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.