"E Komo Mai!" This common Hawaiian expression means 'welcome to our home,' and nowhere is the sentiment more heartfelt than in Hawaii.
There isn't much land available here, and most of the land is in the hands of 10 private kama'aina (local) companies and estates: Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, Castle & Cooke Hawai'i, S. M. Damon Estate, The Estate of James Campbell, AMFAC, Mark A. Robinson Trusts, McCandless Properties, The Queen Emma Foundation, Ala Moana Hawai'i Properties and Hawai'i Reserves, Inc. The cost of housing on O'abu, which is among the highest in the nation, reflects the island's shortage of land.
In June 2003, the median sales price of homes here, according to the Hawai'i Board of Realtors, was $365,000. The median price of condominiums was $166,000. Median prices mean that half of the sales prices were above and half were below.
There are two types of land ownership in Hawai'i, and these apply to both single-family homes and condominiums: fee simple and leasehold.
Fee simple is the most complete form of ownership, because the buyer owns the entire property; land, building and all. Fee simple owners don't have to pay ground rent, but will still have to pay maintenance fees (if applicable) and real property taxes. Since fee-simple homes include the land on which they're built, they provide greater security and resale value.
Leasehold property belongs to a fee simple landowner who enters a ground lease with a lessee. If you are the buyer of residential leasehold property, you cannot own the land, and your use of the land is limited to the remaining years covered by the lease. Leasehold properties are generally much less expensive than fee simple because the cost of the land is not a factor. However, should the land revert to the landowner at the end of the lease with no opportunity for you to purchase the owner's fee interest and convert to fee simple, you'll be house-hunting.
O'ahu's Unique Neighborhoods
All communities have their own unique identity. It's the same on O'ahu, only more so. Each neighborhood here has a distinctive personality, sculpted by history and spun into an interesting tapestry by generations of our colorful mix of races. Over the years, each has become a living entity with an incomparable character and a soul all its own.
Every part of the island has dramatically different topography, weather conditions, places to live and distribution of ethnic groups.
The largest concentration of high-rise apartment buildings, big discount stores, factory outlets and shopping malls lies along the southern fringe of the island, from Hawai'i Kai to Kunia. The windward side has a more rural feeling, with plenty of shopping areas in Kailua and Kane'ohe, and charming neighborhoods.
Drier weather prevails all along the southern edge of the island. Driest of all is the west side along the Wai'anae.
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