North Kona Market Stays Strong While National Sales Slide

Kona Home Team (LUVA LLC) Lance Owens (RB-24133), 2024 Real Estate Expert - Hawaii Island (Kona Home Team (luva llc)) • April 24, 2025

 

Today’s Inman News headline reads:

 

“Existing-home sales fall to slowest pace since 2009 amid rising costs.”

 

 

That may be true nationally—but not here in North Kona .


 

While the mainland sees pullbacks, our local data paints a different picture. From January through March 2025, both home and condo sales in North Kona are up—eclipsing 2024, 2009, and even 2008 numbers.

 


 

📊 North Kona YTD Sales (Jan 1–Mar 31):

 


 

2008: 69 Homes | 47 Condos

 

2009 : 42 Homes | 33 Condos

 

2024: 104 Homes | 67 Condos

 

2025: 107 Homes | 82 Condos

 

 

This isn’t just a rebound—it’s sustained confidence. Buyers are still buying. Sellers are still selling. And the market is still moving.

 

 

It’s a powerful reminder that real estate is local . National headlines don’t always reflect what’s happening in our neighborhoods, our communities, or right here on the Big Island.

 



 

Want the real story—not the national spin? Talk to someone who’s lived and worked it.

 

With 21 years of boots-on-the-ground experience in the North Kona market, I’ve seen every shift, surge, and slowdown (even volcano related) . Let’s talk about what’s really happening—and how it affects your next move.

 

Aloha,



Posted by

Lance Owens RB-24133
 808.936.8383 

LUVA Real Estate | 75-240 Nani Kailua #8, Kailua Kona, HI 96740 
   REALTOR® / BROKER-IN-CHARGE • Residential homes, Condos, Land, Agricultural/ Equestrian/Large Acreage 
Hawaii Association of REALTORS® (HAR) 
    2025 President   2023/24 State RPAC Chair
    2023 HARLA Graduate 
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 
    2023-25 Director   2024-25 RPAC Participation Council   Safety Advisory Committee   Region 13 Leadership
NAR Designations
      AWHD (At Home With Diversity) | PSA ( Pricing Strategy Advisor) 
West Hawaii Association of REALTORS® (WHAR)
   2023 REALTOR® of the Year   2018/2022 Preside

Final Town Hall — Last Chance to Speak Up on Ali'i Drive

By Kona Home Team (LUVA LLC) Lance Owens (RB-24133), 2024 Real Estate Expert - Hawaii Island (Kona Home Team (luva llc)) • April 14, 2025
Mayor Kimo Alameda is holding a final Town Hall meeting: 📅 Tuesday, 5:30–7:00 PM📍 Make‘o Pavilion at Old Airport If we want a say in Kona’s future, now is the time. Show up. Share your mana‘o. Let’s make sure the decisions made today reflect the hard lessons — and wasted money — of the past. Mahalo to Our Leaders Mahalo to Mayor Kimo Alameda, Council Member Rebecca Villegas, and 365 Hawaii Island Community Fund for pulling the community together on Saturday.It’s powerful to see leadership and respectful conversation at a time when real listening is rare.With almost all in attendance opposed to the idea, few had other solutions.(Personal note: Kuakini Highway must be widened before any one-way plan moves forward.) Why the Past Matters Today Yesterday, I had the chance to speak and remind our leaders of a history many may not know. We have a new administration, new decision-makers, and 60% more residents since the last time this failed — making it even more critical to learn from the past before repeating it: These timelines were shared with Mayor Kimo Alameda and Council Member Rebecca Villegas - but should be spoken to at the meeting Tuesday 1974 — One-Way Ali‘i Drive AttemptThe County tried making Ali‘i Drive one-way.Public outrage, traffic jams, and confusion killed the plan almost immediately. 1999 — Paid Parking at Coconut GrovePaid parking was introduced, enforced by Diamond Parking.Businesses quickly lost customers.Locals and visitors pushed back hard.Within a year and a half, the system collapsed under pressure without needing government interference. 2004 — Another One-Way PilotDepartment of Public Works launched another one-way test when Kona had about 28,500 residents.Goal: Improve pedestrian safety and deliveries.Result: Massive congestion on Kuakini Highway and side streets.Public backlash ended the project early — after spending significant taxpayer money setting it up.(Personal note: I was a prisoner in my own office. It took over an hour just to get out and back.) 2013 — Expert Warning IgnoredA new administration revisited the idea, population now at 37,800Warren Lee, Director of Public Works — a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) and respected leader of major infrastructure projects across Hawai‘i — publicly warned:"Any one-way proposal must be contingent on the completion of alternate routes to absorb displaced traffic.Public health, safety, and overall traffic flow must improve — not worsen — before any change is made." 2023 — Paid Parking ReturnsPaid parking was reintroduced in Kailua Village.Same pattern: fewer visitors, frustrated residents, half-empty parking lots. 2025 — Déjà Vu?A new one-way proposal is on the table.Kona’s population has jumped 60% since the last failure — from about 28,000 to 45,000 people today. The Pattern is Crystal Clear Every time these changes were rushed without real planning, they failed — wasting time, wasting money, and hurting local businesses. 📣 Show Up Tomorrow We cannot afford another repeat. Show up tomorrow. We owe it to our community — and our tax dollars — to learn from the past and plan responsibly.🗓 Final Town Hall🕠 Tuesday, 5:30–7:00 PM📍 Make‘o Pavilion at Old Airport 

Zillow’s New Rules Could Cost Sellers More Than They Think

By Kona Home Team (LUVA LLC) Lance Owens (RB-24133), 2024 Real Estate Expert - Hawaii Island (Kona Home Team (luva llc)) • April 10, 2025
Off-market listings — sometimes called pocket or private listings — have always carried big risks for sellers. While they’re sometimes pitched as a way to stay “private” or “in control,” the truth is simple: limiting exposure usually limits your results . Unless there’s a real need for privacy, keeping a home off the open market can cost the seller. Starting in May , Zillow — the country’s largest real estate portal — will permanently prohibit any listing that isn’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of public marketing. If a home is marketed to any buyer, it must be available to every buyer — or it won’t appear on Zillow or Trulia at all. (And yes — even those of us with a love/hate relationship with Zillow know that's where buyers are looking.) This change follows updates to NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy, now allowing MLSs to create a Delayed Marketing Exempt Listing option. Sellers get a limited window to prepare a property before full exposure — but that's it. Here’s why this matters to all of us: Homes sell for more when marketed widely . Research from Bright MLS shows MLS-listed homes sell for nearly 17% more than private sales. True privacy is rare . Trusts and LLCs already shield most owners’ identities. Keeping listings off the MLS doesn’t guarantee real anonymity. Who really benefits? In most cases, pocket listings benefit the brokerage more than the seller. When limited marketing might be appropriate: A condo owner who doesn’t want neighbors to know yet, or a family handling the sale of a loved one’s home and seeking privacy. Even then, sellers should fully understand the risks. Privacy can be respected — but full value comes from full exposure. Bottom Line: The days of quietly marketing properties outside the full marketplace are ending. As REALTORS®, it's our duty to explain the risks clearly and help sellers understand that wide exposure remains the best path to better offers and stronger terms. At LUVA Real Estate , we not only market listings locally, but nationally on sites like Zillow and Homes.com, internationally through Leverage Global Partners , and even syndicate to exclusive private portals that other brokerages can’t reach. Question for my fellow REALTORS®: 👉 How are you advising your sellers under the new Clear Cooperation and Zillow rules?👉 Are you seeing more sellers push for exclusivity, or are they more open to full MLS marketing? Would love to hear how you’re handling the changes in your market! #RealEstate #HomeSellingTips #RealEstateAdvice #Zillow #NAR #RealEstateMarketing #HomeSelling #HawaiiRealEstate #BigIslandRealEstate #LuxuryRealEstate #LUVARealEstate #LeverageRE 
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