01-09-2004, 09:19 PM
Hi Joshua,
I haven't been to Puna yet but plan to go there this spring. My investigations reveal that land there is cheap for several reasons: Lots of rain, for one. Also, the district was carved up into subdivisions with thousands of parcels after WW II with the idea of selling pieces of paradise to mainlanders. Theis idea ground to a halt when lava flows destroyed some homes and cut off some main roads leading to Hilo (and jobs).
So only a small percentage of sites were built on and the land prices remained low. Also, public services (electric and phone) are spotty. Many low income people and people born in Hawaii but priced out of their own real estate market by the transplants have settled in Puna (about 25,000). My sense of things is this lava danger in parts of Puna is no higher than in parts of the Kona coast. I t may not pay to build an expensive house since resale might be limited, but for people looking for cheap land and a laid back lifestyle, Puna may be idea. I am in that gorup--I also prefer rain and jungle to desert and condominiums and like the idea of being close to Hilo and the university. Good luck.
Bruce
I haven't been to Puna yet but plan to go there this spring. My investigations reveal that land there is cheap for several reasons: Lots of rain, for one. Also, the district was carved up into subdivisions with thousands of parcels after WW II with the idea of selling pieces of paradise to mainlanders. Theis idea ground to a halt when lava flows destroyed some homes and cut off some main roads leading to Hilo (and jobs).
So only a small percentage of sites were built on and the land prices remained low. Also, public services (electric and phone) are spotty. Many low income people and people born in Hawaii but priced out of their own real estate market by the transplants have settled in Puna (about 25,000). My sense of things is this lava danger in parts of Puna is no higher than in parts of the Kona coast. I t may not pay to build an expensive house since resale might be limited, but for people looking for cheap land and a laid back lifestyle, Puna may be idea. I am in that gorup--I also prefer rain and jungle to desert and condominiums and like the idea of being close to Hilo and the university. Good luck.
Bruce