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Threads: 3
Joined: Jan 2004
Aloha, my name is Joshua and my wife and I are planning to visit there from Kauai next week. We aren't able to afford a house here on Kauai...virtually nothing under 200,000 here! So we've been searching online in Hilo and Puna. Are there any transplants from Kauai out there? any comparisons? We live in Hanapepe and love the small town feeling. We are hoping we will love the east side and move there. I was surprised by the difference in price in Puna and Hilo area...anyone have any ideas why Puna is so much cheaper than Hilo? Any info would be much appreciated.
Mahalos, joshua
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Threads: 1
Joined: Nov 2003
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
Posts: 4
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Joined: Jan 2004
Thanx for the info Bruce. My wife and I just got back from the Big Island and we love it there. There for 4 days but mostly checked out houses in Puna (HPP, Ainaloa and a few off Hwy 11) and Hilo. 2 houses in hilo we were interested in were under contract already so it seems ya gotta act fast to get a good buy in Hilo. We thought it'd be nice to live in town but still are weighing the pros and cons of living in HPP or Ainaloa....like a almost new house on an acre of land for around 100,000 or less. We commute to work now 30-45 minutes each way, 6 days a week so we would like to cut that down if possible. Bt we have definately narrowed it down from all the areas we were thinkin before the visit. Thanx again for the info.
Josh
