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Kailua estate's $36M listing sets Windward record
11/06/09 06:21 PM
By Nina Wu, via 2009 StarBulletin.com. All rights reserved.
Just listed: beachfront Kailua estate at 210 N. Kalaheo Ave. for $36 million.
Jeff Kerr of Kerr Michaels Design, along with three investment partners who make up Akua Lau LLC, finished building the estate four years after buying the 1.5-acre lot, and are asking for a record-high price for Oahu's Windward side.
Yesterday morning the team held its first open house, a day after the estate was listed on the Multiple Listing Service. Already, Kerr says he has three showings lined up in November and December from offshore buyers.
"In this market we felt that although there are fewer purchasers in the $35 million-to-$45 million range, the purchasers in that range don't want density," said Kerr.
"They want privacy and the old kamaaina Hawaii feel."
The speculative, design-to-sell home was inspired by similar estates at the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island, said Kerr, which are listed in a similar price range.
The selling point for this estate, however, is that it would be closer to Honolulu's amenities, including its museums, restaurants and hospitals, without as much vog, he said.
The last largest estate sale on record in Windward Oahu was $24 million in 2006 for a main house and guest house on Kailuana Loop, followed by $22 million for another home on Kaikea Place last year.
Kerr said the $36 million list price reflects the cost of purchasing the property, which previously had four homes on it, plus the design and construction and time it took to build it.
The eight-bedroom, eight-bath estate has a main house set back 250 feet from the ocean, along with a separate guest house outside of a moss rock wall.
Amenities include a courtyard with a saltwater lagoon pool, kitchen-equipped cabana, media room with a 119-inch screen and projector, and ocean views from throughout the two-story home.
There are lanais on both the ocean side and courtyard side of the main home, which offers five bedrooms and five bathrooms and is fully furnished.
"What we tried to create is something that does not exist on the island of Oahu," said Kerr.
Instead of an ostentatious home typical in Kahala, Kerr said his team aimed to design an estate with an understated elegance.
Sand-colored limestone floors flow inside and out, while generous pocket doors open up to an expansive lawn and oceanfront vista.
If the buyer wishes, Kerr said another parcel is available for a tennis court, spa or another guest home, which is permitted on the lot.
The last Kailua estate, which Tracy Pflueger of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties sold for $22 million three years ago, was not new, reasoned Kerr. Also, the buyer invested another $10 million rebuilding it, amounting to a $32 million investment.
The highest-priced listing currently on the market -- by Mary Worrall Associates -- is $80 million for the former 5.5-acre Kaiser Estate in Portlock.
Kerr, also a Realtor at Gold Coast Real estate, is confident there's a buyer for the estate.
"I've received more calls in the last 24 hours on this than eight other listings between $1.5 million to $11 million," he said. "There are substantial, potential buyers in the marketplace, even in this economy."
Kerr Michaels previously built and sold a beachfront home at 604 N. Kalaheo Ave. in 2005 for $10.4 million.
Just listed: beachfront Kailua estate at 210 N. Kalaheo Ave. for $36 million.
Jeff Kerr of Kerr Michaels Design, along with three investment partners who make up Akua Lau LLC, finished building the estate four years after buying the 1.5-acre lot, and are asking for a record-high price for Oahu's Windward side.
Yesterday morning the team held its first open house, a day after the estate was listed on the Multiple Listing Service. Already, Kerr says he has three showings lined up in November and December from offshore buyers.
"In this market we felt that although there are fewer purchasers in the $35 million-to-$45 million range, the purchasers in that range don't want density," said Kerr.
"They want privacy and the old kamaaina Hawaii feel."
The speculative, design-to-sell home was inspired by similar estates at the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island, said Kerr, which are listed in a similar price range.
The selling point for this estate, however, is that it would be closer to Honolulu's amenities, including its museums, restaurants and hospitals, without as much vog, he said.
The last largest estate sale on record in Windward Oahu was $24 million in 2006 for a main house and guest house on Kailuana Loop, followed by $22 million for another home on Kaikea Place last year.
Kerr said the $36 million list price reflects the cost of purchasing the property, which previously had four homes on it, plus the design and construction and time it took to build it.
The eight-bedroom, eight-bath estate has a main house set back 250 feet from the ocean, along with a separate guest house outside of a moss rock wall.
Amenities include a courtyard with a saltwater lagoon pool, kitchen-equipped cabana, media room with a 119-inch screen and projector, and ocean views from throughout the two-story home.
There are lanais on both the ocean side and courtyard side of the main home, which offers five bedrooms and five bathrooms and is fully furnished.
"What we tried to create is something that does not exist on the island of Oahu," said Kerr.
Instead of an ostentatious home typical in Kahala, Kerr said his team aimed to design an estate with an understated elegance.
Sand-colored limestone floors flow inside and out, while generous pocket doors open up to an expansive lawn and oceanfront vista.
If the buyer wishes, Kerr said another parcel is available for a tennis court, spa or another guest home, which is permitted on the lot.
The last Kailua estate, which Tracy Pflueger of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties sold for $22 million three years ago, was not new, reasoned Kerr. Also, the buyer invested another $10 million rebuilding it, amounting to a $32 million investment.
The highest-priced listing currently on the market -- by Mary Worrall Associates -- is $80 million for the former 5.5-acre Kaiser Estate in Portlock.
Kerr, also a Realtor at Gold Coast Real estate, is confident there's a buyer for the estate.
"I've received more calls in the last 24 hours on this than eight other listings between $1.5 million to $11 million," he said. "There are substantial, potential buyers in the marketplace, even in this economy."
Kerr Michaels previously built and sold a beachfront home at 604 N. Kalaheo Ave. in 2005 for $10.4 million.