Costly condos hot in Hawaii

HONOLULU — In Hawaii, million-dollar homes are as common as coconuts. But a $6 million condominium?

Multimillion-dollar condos are sprouting up across the state, from bustling Waikiki to the intimate island of Lanai.

Several developers, including real estate mogul Donald Trump, are trying to cash in on the soaring demand for ritzy condominiums in Hawaii, constructing new projects with eye-popping price tags.

The high-end condos are more spacious than the average single-family home in Hawaii and feature marble counters, Sub-Zero refrigerators, high ceilings and walk-in closets about the size of a garage.

Many of the swank condominium high-rises have business centers, pool-side cabanas, around-the-clock security, concierge service, theaters and spas.

A three-bedroom condo in Honolulu, listed at nearly $6 million, recently went into escrow and is expected to close this month.

Real estate agent Perry Kunishige, who listed the 3,000-square-foot unit on the 37th floor of the Hokua building fronting Ala Moana Beach Park, said new construction is generating some of the strong demand for luxury condos in Hawaii.

"If you don't have supply, you won't even know if there are buyers out there," he said. "Since we built these larger condominiums, buyers are coming out of the woodwork."

The $6 million unit has an office, 180-degree ocean views and a monthly maintenance fee of $1,138. The buyer is an unidentified businessman from Asia who could've bought a home anywhere in the world but is spending top-dollar for a piece of paradise.

"This is paradise, right?" Kunishige said. "We're in the center of the Pacific Rim and part of the United States. So this is the place to be."

Real estate insiders say most of the buyers are foreigners or baby boomers from the U.S. mainland who want to work on their golf handicap instead of their yards.

In many cases, it's their second, third or fourth home.

"These are folks who inherited a great deal of wealth or have earned wealth — and there are millions of them," said Scott Higashi of Prudential Locations, the largest locally owned real estate company in Hawaii. "Their behavior is that of a spender, rather than their parents' generation, who lived through the war and are savers."