Aloha from the Garden Island of Kauai,

The last cool winds of winter seem to have passed through the Hawaiian Islands. The unexpected warm, dry and summery days of January and February gave way to a cooler March.

With all there is to see and do here, most visitors escaping the cold did not seem to mind a windy March. They flocked to Hanalei Bay beach, now rated number one in North America. Others brought or rented clubs and tried out the redesigned Makai course which opened on schedule in January. Several holes have been completely redone. The former ocean and lakes nines have now become the Makai Golf Course. In Poipu, the acclaimed Poipu Bay course will close on April 1 for renovation of greens and traps with plans to reopen by the end of the year.  This should result in more play for the Prince and the Makai courses and more visitors to the North Shore.

The recession has continued to hurt the tourist industry with arrivals down about 10%. This winter has been the year of the Canadian visitor, especially residents from the western provinces. The Canadian dollar has fared well against the Yankee dollar, and a new nonstop flight from Vancouver to Lihue on West Jet has helped spur some home buying by our friends north of the border.

Local hotels and many condo owners are discounting accommodations at the present time.  In addition, a number of new stores and restaurants have opened (Merriman's in Poipu and the gourmet Kauai Grill Room in the Princeville St. Regis are excellent).  With these and other incentives in mind, it is a good time to plan a visit or a return trip to Kauai.

Prospective property buyers will find some significant values in our real estate market. The bargain hunters have gobbled up a large share of the distressed condos and homes, but there are still good properties and good prices to be found. Although Kauai does not have a significant percentage of short sales and foreclosures, there have been enough of them to hold prices down. Currently we are selling at 2004 prices and with mortgage rates at a 50 year low, qualified buyers will do quite well. For those who like statistics, figures released this week show that home and condo sales for Kauai increased by 147% over the same period in 2009. Prices were up 6.7%

As a seasoned real estate professional, I would look forward to working with you to find your dream home, vacation hideaway or investment property here in Paradise. Please check out my website www.joewilliamshawaii.com where you will find all MLS listings plus other Kauai features. Let me know when you might be coming out, and I will do some preliminaries for you. Although last year was a difficult time for real estate, I was the leading realtor in Princeville closing more properties than anyone else. The testimonials you will find on my website illustrate the care and concern I have for my clients and my devotion to the values of honesty and integrity.

Come see us in 2010.

Mahalo,