Everywhere you look, there are changes throughout Hamakua – it’s been 10 years since the sugar industry left this Big Island’s windward coast. A recent kumiai (community association) gathering served as a microcosm of this change. In the earlier days, what made up the base of the population were Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Filipino laborers; presently, we see small farmers, urban escapees, second-home buyers and early-retiring baby boomers. Great realtors were quick to point out this change in population – and they’ve distinguished that islanders who have fled Honolulu and Maui and those who have moved from the West Coast of continental US make up the new population base of the Hamakua Coast’s Hawaii real estate.

Beginning in 1994 and continuing through 2001, the sugar plantations divested themselves of practically all of this real estate, mostly to key buyers who have recently started reselling it in smaller lots. As such, Hamakua Real Estate boomed, and along with this, a significant increase in new construction was seen along the southern half of the coast.

The Hamakua Coast, is above anything else, still rural, but it is definitely growing. Honoka’a, for instance, was a depressed economic area – its sugar mill was closed – ten years ago. The situation today is very different: its over 2200 residents are enjoying its mild weather. More importantly, the town is enjoying a renaissance of sorts with restaurants, cafes, galleries and a theatre all popping like mushrooms. Diversity is the new by-word for the Hamakua coast, with entrepreneurial farmers also trying their hand at eucalyptus farming (for paper production) as well as hardwood stands of teak and mahogany. Additionally, the Hawaiian Sturgeon and Caviar Company started making efforts to raise sturgeon for caviar there. Truly, the Hamakua Coast and its Hawaii real estate are making a comeback.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 6:45 am and is filed under Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.