HONOLULU (AP) — A San Francisco investment banker recently sold his Maui mansion to a retired hedge fund CEO and a Hollywood actress for $45 million.
The cash sale of the oceanfront house in Kihei reflects a hot Hawaii real estate market fueled by a pandemic that has made the islands a desirable place to isolate and work remotely. According to property records, it has eight bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and two half bathrooms and features a pool and jacuzzi.
The median price of a Maui home topped $1.1 million in June. The price of the home — purchased by Adam Weiss and Barret Swatek on July 30 — is the second-highest sale in Hawaii history, said their agent, Anne Hogan Perry of real estate company Compass. The most expensive single-family residence was for $46.1 million on Kauai in 2018.
Perry noted that home is on 15.3 acres, while the Maui property is less than an acre.
The pandemic wasn’t the main reason the Malibu, California, couple chose the home, Perry said. But a shift toward virtual meetings will allow them to spend more time in Hawaii.
“They were not set on a particular island,” she said. “They wanted to understand the culture and what made each island different.”
They ultimately decided on the 21,700-square-foot home designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta because of an attribute that is rare to find in most Hawaii neighborhoods, Perry said: “They wanted to be able to walk.”
The location allows them to take long walks on the beach and along tree-lined sidewalks.
It was also move-in ready, Perry said.
Swatek’s television show roles include “Awkward,” “Yellowstone” and “American Housewife.” Her husband is co-founder of the hedge fund Scout Capital and founder of Stillwater Investment Management.
The sale capped a big couple of weeks for Hawaii real estate sales, Perry said, noting that just four days before the Maui deal closed, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s estate on the Big Island sold for $43 million and a home in Oahu’s beachfront neighborhood of Lanikai sold for more than $24 million about a week earlier.
“To have this many sales over $20 million is huge,” Perry said.
The Maui home was not offered on the normal real estate market, said Will McKinney, agent for the seller, Thomas Weisel.
“The owner wanted to keep it exclusive and didn’t want to put it on the open market like a typical listing is,” McKinney said. “We notified all of the brokers who may have a buyer of this caliber.”
Maui’s hot real estate market makes it difficult for longtime residents, including Native Hawaiians, to afford to buy or rent homes, forcing them to leave Hawaii, said Stan Franco, president of Stand Up Maui, which advocates for affordable housing.
“So I think it’s a real problem for people like myself who are older seeing this happening to our children and grandchildren,” he said. “And it’s causing a lot of real bad feelings from our local people to anybody from the outside.”
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
