What is the Problem with Ahi?

8 12 2010

Okay, the problem with Ahi (Yellowfin Tuna) is….once you have eaten it fresh from the sea, and cooked to savor, you are hooked.  Of course, then the problem becomes your budget, and just how much Ahi is available.  If you are fortunate enough to live in Hawaii, and even more fortunate to live on the Big Island, you can become pretty spoiled very quickly,  because, it doesn’t get it any fresher, and most every restaurant and home knows how to prepare it well.

Although we don’t readily admit it, we are depleting the natural supply pretty quickly.  So you can imagine how my interest was peaked when my Google Alerts produced this little item about the future of my favorite fish….  http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/businessnews/20101113_ahi_farms_ocean_lease_okd.html

My first thought…..great news, I can  remove that from my list of what will be missing in my future. I don’t have to eat more than my fair share in fear that it will run out before I do…..Wok-charred ahi is here to stay…. and of course, kudos to Peter Merriman, who has it down to a science.

http://merrimanshawaii.com/recipes.php for the absolute best recipe, sauces etc…. enjoy!

Aloha

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

BigIslandRealE.com

LetsGoHawaii.com

 


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Big Island residents, Hawaii Consumers, Hawaii local treats, Hawaiian culture, travel to Hawaii, Uncategorized, Waimea/Kamuela

Does Your Home Need Drama?

27 09 2010

I don’t know about your home, but mine always has drama….. of one kind or another.

Today, when you look at  real estate sites, most of them address something called staging. Staging is one person’s idea of how your house needs to look to attract a buyer. Most often stagers, …. some with experience, and some without, believe they know what the buying public wants to see.

Is this a fascinating science? art? guess? I’m not really sure which category it fits, but I do know there are a few demographics to consider when approaching this decision.  So you may want to first of all, sit with your real estate professional and determine your buyer demographics. Are they young, middle aged, retired. Is it a family or a single person? What are their lifestyle expectations?

Whatever the demographics may be, most people are attracted to drama. They prefer life to reflect a movie set, not any specific one, as every one has their own mental library of movie scenes, and they know their scene.

Next time you are wandering through an Open House and you find yourself imagining a scene……will it be  one in your library?  What scene might this fabulous Big Island entry picture bring to mind? http://www.waimeaspremierekamaainaranchestatehawaii.com

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http:www.bigislandreale.com

http:www.letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Hawaii Hometowns, Hawaii real estate for sale, Hawaii retirement, Tips for Home Buyers, Tips for Home Sellers, Tips for Home Staging for Sale, Uncategorized, Waimea/Kamuela

Do We Know the “True Value” of Hawaii?

13 09 2010

I don’t know how you feel about experts today but it becomes more and more difficult to actually follow, believe or act on any one opinion anymore.

Common sense is always my fallback and even though I have had a long enduring relationship with the Hawaii real estate market, I need to justify my opinion over and over again to myself and others.

The fact that the Hawaiian Island Chain is the most isolated group of islands on earth is pretty attractive. Of course, our perspective, as we view the world from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, can be a little insulated as well, and often we lose sight of our true value.

So, as we travel the globe,visit other destinations, encounter their environmental, population and location issues, we are reminded that Hawaii, in the year 2010, is still unexploited.  We question why those who have searched the planet, looking for just the right place to land, have chosen Hawaii, and we recognize that we are not alone in our claim, that there is only “one” Hawaii.

What is value today?  Having something people would like to have today but will demand tomorrow?  Is a “piece of paradise”, more than a slogan and one of the real “true value” investments left?  Common sense?  Look at some of these interesting quick facts……

Population figures (2009) State of Hawaii (1,295,178), Island of Hawaii (Big Island) (177,835)………http:www.quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/15/15001/html

Land Area: State of Hawaii (6,422.62 square miles), Island of Hawaii (Big Island) (4,028.02

Persons per square mile: State of Hawaii (188.6), Island of Hawaii (Big Island) (36.9)

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http:www.bigislandreale.com

http:www/letsgohawaii.com


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : big island vacation rental property, Hawaii Consumers, Hawaii real estate for sale, Hawaii vacation rental, hawaii vacation rental property, Uncategorized

Hawaii Counts Beans from “the Great Manini”

1 09 2010

Do you have any idea how many varieties of coffee exist in the world? Do you care?  Well, as I enjoyed my first cup of guess what, Kona Coffee this morning, I found this article from the Maui News, fun and informative.

Of course, I knew that Hawaii is most likely the only state in the union, to produce coffee commercially, and we all know, that you can’t call it Kona Coffee unless it’s grown in a specific region.  I have tasted coffee from other regions of the Big Island,  Kau, Paauilo,  but I never guessed there are actually 80 varieties of coffee beans around the world.  http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/539755/The-cup-runneth-over-with-coffee-culture-trivia.html?nav=12

Now, I didn’t know how coffee arrived in Hawaii, and when I read that Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, (the Great Manini”), planted the first seedlings on Oahu in 1813, it added a whole new dimension to the Hawaii coffee connection.  I can’t imagine why no one has named a coffee brand after this amazing man.  I can very clearly imagine the label …….Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, 1813.  Wow! an instant success.

So now we have a name, a label, a theme song, as I learned this morning, Bach, very kindly composed in 1734, “Coffee Cantata”.  Imagine lyrics that included “coffee is more delicious than a thousand kisses and sweeter than muscatel wine” …hmmm….

Okay, you didn’t think I would leave you with just  the concept, did you? To quote, the Maui News article, “500 billion cups of coffee are sipped every year”.  So, if you could live on the Big Island, have a coffee plantation, give it a great label, a theme song and be fairly confident that if Bach loved it in 1734, that coffee is not leaving us any time soon, what would you do next?

Well, I put my cup down, called all my Kona Coffee experts and discovered this amazing opportunity! Now,imagine sitting on this lanai, watching your 2000 already mature coffee trees flourish……of course, while enjoying your own brew………

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http://www.bigislandreale.com/Kaupulehu_Real_Estate/Spectacular3acre!_230763.aspx

http:www.bigislandreale.com

http:www.letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Hawaii Coffee, Hawaii real estate for sale, Hawaiian culture, Uncategorized

Welcome to Hawaii, Graham Nash!

28 08 2010

“Our house is a very very fine house”.……so Graham Nash has sold his Encino home (photo) and he is moving to Hawaii. It would be presumptuous of us to assume that Nash is joining long time resident Neil Young on the Big Island (Island of Hawaii), as well as other successful, creative minds, who, after years in the fast lane, are very possibly attracted to the Big Island’s open space and relaxed lifestyle.  Where will you go when you are ready to change lanes? Remember a few things, year round good weather, no more than one flight to your past life and a place your kids want to visit, should all be included in that decision. “Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy ’cause of you”. Komo mai to the Nash family….and for those of you, who are still looking for your Hawaii, we know you will find your way from the fast lane to the middle land and then our lane. .http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm–graham-nash-20100828,0,124246.story.

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

bigislandreale.com

letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Big Island residents, Hawaii retirement, Uncategorized

Who Gets Confused About Hawaii Names?

25 08 2010

Do you know about our little town, Waimea (Island of Hawaii)? Waimea means “reddish”water, and there is a bit of water tainted with red dirt in the State of Hawaii, so needless to say, there are several towns named “Waimea”, on Oahu and Kauai and possibly more. Until my move to the Big Island, my only reference point was Honolulu, where everyone referred to the Big Island community of Waimea (Island of Hawaii) as”Kamuela”. Imagine my confusion and actual embarrassment moving to a town, knowing it only as Kamuela, and finding out it is truly, “Waimea”.  

I loved the first time I made the outrageous mistake of calling it Kamuela and was abruptly told by a long time resident, (of several generations or more), that I must be living in the post office…because Kamuela is the designation assigned to this community by the U.S. Postal Service to eliminate their confusion (pre-zip codes, no doubt).

Hot off the press this week from Yahoo and Pacific Business News:

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2010/08/23/focus6.html  http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-475406-waimea vacations

Waimea (Big Island) Treats for the palette, not to be  missed….

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http://www.bigislandreale.com

http://www.letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Hawaii Island Names, Hawaii local treats, Uncategorized, Waimea/Kamuela

Is Yahoo telling you the best place to retire?

23 08 2010

Oooh!  Did you check out Yahoo’s 5 Most Liveable Cities for Retirement http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/5-great-cities-for-retirees.html Don’t walk…run to your favorite Big Island Real Estate site, which I would hope is bigislandreale.com and find out what livable and affordable can really be.  What is your Hawaiian vacation going to cost, when you can’t survive the winter or maybe in some of those choices, the summer.

So twice a year you are going to want to leave, wow! Checkout how far they are from the ocean, which is never even a calculation on the Big Island, because if you are not in it ,you are most likely viewing it from some amazing vantage point. The Big Island used to be a costly place to live but now, real estate is affordable, Costco and the other box stores are very available and farmers markets are supplying organic products to help us live longer for less.  We don’t need heating and in most places we can depend on our trade winds to keep us cool. Our needs are simple and our lives are full….a fter all isn’t Hawaii everyone’s dream? We live longer and enjoy it more…….

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http://www.bigislandreale.com

http://www.letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Hawaii retirement, Uncategorized

When do you THINK Hawaii Vacation or Hawaii Real Estate? December, January or February?

22 08 2010

When do you THINK Hawaii Vacation or Real Estate….December, January or February?

Well we are tracking Hawaii Real Estate, Big Island Real Estate and Hawaiian Vacations and guess what? You truly are fair-weather friends.  When you are warm across the USA and Canada, Hawaii, Big Island, Hawaiian beaches, Hawaii golf and Hawaiian Vacation  packages are off your search list and no matter how great the deal may be, you are off enjoying the best months of the year in your hometown.  

So, smart consumers who like to be on top of the deals, know when to buy and don’t want to compete with other consumers, they watch the market all year long.  They don’t want to miss an opportunity and right now, especially when so many buyers are distracted by summer activities across the country, there are even more opportunities to choose from …..maybe a little Hawaii Condo like this great deal…..

 

Dodie MacArthur
MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http://www.bigislandreale.com

http://www.letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Hawaii Consumers, Uncategorized

Stocks Down? Surfs Still Up in Hawaii

21 08 2010

Yesterday, even though its summer, I wrote about Christmas, but today as I sit at my desk watching the Dow…….I shift focus to slightly left of the screen, and begin to count waves as they break over the reef. Now tell me, would you prefer a day tied to your computer in a world controlled by others to the ever present wonders of the Hawaiian Islands. 

I am not suggesting you jump on those Hawaiian Vacation Specials but if I just described your day, you might want to explore the options for Hawaiian homes today…..the options are endless, especially for Big Island Real Estate.  When the Dow goes down, the opportunities go up!  So check out the view from this Hawaii Condo and think about moving your focus just slightly to the left and maybe even shutting it down just in time to catch a few waves…oh and we have Hawaii foreclosures too!

Dodie MacArthur

MacArthur and Company/Sotheby’s International Realty

http://www.bigislandreale.com

http://www.letsgohawaii.com


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.