The project’s final increment of 24 ocean-view units is scheduled for completion later this year and are expected to be priced between $199,000 and $219,000. Book shop hosting author, editor ADVERTISING Kona Stories welcomes author Darien Gee and editor Christine
Book shop hosting author, editor
Kona Stories welcomes author Darien Gee and editor Christine Thomas as they present their newest Hawaiian book, “Don’t Look Back — Hawaiian Myths Made New — An Anthology of Modern Moolelo.” Both Gee and Thomas will be speaking about their work at 2 p.m. Feb. 26 at Kona Stories Book Store in Keauhou Shopping Center. There will be time for book signing and questions and answers after the presentation. Free refreshments will be served.
In this one-of-a-kind anthology, old meets new as Hawaii’s best writers, including Ian MacMillan, Maxine Hong Kingston, W.S. Merwin, Victoria Kneubuhl, Alan Brennert and more, present favorite myths and legends in surprising contemporary settings.
Thomas was raised in Kailua, Oahu, and born in Honolulu, where she again resides, after earning a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia in England, as well as other stints living and working across the U.S.
Gee is a national bestselling author of several novels written under the name Mia King. Her books have been selections of the Doubleday, Literary Guild and Book of the Month Club book clubs. Her second novel, “Sweet Life,” was nominated for a Ka Palapala Pookela award for excellence in Hawaii books. She lives with her family in Waimea.
For more information on this free event, call Brenda or Joy at 324-0350.
Condominiums
selling at brisk pace
Recent brisk sales at Kona Seascape Condominiums, located in the Kona Palisades area of Kailua-Kona, may foreshadow a shift in Kona’s real estate market. Between Jan. 9 and Feb. 10, seven of the remaining 24 two-bedroom, two-bath units in the current inventory went into escrow at prices ranging from $149,000 to $165,000.
“Kona Seascape originally came on the market in late 2007 with 108 units planned. When only 44 sold at about $290,000 due to the market turndown, the project stalled and went into foreclosure,” said John Miller, R(S), lead project broker, MacArthur & Co.ISoutheby’s International. “The current owner purchased the project from the bank last year, restructured prices and began remarketing in late 2011. Apparently our timing is right because sales have been coming in about two per week.”
“We’re seeing about 60 percent Big Island buyers and the rest from Oahu, Alaska, Canada and the West Coast where our pricing looks very appealing,” said Miller. “And with Fannie Mae and FHA mortgage money available and VA approval expected shortly, financing a qualified buyer’s purchase is not a problem.”
Off-island buyers are divided between those snapping up a second home for retirement and those who see investment potential, Miller noted.
The project’s final increment of 24 ocean-view units is scheduled for completion later this year and are expected to be priced between $199,000 and $219,000.
