Betty Sakamoto: For the record, I love Hawaii. And my Hawaii boy is here right now — Roy Sakamoto.
Roy Sakamoto: Good morning.
BS: Life is good.
RS: Life is great.
BS: Everything is perfect. Sakamoto Properties Coldwell Banker. We’re still having fun in the real estate world—and selling properties.
RS: We’ve been in business… wow.
BS: It’s really 50 years. You say it is, and—but it is. I’m sure it is. It isn’t? It’s close enough that we can claim 50.
RS: Going back to basically the start of Kapalua.
BS: That’s right.
RS: Kapalua is mid-seventies.
BS: Kapalua started after us, because we had already been in Lahaina, etc., for a long time—when we ended up moving up toward the Kapalua area.
RS: Yeah, the Bay Course was the first development at Kapalua, and I think that dates back to ’75, ’76.
BS: But again, that was after Sakamoto Properties. The Big Four. Yes, it was—for sure. I’m absolutely sure of that much. Well, because you were on the golf course then. I remember that, right?
RS: Yeah.
BS: It was great. Always good.
RS: That’s when my handicap was pretty good, too.
BS: It was. It’s still good. You’re still a great golfer.
RS: Not quite.
BS: But you are.
RS: Still having fun.
BS: Still having fun. Well, here we are again—another day. Sakamoto Properties in real estate, at the radio show. We’ve loved doing the radio show for a while. It’s amazing the number of people who actually listen. For a while, I kind of felt like, well, I don’t know who’s listening. You know, it doesn’t matter. We like doing it.
We’ve gotten nice comments about it. We have fun. And that’s kind of what it’s all about. And if we get some good information to people who want to purchase real estate, that helps.
RS: Yeah, either buy or sell and—
BS: Or—hang on.
RS: Yeah. We’ve had fun with it.
BS: We really have.
RS: All these years.
BS: Yeah. And sometimes that’s what we do—counsel someone to just hang in there. Don’t sell, don’t buy—you know, it’s not the perfect time. Or it is the perfect time. But I think we’ve counseled people as well as we can.
RS: That’s right. Everybody buys or sells for different reasons. Sitting down with a professional, you can be guided to what is the best time to buy, best time to sell, and all the various intricacies that go into buying and selling real estate.
BS: Sometimes you just have to wait. Or don’t sell now. Or sometimes you really need to sell, for any assortment of reasons. Personal matters, family issues, or a financial crisis, you need to get out from under. There are so many reasons, and we do our best to help someone understand that once it’s done, it’s done.
And every so often, I look back at someone we’ve known well and think, “Oh, I wish you didn’t sell then.” But again, they had to. There was a reason that really mattered. It’s good to always remember that there was a reason at that time.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: Anyway—
RS: It’s strange times—financial times—we’re living in right now. Holding onto something solid like real estate? You can’t go wrong with it.
BS: I agree. It’s hard right now, though. Don’t you think?
RS: Well, yeah. To me, it’s a great time to buy. There are some great buys out there, price-wise. Mortgage rates are up, but prices are down. So it’s kind of a push in that way. But you’ll never go wrong buying real estate.
BS: No, of course.
RS: If you’re holding on to it. You’re not going to make a fortune overnight, but real estate—that’s the basis of most wealth in the world.
BS: No question about that. Yet the same thing is true, Roy—if somebody really needs to sell today, we can help you. But it’s a hard time. It is a harder time for certain properties. So—listen to your agent.
RS: Yeah, absolutely. It’s a little difficult if it’s kind of a quiet market, which it kind of is right now. If you need to sell—for whatever reason—having professional guidance is your best resort. So, look at our website: SakamotoProperties.com. Call us—Roy or Betty. 808-870-7060 for Roy, 808-870-7062 for Betty. And again, everybody’s circumstances, buying or selling, are unique. So, you know—reach out to us.
BS: Have a conversation. Have a conversation that goes more than three minutes. Take a little bit of time. Think about what we’ve got to say—or what anyone else you’ve talked to has to say. Give everyone’s ideas some consideration, and then make your decision. If you really feel you’ve got to sell, let’s make it happen.
We’ll advertise for you, we’ll see to it that there are open houses—if you choose to have them—and we’ll do our best to get it sold as quickly as possible. Hopefully, we’ll all enjoy the process, and it’ll move on.
RS: Oh, absolutely.
BS: I agree with Roy. I do think that real estate is the basis of a lot of wealth in the country, and it has been forever. So I think it’s really worth hanging on. But again, sometimes you can’t. Life is changing quickly. People are still having babies, and all sorts of things are going on in their lives. There are times when you have to make a decision that it’s time to let go.
RS: Well, it’s a real estate show—Betty’s Real Estate Corner—but I want to get away from real estate just for a minute here. I had lunch last week with Wilmont Kahaialii, who’s a cornerstone, and he’s part of the well-known Wailuku family and very spiritual. Wilmont and his associate are putting together an event on August 8th of this year.
It’s called Lights for Lahaina. Planning is kind of preliminary right now, but the general idea is to march from—this is in Lahaina, in the fire zone—from Wailoa Church, down through Front Street, and all the way over to what is commonly known as Baby Beach. It’s actually Pu’unoa Beach, but locals call it Baby Beach.
Maybe even go so far as lighting lanterns to float in the water, to commemorate those we lost on August 8th, 2023, fires. The toll is horrific—it’s over 100 people—and many are still suffering from PTSD. This might be a step toward healing. So stay tuned for more info. We’ll relay it on the show as we get more details. We’ll be involved in this as well.
BS: Yeah, it’ll be an amazing event, and I think everybody should ask questions about it—find the direction toward Wilmont. Check with anyone you know who might have knowledge about what’s coming up. But it will be worth being there and being involved. The lantern idea, I think, will be very spiritual and very meaningful to everybody, for different reasons.
RS: Well, the general mission there at Baby Beach—right next to Mala Wharf, where the Buddhist mission was before the fire—historically, they did a Memorial Day lantern ceremony where they lit candles and set them adrift in the ocean. Ecologically, there were people out there in canoes and kayaks to retrieve the candles.
But it’s a good ceremony. Very, very spiritual. Another chicken-skin moment, there’s also going to be a full moon on that date.
BS: Well, that’ll be very, very meaningful.
RS: The moon will come up right around 7-ish, and as the sun sets, we’re going to have a full moon rising. So we’ll see the full moon, we’ll see the sunset out between Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i—and then we’ll have the full moon over the West Maui Mountains. It’s going to be a real chicken-skin moment.
BS: It’ll be really spectacular. Maybe it’ll give us all a feeling of new hope for our world, and new hope for Lahaina.
RS: Yes. Which is sorely needed. Very much needed. And again, we’ll be walking. We’ll be doing the walk.
BS: We can do that walk.
RS: Oh yeah. And for those who aren’t able to do the walk, we’re trying to figure out a way to get some golf carts so they can participate. It’s not going to be a huge crowd event from the standpoint of spectators, but more about the participants. I’m really looking forward to it.
BS: I am, too. It will be spectacular. I think more people than you can imagine are going to come out for it. A lot of them will be spectators—just because that’s how the world goes—but I think people will want to be there when it starts. Even more so, be there when it ends. Be there at Baby Beach. Be there for the sunset. Be there for the moonrise. Be there for everything.
RS: Yeah.
BS: Be there just to support whoever did it.
RS: I’m not sure if there’ll be a formal ceremony at the start or at the finish, but it’s really going to be more of a time to talk story with your neighbors, your friends—and to remember all those we need to remember, going back to the August 8th fire of 2023.
BS: It is the worst tragedy of all time. Roy and I were in Kapalua at the time, and I would have thought—from what we could see, which wasn’t a lot, but we could definitely see fires burning—I thought it was somewhere, I did, above Kāʻanapali. You thought it was closer to Lahaina, I think, at the time. But I remember feeling like it had to be a tragedy… that maybe a thousand people would pass away. And it wasn’t.
RS: It could have been.
BS: It could have been. 100 people are more—it’s a tragedy. It’s the worst tragedy I hope any of us are ever involved in. But I think that to honor and respect that—to come out for this, to have the candles go out—is really important. I didn’t even know there would be boats out there to pick up the candles.
RS: Yeah.
BS: I never knew that was happening.
RS: Yeah, and to be ecologically correct, you don’t want to just set candles adrift to float out and pollute the ocean.
BS: No—I just hadn’t thought about that.
RS: Yeah. So it’s going to be a well-planned, well-thought-out affair. And again, maybe it’s a cause to rally for—those displaced by the fire and those affected by the fire.
BS: And for those who passed.
RS: Yes.
BS: You know—some special prayers for them and their families, because the loss is unbelievable.
RS: You know, the PTSD continues. We have a friend who was affected by the fire—escaped as the fire was about two minutes away from his house. He went through a kind of healing process. Everything seemed to be back on a fairly even keel. And then the Los Angeles fires happened. Watching that on TV, he had pretty bad flashbacks to the Lahaina fire and went back into a kind of depressed state.
Fortunately, not as many people died in the L.A. fires as died in Lahaina—but still, PTSD affects a lot of people.
BS: Yeah, I’m sure it does. And it will continue to. I mean, anyone that lost somebody will never be over it. When you drive in and out of Lahaina and see the crosses that are there, it’s amazing.
RS: Yeah. They’re gradually opening up different areas of Lahaina so you can drive through.
BS: Front Street.
RS: Yeah. It’s not a matter of sightseeing, because there’s not a whole lot to sightsee except for what was there in the past. Big hats off to the Army Corps of Engineers—they’ve done a great job with clearing. The whole process continues now, with the first remains going to Olowalu, and then now being transferred from Olowalu over to the East Maui side of the island, to a new landfill area. So the healing process and the whole remediation effort continue.
BS: And be careful now. Be patient with whatever is going on. So far, we’ve been hearing that it’s going to slow traffic down more, but it doesn’t appear that it’s been that bad to me.
RS: No, but the transfer is going to start soon from Olowalu to East Maui.
BS: I thought it already started.
RS: Not quite.
BS: Okay, then.
RS: But it will. It brings up another topic that kind of really irritates us—the speeding that’s going on now.
BS: Oh, you know.
RS: It’s horrific. We’re living on a great island. Like our friend Guy Hagi says, “the best weather in the world.”
BS: The best weather in the world—Guy Hagi’s weather.
RS: Yeah. We’re living in the best place in the world. Let’s respect everybody else’s rights. If you’re in a 45-mile-an-hour zone, there’s no reason to be going 65 or 70.
BS: There’s no reason to go over 45 in the areas that are 45 miles an hour. If you get a ticket, you still got a ticket. You were speeding. But we’re seeing people going 65 or 70 in Lahaina.
RS: It’s a safety factor.
BS: Yes.
RS: And, you know—no need.
BS: No need.
RS: No need to speed.
BS: I mean, people are driving poorly. I haven’t been out after dark very often lately, but even later in the day, people are bumper to bumper. They’re sitting right on your bumper. There’s no way to safely move out of the way. I’m not going to start speeding just to let someone pass.
It’s really difficult to pull over sometimes. I think everybody’s got to become more patient. But if you just drive the speed limit, you’ll be okay. You’ll probably get there just as fast as if you go 60 or 70, then have to slow back down to 40. So I think—don’t speed.
RS: Safety is a big issue. So, no matter what you’re late for—unless it’s a dire emergency—obey the speed limit.
BS: And remember, if you don’t get there at all—ever—you were definitely speeding.
RS: Yeah.
BS: Whether you’ve been stopped and detained or caused a horrible accident—don’t do that. It could ruin the rest of your life. Please don’t do it.
RS: No.
BS: So drive the speed limit. Let’s all do it.
RS: So we’re actually in a real estate show
BS: We kind of forgot about real estate for a little while.
RS: Yeah—but we’re part of the community here, and we care. So, just our announcement.
BS: I’m glad we talked about it. We’ve been saying we were going to bring it up for the last couple of weeks, and we hadn’t done it. But I really do think it’s vitally important—for all of us. For whoever is listening—spread the word a little. Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it. None of us ever thinks it’ll be us that causes that accident. But people could die—or will die. It’s awful. Please don’t do it. Let’s all stop it.
RS: People have died.
BS: People have died. And it’s still happening. Anyway, maybe we can bring up a couple of properties here?
RS: How about real estate?
BS: We could do it. I was going to just mention Kapalua briefly. The market keeps pretty strong at Kapalua. Not perfect, possibly, but it’s good. The market is good, and I’m liking that a lot. But I think, all in all, the market can be a little sluggish. So let’s talk about some of the listings we’ve got here today.
RS: Yeah. First of all, we’re Coldwell Banker Island Properties. We’re based in Kapalua, but we have offices throughout Maui. We also have offices on the Big Island, Kauai, and now on Oʻahu. So if you’re living in West Maui but interested in Upcountry, come see us. We can direct you to one of the experts in Upcountry.
Or, if you’re in Wailea or Kīhei and looking to come over to West Maui or Kapalua, contact us. Come see us. Check out the listings at SakamotoProperties.com, courtesy of Meyer Computer. They do our website, and you can access all the listings on Maui there.
BS: I was looking as we were driving over today, and a couple of listings stood out. Kahana Manor has a listing—one bedroom, one bath—for $530,000. I think that’s a good deal.
RS: Yeah, that’s a good deal.
BS: It’s a great deal. You could live there forever. I don’t think they allow short-term rentals, so it’s probably long-term only. I’m not an expert on the property, but it really is one of those great places. And Dolly’s Pizza is right there—Dolly’s Pizza! We pick one up every so often, and that’s always great. $530,000, one bedroom, one bath, third floor. I think it’s really a good deal.
RS: Here’s something really rare on Maui—how about a home in Wailuku under $1,000,000? It’s listed at $895,000. You really can’t find residential property almost anywhere on Maui under a million dollars. But Juliette from our office has a listing at 610 Kailana St in Wailuku. It’s a two-bedroom, two-bath. It’s an older home, but it’s at a great price.
Listed at $895,000. It’s been on the market for less than two weeks. That’s 610 Kailana St in Wailuku. You can get all the info by going to our website—SakamotoProperties.com.
BS: There’s another one in Kahana, I think it’s interesting—a single-family home listed at $1,490,000. It’s been on the market for just five days: 3808 Lower Honoapiʻilani Road. It’s a single-family home, and I think it’s really worth taking a look at.
It’s on the southern edge of Kahana in a neighborhood known as Mahinahina Estates—just a short distance from almost everything you want or need.
It’s reminiscent of old Hawaiʻi. Charming three-bedroom, two-bath house—bright, light, and open. Newly constructed in 2023. It has a seamless indoor-outdoor floor plan, great lanais, and it’s definitely something to see.
The listing is with Mihaela Stoops from our office. She’s usually available, or you can call us and we’ll connect you with her. It’s a great time to talk about real estate and make decisions while the market is still on the lower end.
RS: Here’s another great buy—Hale Royale, unit A211. One-bedroom, two-bath, listed at $579,000. Hale Royale is a great development. Mostly owner-occupants, some long-term rentals. No vacation rentals, which is nice.
BS: It has everything.
RS: For $579,000, it’s brand new on the market—just listed a couple of days ago. Juliette from our office has the listing. Go to SakamotoProperties.com, search for Hale Royale A211. You’ll find all the details there. Or contact me at 808-870-7060, or Betty at 808-870-7062.
BS: We’ve been given the one-minute warning. I guess that’s enough talking for one day! It’s been a fun show. If you’re thinking about real estate, now is a great time to make a move.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: Or think about joining the upcoming event.
BS: And here’s Danny Couch—back with us.
RS: Final message: obey the speed limits.
BS: Please—save a life.
RS: We all love Hawaiʻi.
