Real Estate Blog

The Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger is on track to reveal its $25 million renovation soon, bringing new amenities and activities along with it.

The 496-room hotel, formerly the Holiday Inn Resort Waikiki Beachcomber, was rebranded in February under the Outrigger flag ahead of the extensive renovations. These include the hotel’s exterior, guest rooms, the pool deck, lobby, corridors and elevator as well as upgrades to in-room technology.

Room renovations are about halfway done and will be completed…

SamKoo Hawaii, whose Kapiolani Residence condominium is nearing completion, is getting ready to market units in its next mostly affordable project, The Central Ala Moana, and is holding three seminars this month for prospective buyers.

The developer is selling 310 units under state affordable guidelines for buyers making 80 percent to 140 percent of the area median income, representing 60 percent of the total 513 units. The project is planned for a site bordered by Kapiolani Boulevard, Kona and…

Houston-based Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE: STC) announced in a Nov. 2 press release that Patrick Beall will retire on Dec. 31.

Beall currently serves as one of Stewart’s two group presidents. He’s responsible for agency operations and mortgage service offerings, while David Fauth is the group president responsible for direct operations plus title and escrow fulfillment services.

Effective Jan. 1, Tara Smith will be promoted from executive vice president and agency services…

Houston-based nonprofit New Hope Housing Inc. will break ground on its first affordable housing project in southwest Houston before the end of the year, according to company president and CEO Joy Horak-Brown.

New Hope Dale Carnegie, a $28 million project, is funded from a mix of different sources, including $14 million in low income tax subsidies, $8.5 million from the city of Houston and $5.5 million from private fundraising.

This will be New Hope’s first new construction project since Hurricane…

A Spanish-style, 51,000-square-foot mansion in Rolling Hills, California, has been sold for $22.4 million, five years after its owner was unable to sell it at the listing price of $53 million.

The ocean-view home, known as Hacienda de la Paz, sits on 7.5 acres at the crest of Palos Verdes Peninsula and features nine bedrooms and 25 bathrooms.It is the 36th largest home ever built in the United States and the second largest home ever built in Los Angeles, according to listing agents.

The seller,…

The Zen-like estate at 6430 E. Mercer Way is on the market for $6.98 million.

Windermere brokers Anna Riley and Feng Hong have the listing for this waterfront manse, which belongs to a private family with homes across the globe.

The Mercer Island home totals 5,577 square feet, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It is on more than a half acre of lush grounds with 65 feet of waterfront and a dock that accommodates a large yacht.

“This is one of the most resort-style properties I have ever…

Oakland, California, firm says it eventually intends to hire more than 150 people once it finds suitable office space in the Phoenix area.

Real estate broker Tara King may not necessarily believe in ghosts, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t had to deal with a few when it came to selling a client’s home.

“There are a lot of agents who have had experiences with either clients who felt uncomfortable or they felt uncomfortable in a home,” she said.

A few times, things went way beyond strange feelings and chills up the spine.

There was a vacated home priced at $450,000, low enough to sell quickly given Denver’s hot market. Strangely, no buyers came forward, at least not until a vase containing the ashes of the owner’s wife, who had died in the home, was discovered and removed, King said.

The oddest case King, who works with HomeSmart Cherry Creek Properties, ran across involved a home in Denver where the seller had reported years of paranormal activities — pictures dropping off the walls, cabinets banging and doors opening by themselves.

The intermittent activity picked up when the family went to sell in 2016. A listing th..

LONE TREE — Stores that offer customers a unique experience are all the rage in the retail industry these days. It’s not just about what you buy, it’s how much you enjoy visiting the place where you buy it.

With that in mind, the experience offered by the 4,000-square-foot Amazon store that opens Thursday inside the Park Meadows mall is best described as the physical equivalent of walking into the Amazon.com homepage.

The first display table inside the door features a group of top-rated products that appear on many Amazon’s user’s online wish lists. They include Bob Woodward’s book about the Trump administration, “Fear,” and the card game Codenames.

Choices about the selection are based in part on sales figures, pre-orders and other data, but consumer preference plays a major role. It’s right in the store’s name. Amazon 4-star store sells items with an Amazon customer rating of four out of five stars or better, along with top sellers and items that are new and trending on the websi..

Colorado has the fourth-most expensive home listed for sale in the United States. But hurry, it may not be on the market much longer.

West Creek Ranch in the Utah border town of Gateway lists for a cool $149 million. The property includes a 22,000-square-foot main house built in 2001, two guest houses and several cabins on an expansive 6,919 acres.

Not enough? There is also helicopter pad, an observatory with a 10-inch telescope and even a bison herd. A resort nearby can accommodate dozens more guests. The surrounding land, which is mostly in Mesa County but stretches into Utah’s Grand County, has bears, mountain lions, dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs.

“The property has been on the market for a year. We are getting close to going under contract with a buyer. It could be gone by the end of the year,” said Kerry Endsley, an agent in Denver with LIV Sotheby’s International Realty, which has the listing.

The surrounding land is under a conservation easement, which will protect its pris..