Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of Ron & Alexandra Seigel of Napa Consultants, International

Hawaii knows 'Luxury'.  Luxury Real Estate members Patricia Choi of Choi International, Patricia Case of Case Properties, International, and Sachi Braden of Sachi Hawaii were all interviewed for an article extolling the riches and appeal of Hawaii's island of Oahu.

“Many people associate luxury real estate with the extravagant lifestyles of the rich and famous, with conspicuous consumption, creature comforts and sheer opulence. Although, this side of luxury can definitely be found on the Hawaiian Islands, there is a deeper, transcendent story of affluence to be discovered here. It can be found in the richness of cultural diversity that is honored and championed on the Islands combined with a true sense of community, sharing and giving that is expressed in the Aloha spirit.”

The article in its entirety is on the Napa Consultants, International blog ‘Language of Luxury’.

Courtesy of Gwen Inzer of Choi International

Now more than ever, it's time to recognize those outstanding sales professionals who, through determination and hard work, achieved incredible results in 2009.

The Wall Street Journal and REAL Trends, Inc. are pleased to announce the 2010 Top 400 Real Estate Professionals.

Patricia Choi of Choi International has been ranked #35 in the Top 100 Agents by Sales Volume category with $70,082,950.

During the 27+ years that she has been involved in real estate sales, Patricia has distinguished herself as a leader in regional, national and international real estate organizations. Locally, she was the first recipient of the Aloha 'Aina Real Estate Award as the Realtor's Choice in 1998 for her service to the industry and clients, her professional and ethical conduct, her cooperative business approaches and extraordinary service to all in transactions. She was appointed by the Governor in 1999 to the Real Estate Commission of the State of Hawaii, to which she devoted part of her time as a public service until 2003.

For more information on Patricia Choi please click here

The final rankings were published this morning in The Wall Street Journal Online. Click here for more details

Posted by Courtney Jackson Mon, 26 Jul 2010

We are honored to announce that the Fall 2010 Luxury Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Patricia Choi of Choi International in Honolulu , Hawaii .

This prestigious award is given twice annually to the Luxury Real Estate member who has set an example for the real estate industry, displayed excellence throughout their career and is truly a legend.

Patricia Choi was born in Birmingham, Alabama and moved to Hawaii in 1975 to be an estate, tax and real estate paralegal with the law firm of Torkildson, Katz, Conahan & Loden. There she met her husband, Cedric Choi, who was an associate attorney and licensed real estate agent. In 1981 she started her "boutique" real estate firm, specializing in luxury real estate and commercial properties. During the 32 years that she has been involved in real estate sales, Patricia has achieved over One Billion in sales and has distinguished herself as a leader in regional, national and international real estate organizations.

 Locally, she was the first recipient of the Aloha 'Aina Real Estate Award as the Realtor's Choice in 1998 for her service to the industry and clients, her professional and ethical conduct, her cooperative business approaches and extraordinary service to all in transactions. She was appointed by the Governor in 1999 to the Real Estate Commission of the State of Hawaii, to which she devoted part of her time as a public service until 2003. Patricia is also very active as a director and volunteer fund raiser for various charitable institutions such as the Kapiolani Hospital for Women & Children’s capital campaign committee and the Washington Place Foundation for the restoration of the Governor's mansion. Patricia has achieved the coveted designation of CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member), held by less than 10,000 of the 1,118,000 realtors in the nation and the international real estate designation of CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist). She has served on the National Association of Realtors International Operations Committee and received an award as the Outstanding International Reciprocal Director to Korea for 2000. Her outstanding performance as a luxury broker has led to her selection as a Board of Regents member for LuxuryRealEstate.com, an exclusive organization of over 800 of the world’s top brokers. In 2006, Patricia was nominated by her peers to be a member of the Board of Regents Executive Committee, which serves as a council and advocate for other Regents members and works to promote as well as expand the Regents program. Pat is also a member of the LuxuryRealEstate.com Billionaire’s Club, in recognition for her outstanding sales achievements. Additionally, Patricia is proud to be a founding member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a member of LuxuryPortfolio.com and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. With over $200,000,000 in sales in 2005, Patricia was ranked #3 of the Top 200 Brokers in the U.S. and recognized as one of the 35 Most Influential People in Luxury Real Estate. Hawaii Business Magazine's prestigious list of "Who's Who in Hawaii Real Estate" recognized Patricia for three successive years as the #1 Realtor in the State of Hawaii, and recently honored her as Oahu’s #1 Realtor for 2009. Patricia has also been honored as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Women in Real Estate" for 2008 by renown real estate trends expert and best selling author Stefan Swanepoel. Patricia has been the leader in luxury residential sales in Honolulu by dollar volume for the years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and into 2010.

For more information on Choi Realty, please visit www.choi-realty.com. For more information on the 15th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference, visit http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/lounge/events.

Courtesy of Gwen Inzer of Choi International

 Patricia Choi was ranked Honolulu's #1 Realtor for 2009 by Hawaii Business Magazine who recently sponsored the 2010 Top Realtor Award Event at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki where Choi also served on a discussion panel. This is the 14th successive year that she has been Honolulu's #1 Realtor.

Please click here to view the original article

By Cedric Choi

SEPTEMBER 2008 STATISTICS FOR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES – HONOLULU, HAWAII
Honolulu Board of REALTORS’® Monthly Statistical Report for September 2008 (released October 1, 2008). Each month, the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® issues a statistical report analyzing residential real estate activity on the island of Oahu. In addition to the general island-wide statistics, following is information for select individual neighborhoods:

Waialae/Kahala – See page 8 of Monthly Statistical Report
The statistics for this month are significantly different from last month, it is amazing! Comparing September 2007 to September 2008, the median price for a home in 2008 was down 33.3% (the same comparison for August 2007 and August 2008 showed the median price was up 37.8%). For the year-to-date statistics for January through September of 2007 versus January through September 2008, the median price for the neighborhood was up 7%.

Diamond Head – See page 8 of Monthly Statistical Report
The statistics are not specific (as provided by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®), since the Diamond Head area (a high-end neighborhood) is mixed into the Kapahulu area (a moderately priced neighborhood). For the Kapahulu-Diamond Head area, the median price decreased by 3.3% compared to the same month in 2007. For the year-to-date (January through September of 2007 compared to 2008), the median price decreased by 3.3%.

Kailua-Waimanalo – See page 8 of Monthly Statistical Report
September 2007 compared to September 2008 had a -14.1% increase in the median price. Comparing January through September 2007 and the same period in 2008 shows a decrease of 4.9% in the median price. 



Other Specific Neighborhoods – There is no substitute for market information from people who are qualified and who know your market. The best way to view a specific neighborhood is to have your agent prepare and review a Comparative Market Analysis with you. For example, the MLS service permits us to do searches within very discrete Oahu neighborhoods, including Kahala/Black Point, Diamond Head, Ala Moana/Kaka’ako, Waikiki/Gold Coast, Hawaii Kai/Portlock, Hawaii Loa Ridge, Kailua/Lanikai and the North Shore.

It has been our experience that the neighborhoods that we concentrate on are less volatile than the market as a whole, which is down about 10%. Part of that involves the worldwide demand for spectacular luxury properties in outstanding locations.

Relative to the overall Oahu market, according to Harvey Shapiro, the Research Economist for the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®, “It appears that the Oahu housing market is reacting to the economic crisis that has been affecting financial markets worldwide.”


Editor’s Note:
Cedric Choi is the Vice President and Administrative Manager of Choi International, a member of the Luxury Real Estate Board of Regents. As a practicing attorney for more than 25 years, Mr. Choi has principally concentrated in areas involving commercial matters. Very interesting blog entry. Every one I post on the Luxury Real Estate Blog seems completely distinct in both tone and voice from every other. You can see similarities and fun little patterns when you read one person’s blog entries over a period of time, but it’s also fun to get a breadth of styles and information from a bunch of different sources, as well. Be sure to visit www.ChoiRealty.com for more resources on buying a luxury home in Hawaii.