Castle & Cooke Hawaii Generated Nearly $6M in Sales at Recent Auction for Property on Hawaiian Island of Lana'i, Proving Market for High-End, Second Homes Has Awakened

NEW YORK, NY, March 03, 2011 (Press-News.org) In an unprecedented event for the Hawaiian island of Lana'i and private, resort-like developments on the mainland, Accelerated Marketing Partners brought buyers off the sidelines last month at an auction for condominium residences at Castle & Cooke Hawaii's Manele Resort, demonstrating there still is a market for high-end, second homes. The sealed bid, Jan. 16 sale generated nearly $6 million in sales for five homes; the highest price paid was $1.55 million.

"Despite current challenges of the resort market in Hawaii and a consumer hesitancy to buy right now, the auction was a wonderful success for both us and our new homeowners," said Sue Murray, VP of sales and marketing for Island of Lana'i Properties, Manele Resort's principal broker. "Throughout the accelerated marketing program, we received over 7,500 unique visitors to our auction website and the selling prices we achieved were about 80% of the most recent sale we had in the Palms at Manele development last year. While buyers were able to get a great deal for premier, island real estate, Castle & Cooke was also able to recoup a significant part of their capital."

Now, Island of Lana'i Properties has launched post-auction conventional sales with a limited inventory of residences at price levels never offered previously. The properties being offered are:

Upcountry Ko'ele
• The Pines at Ko'ele: Six two- to four-bedroom, 2.5 to 3.5 bath, single-family, detached condominium homes that feature expansive great rooms, gourmet kitchens, indoor/outdoor gas fireplaces, and attached garages. The Pines boast mountain and valley views of the highlands, and overlook The Experience at Ko'ele golf course. All six homes range in size from 1,630 sq. ft. to 2,166 sq. ft. and start at an incredible price of $489,000.

"The auction results speak for themselves," said Bruce Barrett, executive vice president for Caste & Cooke Hawaii. "However, central to our success was the fact that we were able to get numerous potential bidders pre-qualified through a program with Wells Fargo's Private Mortgage Banking Group. There hasn't been much liquidity over the past two years, which has made second-home purchases extremely difficult, even for financially fit individuals. This sale freed up some financing, allowing things to start moving again."

"This project was a very challenging one," said Ken Stevens, co-founder and West Coast CEO of Accelerated Marketing Partners. "The ease of access to Maui versus Lana'i, along with significant travel delays due to inclement weather throughout the Continental U.S. during our prime marketing period, presented us with large obstacles to overcome. But thanks to the truly world-class experience that Manele Resort offers, as well as our campaign's wide reach, we were able to produce more than 100 site visits and reignite interest in the property, which continues to come into the sales office in these weeks following the sale."

"The auction's results exceeded our expectations," said Harry Saunders, president of Castle & Cooke Hawaii. "We chose Accelerated Marketing Partners because of their proven experience with high-end resorts and of our Northern California Division's previous experience with them on a successful auction for Saddle Creek Resort Community in California's Sierra Foothills. I wouldn't hesitate to conduct a future accelerated marketing program for one of my other investments, if both the economy and local market warrants it."

Known as the ultimate second home and vacation retreat, Lana'i City is just a 25-minute plane ride from Honolulu or a 45-minute ferry ride from Maui. The quaint town offers traditional island living, but Castle & Cooke residents also enjoy the best in resort-style amenities, including state-of-the-art recreation facilities and full-service spas. The oceanside Four Seasons Resort Lana'i at Manele Bay and the upcountry Four Seasons Resort Lodge at Ko'ele also bring an array of activities, including award-winning dining, Jack Nicklaus' Challenge at Manele and Greg Norman's Experience at Koele golf courses and more.

For information on Lanai Resort Properties, please call (800) 505-2624 or visit http://www.lanailuxuryhomes.com.

Castle & Cooke Hawaii
Castle & Cooke Hawaii, a division of Castle & Cooke, Inc. was founded in 1851 and is one of the nation's oldest and most respected companies that has provided for the needs of Hawai'i. Since 1968 its residential real estate operations in Hawai'i headed by Castle & Cooke Homes Hawai'i, Inc., has been the premier developer of master-planned communities and builder of quality, fee simple homes. Castle & Cooke's flagship master-planned community, Mililani, was completed in 2008 and is now home to more than 50,000 residents in more than 16,000 homes. Current real estate developments include the Villages of Kapolei and the future community of Koa Ridge. Castle & Cooke Resorts, LLC is the resort community development division of Castle & Cooke. The Company owns approximately 98 percent of the Island of Lana'i and has developed luxury hotels, such as the Four Seasons Resort Lana'i, The Lodge at Koele and the Four Seasons Resort Lana'i at Manele Bay, as well as championship golf courses and luxury residential communities. castlecookehawaii.com

Accelerated Marketing Partners (AMP)
Accelerated Marketing Partners, a full-service residential real estate firm with offices in Boston and Danville, Calif., specializes in the development and implementation of both accelerated and conventional marketing and sales programs. The company has brought together the industry's most seasoned professionals with decades of experience providing strategic marketing solutions for residential real estate developments nationwide. Accelerated Marketing Partners offers comprehensive integrated services including detailed marketing analysis, management of on-site sales initiatives and accelerated marketing campaign development and implementation. Accelerated Marketing Partners is comprised of Accelerated Marketing Partners, LLC, the firm's east coast division; and Accelerated Marketing Group, Builder Marketing Services, LLC, the firm's west coast division. http://www.acceleratedmp.com.
Property Disclaimers: This material does not constitute an offering in any state where the offering is not registered as required by law. .In reference to The Palms at Manele and The Pines at Koele, refer to the Condominium Public Report(s) for details and specifications; these projects are registered only in Hawaii. Island of Lana'i Properties is the exclusive broker for Castle & Cooke Resorts, LLC and Lanai Developers, LLC.