Ritz-Carlton event sells $176M in condo units

Some 87 percent of its new units are sold in a single day

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S&P Destination Properties, the company that set a world sales record when it sold out Trump International Hotel & Tower in 2006, has proved that there is still more demand in Hawaii for uber-luxury resort products.

On Saturday the company sold $176 million worth of residential suites at a daylong sales event at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. Buyers, 40 percent of them from international markets, paid an average of $1.9 million to scoop up 87 percent of the units in the project's first release. One Japanese buyer paid $6.4 million, a regional record, for the project's presidential suite.

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The strength of the luxury end of Hawaii's residential market was apparent Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua when buyers scooped up $176 million worth of luxury residential suites.

During the daylong event, 87 percent of the inventory -- 93 of the 107 one- and two-bedroom whole-ownership suites -- were sold at an average price of $1.9 million. Suites, which are located within a wing of the newly transformed Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, range in price from $895,000 to $6.4 million.

S&P Destination Properties, which set a world record in the resort and luxury real estate business when it sold out Trump International Hotel & Tower in Waikiki in 2006, was in charge of the sale. During Saturday's event a Japanese buyer purchased the presidential suite at the complex for $6.4 million, a record price for the area. About 40 percent of the buyers came from Japan, Western Canada and Europe.

While location is often the biggest driver of demand for residential real estate, pairing it with a well-known brand will attract more buyers, especially from the international markets, said Scott Higashi, executive vice president of sales for Prudential Locations LLC.

"I thought the pace of their Trump sale was impressive, and this is, too," Higashi said, adding that some buyers who missed out during the frenzy of the Trump sale might have been attracted to the Ritz-Carlton product, which is similar in nature. The fee-simple owners have access to full hotel amenities and can utilize a hotel rental pool to offset their investment.

Both Trump and Ritz-Carlton have a powerful brand name that is attractive to luxury buyers and gives international buyers more confidence, Higashi said.

"The Ritz-Carlton brand is one of the best in the world," said Sid Landolt, president of S&P Destination Properties. "Our success with the Residential Suites at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua confirms that properly designed and positioned real estate in world-class locations will always have strong market appeal."

The marketing of the Ritz-Carlton Residential Suites, Kapalua, coincides with a $160 million transformation of its host hotel, which is owned by a Gencom Group-led partnership. Founded in 1987 by Karim Alibhai, Gencom currently has seven properties developed or under development in conjunction with Ritz-Carlton.

Luxury markets across Hawaii could see some spillover as a result of the success of the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua project, Higashi said.

"This is the kind of project that generates a brief-stay phenomenon," Higashi said. "Buyers come here, end up enjoying it and decide to purchase something less transient as well. It's not unusual for these folks to own multiple properties in multiple places."