“I wonder where a good place to buy a second home is?”

Anyone who shares this thought may enjoy what I have to tell you. I was out on a caravan the other day previewing condo’s and a few homes. Every Wednesday Kauai has a caravan somewhere on the island. This one happened to be in Princeville on the North shore. We all have lunch at the last home on the tour which is provided by the sponsor for the caravan. ( The sponsor for this one was Old Republic Title and Escrow, great company by the way.)

A small group of us gathered on the back lanai overlooking the golf course of this magnificent home. All of us were talking about what we had just seen that day, and the current market condition. “Did you see Barron’s magazine this week?”, one of the realtors said. “They printed the list of the 20 best places to buy a second home, and Kauai is number 2!” You could here a pin drop. Everyone stopped talking and turned their heads towards the realtor. All in sync the group says, “Excuse me, what did you just say?” Then like a bunch or greedy gamblers we all said, “Who is number 1?”

Living here, I know how amazing Kauai is, but what a feeling to know it’s the #2 place to buy a second home in all the United States. The mood took an upward climb as all of us began smiling and talking about what we love about Kauai. If you are not native to Kauai you most likely have an interesting story about how you ended up here. The stories were not brought up during our talk, but I bet most left the lunch thinking about how they got here and how happy they are to be here. I for one have only been here 6 months and if you want to hear my story you can read my other blog posts (Moving to Hawaii Part 1 and Part 2).

Barron’s is on point with their ratings. Kauai truly is one of the best places to live. I was once told, “Even paradise will start to feel normal after a few weeks of living there.” I still pinch myself when I wake up in the morning, and look out my window at the lush green mountains and bright blue sky. Far way from busy streets, fast food chains, and tall buildings sits Kauai, a tiny jewel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

In the past 30 days Kauai realtors have sold 66 properties and 86 have gone contingent. Barron’s states in the article that the median price for 2010 was $680,000 and in 2011 it went up to $758,000. We have hit the bottom so you better jump aboard for the ride back to the top. If you have been here before or have thought about buying a second home look no further than Kauai. We have all you need packed into 552 square miles of mountains, jungles, beaches, and beautiful properties for everyone.

The next time someone asks, “I wonder where a good place to buy a second home is” you can say, “Barron’s magazine says Kauai!

Visit me at www.joegill.hawaiimoves.com