Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ana looks to be taking a more northerly route than predicted.  It is also becoming stronger.  It is expected to be closest to Kauai on Sunday morning.   Reside Kauai team wishes residents and visitors to stay safe.

Jack Suyderhoud, a UH Business Professor and Economic Adviser to First Hawaiian Bank, outlined some interesting statistics on Kauai's economy in a recent article posted by Pacific Business News.

• Single-Family homes and Condo sales have been on the rise for the past four years and will continue to be strong throughout 2014.

• Single-family housing permits are on the rise.

• Compared to 2013, the first six months of 2014 saw a reduction in the growth of tourism by 1.5 percent.

• Average Daily Visitor Spending is $175. Comparatively, Maui is at $190 and O'ahu is at $196. Though, Suyderhoud suggests that Kauai has a greater proportion of non-hotel accommodations whose visitors tend to spend less.

• Flights to Kauai is up due to more non-stop flight offerings from airlines.

• Cropland agriculture has dropped by 50% from 1982 to 2007 due to the fall of sugar and pineapple.

• "Jobs on Kauai have grown to more than 2,500 more since the low point in 2010."

• Unemployment is at 5.4% as of June.

• Kauai Island Utility Cooperative's customer base is growing and the investment in renewable energy such as solar and biomass will lower consumer costs. Click here to view Reside Kauai's recent article on KIUC's renewable energy projects.

Pacific Business News' Bill Cresenzo reported a double digit rise in the price of homes on Kauai for the month of September.  Comparing the prices from September 2013 and 2014, Cresenzo reports a 14% rise in prices with the median in 2013 at $490k and $560 in 2014.  The number of sales stayed the same at 39 homes.

Click here to see a breakdown of the August statistics in Reside Kauai's previous post.

Forbes reports that Zuckerberg has bought the property next to the piece he just acquired for $49.8 milllion.  Known as Pila'a Beach, the property was owned by Jim Pflueger.  Zuckerberg now owns 700 acres of Kauai's north shore real estate. It has been said that Zuckerburg does not intend to develop the property extensively. Reside Kauai will post regular updates as we receive them.

See earlier Reside Kauai blog article regarding the Kahu'aina Estate.