More than 2,000 acres of farmland in Kau, the southernmost tip of Hawaii Island, is up for sale in fee simple plots totaling a projected $17.4 million in sales, according to Hawaii Life.
Denise Nakanishi, Daniel Krause and Kealohaunui Browning of Team Nakanishi, which is part of Hawaii Life, represent the land's owner, Kau Mahi LLC.
The lots range in size from 5 acres to just under 400 acres, Krause said. Kau Mahi LLC worked to adjust lot lines for sale to align with existing farms already licensed to farmers, Nakanishi explained.
About 90% of farmers already leasing on the property bought their land, he said. The USDA Farm Service Agency and American AgCredit worked with farmers to help them get loans that were 0% down for 30 years in many cases, he said.
"A big takeaway is this is the first time in my 33 years of selling real estate I've seen a corporate entity try to help the local farmers like they did," Nakanishi said.
Of the 73 lots originally up for sale, just six remain, Krause said. Those lots include three active coffee lots ranging from 15 to 18 acres and several larger lots with 172, 220, and 392 acres, he said.
"You can grow just about anything there," Nakanishi said. "Coffee just happens to love it there."
In cases where a buyer purchases land where an existing farmer is currently operating, the buyer has to honor that license, which is usually for about eight years, she said.
"But that new buyer can carve out a half an acre on that farm to put a house on it, if they want to, or wherever they want to do with it," Nakanishi said.
Historically, the land now listed for sale was part of the Kau Sugar Co., which later changed its name to Kau Agribusiness Company and produced sugar and macadamia nuts, Nakanishi explained in a follow-up email. In 1996, the sugarcane operations shut down, she said.
Many of the original roads from the plantation have been paved by Kau Mahi LLC and now at least 90% or more of the properties are accessible via a paved road, she said.
To read more about some of the listings, go to hawaiianrealtyhomes.com/Moaula.
