For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most expensive zip codes in the United States, up today, 96816 . This zip code is the only one we will feature outside of the continental 48 states, it is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This particular area with plenty of waterfront property has a median price of $2,090,000 and an appreciation rate of 250% since 1990.

Hawaii is an expensive place to live but views like the ones from this home are part of the reason people are willing to spend the money. Today's home is in the Kahala neighborhood which we have covered before in estate of the days because it is a particularly lovely place to live. This home is a 2004 restoration and remodel of a past celebrity-owned residence. The home has prized Koa wood trim and Ohia flooring and a dramatic rock fireplace. The most alluring part of this home are the glass walls facing the dramatic ocean vistas. The home has only two bedrooms but over 4,000 square feet of space including one of the most fantastic views from a bathtub I have ever seen. This home is listed at $10.8 million.

This home in Kaanapali on Maui, Hawaii makes excellent use of just under an acre of space. Thehome itself is over 11,000 square feet with double master suites and six additional guest suites. It also has a media room, library and separate caretaker's quarters. There is also a pool, jacuzzi, yoga pavilion and an exercise room.This home is listed at $23.8 million which seems a bit high, even with the location.

People pay money for water every day, even though it's free in the majority of places on Earth. So if we're already paying for it, why not pay a lot for it, right? Well that's apparently the philosophy of the Japanese, who for a while now have been making big business of buying very expensive desalinated seawater concentrate from off the coasts of Hawaii. Called Kona Nigari, it sells for $33.50 per two-ounce bottle of concentrate and is meant to be diluted in a bottle of regular water (add $1.99 to the bill). It's credited with aiding weight loss, stress reduction, skin tone, and digestion. And apparently this Hawaiian seawater is special -- people pay more for the Kona Nigari than for similar concentrates from waters closer to Japan.

Via Lussorian

This home is a chance to experience a more private side of Hawaii. This home on Kauai is on over five acres of beautiful land and has a private gated path to Secret Beach. The home has ocean vistas with views of the Historic Lighthouse and Bali Hai. The four-bedroom home also has a pool and spa. The home is charming enough but the vista and the natural environment is the selling point. It is listed at $6.15 million. After the jump, ocean views from nearly every angle.

The claim that Kai Vodka is the first lychee vodka might be a bit of a stretch, but the new line from Hawaii businessman and restaurateur Marcus Bender is the first one that is rice-based. Kai Vodka is made in Vietnam and comes in both standard and lychee flavors. The rice-based beverage is not sake because although both are rice based, sake is brewed, while vodka is distilled. According to an article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Kai vodkas is made from Yellow Blossom Rice which is grown only in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is pot-distilled and transferred to a column-still where it is redistilled twice. The 750 milliliter bottle is under $30 and the brand is making its debut in Hawaii in June before extending out to the rest of the United States.

We are back to Hawaii today for a look at a new resort condo project on Kauai. Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach will be the first major oceanfront real estate development in Kauai since 1990. Koloa Landing will be home to 323 upscale resort condominiums from 1,000 to 2,800 square feet. The units will have private lanais, natural wood finishes, stone and wood flooring and glass patio doors. They will also have complete kitchens with top-of-the-line appliances, baths with two-person soaker tubs and owner's storage and in-suite laundry areas. On the grounds there will be four lagoon-type pools with rock islands, waterfalls, swim through grotto/cave and a waterslide. To add to the resort feel a full service spa and fitness center, as well as rental management and housekeeping services are planned. Construction is scheduled to begin September 2007 with anticipated completion of the first phase in 2009. Pre-sale reservations begin in July.

Forget impersonal warehouses and un-climate controlled, bunker-like buildings as options for storing your stuff if you live in Hawaii. Some of the newer self-storage businesses keep their facilities looking like small resort hotels in order to blend in to the upscale neighborhoods that are developing all over the islands. In addition to looking the part - "Hawaii Self Storage recently spent $250,000 to install a clock tower and Hawaiian mosaics" - they are loading up with amenities, like free Wifi, business centers, "dehumidification technology" and loads of personal attention.

The reason for the buildup is that the self storage market in Hawaii is huge. Compact luxury condos and homes leave vacationers and permanent residents alike with no place to store their kayaks and jet skis, in addition to the businesses and other private individuals who rent space for everything from old files to surplus furniture. Rental space in Hawaii is already more than three times the national average and with space in demand, the companies decided that luxury services were the best way to set themselves apart from the competition.

Yearning to make your getaway to Hawaii permanent? One way to do it and perhaps have your own business in the process would be to purchase the the Waiulaula Estate on the Kohola Coast of the big island of Hawaii. The sumptuous home has been rented out to vacationers and even has its own Flash-heavy website to tempt travelers. The home was built by the heiress to the Matson shipping empire, Lurline Matson Roth, and designed by architect Joseph Eshernick with plenty of large windows facing the idyllic view. The five-suite home also has caretakers quarters, ample outdoor space and an enviable spot on a promontory within the Mauna Kea Beach Resort on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The resort offers golf, tennis, fine dining and other amenities. The home is listed at $35 million. After the jump, once you are here could you bear to let anyone else stay here?

A few months ago I mentioned the fact that a home built on Henry J. Kaiser's land in Honolulu was up for sale but we didn't take a look at it. Let's do that now, since with this cold weather, I could use a dose of island breezes. The home is located in the Portlock neighborhood and has views of Maunalua Bay and Diamond Head. It wasn't around in Kaiser's time, the new home was built in 2005. It has four bedrooms suites on two levels. The home is surrounded by reflecting pools and courtyards for enjoying the relaxed pace of island life. The living room opens to a large lanai with plenty of room for lounging and the dining room borders a reflecting pond and an infinity-edge pool with a spa. The master wing opens to a garden with a spa and there is a private lap pool as well as a gym and massage rooms. It is listed at $20 million. After the jump, a home that brings the outside in.

When you start with a gorgeous vista like this, there's no need to gild the lily with flowery words. This home is located on the Anini Vista peninsula on Hawaii and has perhaps the best pool I have seen on a Hawaiian property. The home has amazing views, a large area for entertaining and simple straightforward lines. The home is a newer construction built in 2001. The home is just over 5,000 square feet and has three bedrooms. It is listed at $9,950,000. After the jump, follow Buddha to nirvana.

From the NY TImes Bg Deal:
-- Earl Simmons, the rap performer and actor known as DMX, paid $750,000 in cash to buy a vacant 18-foot-wide brownstone in Harlem in 2001 and he is now putting it on the market for $1.9 million. The rapper went through a series of struggles with the house including being sued by an electrician. The IRS also put liens on his properties and so DMX is definitely a motivated seller.
--Soprano Anna Moffo's apartment has sold for $4.45 million.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Harry Belafonte's 17-room apartment was sold to philanthropist/entertainment heiress Abigail Disney and her husband, Pierre Hauser.
--Tory Kiam,son of the late Victor Kiam, the one-time owner of the New England Patriots haspaid $24 million for a five-bedroom place on Fifth Ave., Eve Weinstein, the ex-wife of Harvey Weinstein also recently bought into the same building for $10.4 million.
-- Twiggy is picking up a one bedroom in the Westmore for around $739,000.
--Looks like Ralph Lauren won't be buying East Hampton Point after all.
--Edgar Bronfman Jr. has found buyers for two of his three Amagansett properties, selling a five-bedroom home for $4.74 million and an adjacent vacant 1.2-acre for just over $3 million.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Blogging venture capitalist Fred Wilson is selling his 55-foot-wide townhouse which had an asking price of $37.5 million.
--Another story on Abigail Disney. She has sold her newly renovated townhouse on Central Park West at 85th Street to Coach C.O.O. and co-president Keith Monda for $15.5 million.
--John Sutter, publisher of downtown community newspapers The Villager, Gay City News and Downtown Express has sold his Tribeca loft for $7,355,000.

From Forbes Movers and Shakers:
--Westwood One founder Norman Pattiz has sold his Beverly Hills estate for just under $20 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property (all Hawaii issue):
--"Lost" actor Daniel Dae Kim has paid about $1.5 million for a home on Oahu.
--Cameron Diaz and singer Justin Timberlake have also bought a beachfront estate on Oahu for close to its $16.9-million asking price.
--David Geffen had two oceanfront lots for sale on Kahala Avenue in Honolulu one which was offered at $40 million and a smaller lot which was listed at $13.5 million. A computer company just purchased the larger site for $35 million.
--A home built on part of the former estate of Henry Kaiser, the steel magnate, is on the market at $20.5 million.
--Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley's Hawaii beachfront home is still on the market.
--Earlier this year,John Travolta and Kelly Preston sold their oceanfront Oahu home to model Kathy Ireland for about $3 million.
--A Oahu compound belonging to Maurice J. Sullivan, founder of the Foodland grocery stores is listed at $29 million. The listing is here.
--Rumor has it that Bill Gates is building on Oahu and already has purchased the site.

Honua Kai is a new whole ownership beachfront property being created on Maui's Ka'anapali Beach. The beachfront location will include a spa, room-service, pools and water features. The spa will crown Konea, the final condominium tower at Honua Kai. The spa will have tropical native healing gardens, private treatment pavilions, locally inspired products and therapeutic rituals. The condos are studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums with open floorplans. Additional amenities include pools, waterfalls, a beachfront boardwalk, the spa and the recently announced Duke's Maui beachside restaurant. Completion is scheduled for late 2009. Prices start at $665,000 for a studio and go up to $5.6 million for a three bedroom. Pricey but alas there is only so much beachfront to go around.

This beautiful property in Honolulu, Hawaii dispenses with restraint in favor of over-the-top luxury. The home is Mediterranean on the outside and pure Liberace-style fantasy inside with marble everywhere, heavy crystal chandeliers and extravagantly heavy draperies around the huge windows that face the sea. The home was sold for $9.4 million back in 2001 (the asking price then was $12 million) and was built in 1996 by TV producer Al Masini. The home has more than 9,000 square-feet of indoor living space, another nearly 6,000 square feet of roofed outdoor space and a pool with lava rock waterfall. This time the three-bedroom home is listed at $15 million.

Can one color work in a whole house? We've seen white walls, and houses done in complementary tones but this expansive estate at Honomakau, North Kohala on the island of Hawaii takes one striking terracotta color and uses it to great effect in the kitchen, the hall and even in a bedroom that currently home to a fantastic gilded bed. The six-bedroom ome has an ideal location, 20 acres with ocean views set on a rocky cliff above a private beach cove. The home is located in a gated community and has a private elevator, four-car garage, fitness center and an outdoor hot tub with a fabulous view. The home is listed at $19 million. After the jump, it's just peachy.

This estate is named Paliakamoa which means "spirit of the cliff by the sea." An apt name for this little slice of Hawaiian paradise. This three bedroom home is located on the Kohala coast. It has three floors and more than 11,000 square feet of space. The six-bedroom home has several lanais so that maximum time can be spent outside. The grounds include a swimming pool, tennis courts and two-story guest home. Most amazingly it has over 25 acres of prime real estate. This home is listed at $25 million. After the jump, the settee of the gods.