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The Condition of Vog on the Island of Hawaii

By
Real Estate Agent with Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker DRE #00697006

One of the decisions we had to make when we decided to buy a vacation home in Hawaii was not only what island but what side of the island. There is a lot to be said for living on the eastern side of Big Island, a lot more lush vegetation, but it also has an active volcano. Getting insurance for a home is very expensive in Puna. Which is why home prices are so much less.

Ultimately, though, for me it came down to the coqui. Too loud. Amazing how such tiny things can produce such loud sounds.

That doesn't mean living in Kailua-Kona has no downside. We still get vog. It usually lasts only a day or two and the winds carry it away. But islanders on Big Island have had heavy vog carried over to Kailua-Kona for the past month, and it's not letting up. The difference is literally almost night and day.

Of course, this is nothing when compared to the all of the displaced residents from the Puna District who have lost their homes to lava. If you want to make a donation to help provide disaster assistance, I suggest the nonprofit: Hawaii Food Basket.

You can read more, learn some facts about volcanoes and see the photographs of vog vs no vog in my personal blog today at this link: What a Difference: Vog vs No Vog on Hawaii Island.

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Elizabeth Weintraub is co-partner of Weintraub & Wallace Team of Top Producing Realtors, an author, home buying expert at The Balance, a Land Park resident, and a veteran real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown, Carmichael and East Sacramento, as well as tract homes in Elk Grove, Natomas, Roseville and Lincoln. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put our combined 80 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold. DRE License # 00697006.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice; it could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.

Comments (15)

Dave Halpern
Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY
Louisville Short Sale Expert

I had to look up "Coqui" and "vog". New vocabulary words for me, but for the residents, they have to deal with it every day.

Jun 03, 2018 12:13 PM
MichelleCherie Carr Crowe .Just Call. 408-252-8900
Get Results Team...Just Call (408) 252-8900! . DRE #00901962 . Licensed to Sell since 1985 . Altas Realty - San Jose, CA
Family Helping Families Buy & Sell Homes 40+ Years

Thank you for sharing this perspective on vog and Hawaii.

Jun 03, 2018 01:57 PM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

I've been thinking about you and your vacation home when I hear about this erruption.  I am glad you are safe.  Horrible to think of people being displaced from their primary residence.

Jun 03, 2018 02:14 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Dave Halpern Oh, sorry, coqui are those horrible little frogs that chirp and trill all night long.

Jun 03, 2018 03:51 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Michelle Carr-Crowe-Top 1% Diamond Certified Real Estate Team Sells Cupertino San Jose Homes-Just Call 408-252-8900 I was a bit shocked when I got off the plane and realized I could not see the ocean. That's never happened before.

Jun 03, 2018 03:52 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Chris Ann Cleland Many of those displaced are more accepting than I probably would be. The last volcano eruption that destroyed stuff was in 1960. It is something you expect will happen at some point. When we bought on Big Island, I looked at all the maps of lava flow and made sure I minimized that risk but not everybody has that luxury. They have families, grew up here and feel part of the aina.

Jun 03, 2018 03:54 PM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

I've been reading about vog all week Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Real Estate Agent, Top 1% of Lyon Agents and wearing a gas mask as you have pictured could save your life. I had never thought about how toxic it was until reading about it this week.

Jun 03, 2018 04:42 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Elizabeth- I knew you were headed back to Hawaii and was hoping that we would get a report from you about this!  That first picture looks like the kind of air day when I would have to stay inside. 

Jun 03, 2018 07:27 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Bob "RealMan" Timm We always get a little bit of vog in Kailua-Kona because of Kilauea. It's been erupting and throwing out lava for decades. I read the last time it buried Kapoho was in 1955, and the vog existed for 88 days straight. This has barely been a month so far. I fear it will damage the tourism. Every day the cruise ship does not come takes away an estimated $175,000 from local businesss.

Jun 03, 2018 08:12 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Kathy Streib We also have a horrible whitefly infestation. For the last 2 1/2 years that I've owned this house, they never went after our enormous palms. Yesterday I noticed they are covered in whiteflies and dying. It's about 15 feet wide and 20 feet high of palms.

Jun 03, 2018 08:13 PM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Elizabeth, sure sounds like the vog is better than getting evacuated for lava!   

Jun 04, 2018 05:58 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Joan Cox Today is red alert today and unhealthy. The index jumped to 153, so I have to stay inside with all the doors and windows closed and turn on the a/c.

Jun 04, 2018 10:17 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I once owned 2 lots in Puna District.  They were in the Hawaiian Shores subdivision, a little north of Leilani Estates, where the volcano is laying claim presently.  I remember when buying them, the Realtor told me my area wasn't on a rift.  Hawaiians take a lot in their stride.  He said, that if you dig a little hole in the lava after it cools down, and plant a papaya seed in it, you will have fruit in a few years.  Some of the houses were built with single wall construction.  They were essentially banded together like you would a redwood tub for planting your favorite flora.  Somehow, I loved their way of living with the elements, in spite of them.

Jun 04, 2018 03:04 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Never understood, why, Myrl Jeffcoat you sold those lots. Didn't Hawaii talk to you? Beckon you here? Many residents of the Big Island say Pele does not talk to women, she only seduces the men, but my husband is not that enamored with Hawaii, not nearly as much as I am drawn to it.

Jun 04, 2018 09:55 PM
Hella M. Rothwell, Broker/Realtor®
Carmel by the Sea, CA
Rothwell Realty Inc. CA#01968433 Carmel-by-the-Sea

I fall under its spell every time I go to the Big Island. The music and dance of the people, the tradewinds, the sunsets, and the clear blue ocean. The lava is beautiful to me. And after a couple of Mai Tais, I can almost see the Night Marchers coming from the mountains to the sea on moonlit nights.  Ok, back to work, or I will buy a ticket a join you, vog or not.

Jun 05, 2018 12:11 AM