Your Guide to Buying a Home in North Shore, HI

Buying a Home in North Shore, Hawaii

North Shore is located in Honolulu County

This includes the communities of North Shore (Haleiwa, Pupukea, and Waimea), Waialua, Hauula Kaaawa, Kahuku, Laie, and Punaluu.

Welcome to the Surfing Capital of the World. The endless North Shore summers are self-indulgently laid-back and leisurely. But come November through April, the once-tranquil beaches are pounded by monster waves reaching bone-crushing heights. In come droves of big-wave surfers and wannabes, and the North Shore rocks.

Communities on the North Shore are small, homes aren't cheap, and it's a long way to everywhere from here. Still, a lot of the North Shore populace commutes to other parts of Oahu to work and returns here to scoff at those who live any other way.

The large, moneyed community of Pupukea is perched on a ridge above the action, with to-die-for views of it all.

Waialua is a former sugar plantation town that's undergoing a well planned metamorphosis, including new businesses in renovated buildings at the old Waialua Sugar Mill. The new Waialua Town Master Plan calls for revitalization that retains the community's country character. This can only be good news for Waialua, a good-natured, home-town kind of place, with moderately priced homes, good schools, a post office, library, recreation center and lovely beach parks.

A former sugar plantation town, Kahuku still retains its warm-hearted plantation village personality. The old sugar mill is now a shopping center and the old plantation hospital is a modern medical facility. Today's townsfolk live in homey, modestly priced residences and turn out en masse for Kahuku High School athletics and activities.

The community of Laie is surrounded by opulent natural beauty, but is most renowned for its world-famous inhabitant: the 42-acre Polynesian Cultural Center, one of Hawaii's most popular visitor attractions. The cozy community is home to slightly more than 5,500 people. Residences are in the medium-price ranges and are served by a newly expanded shopping center and the only movie theater and hotel in these parts.

Right now, Punaluu is the tiniest community of them all, but it looks like growth is on the way. The Pacific Ocean isn't the only thing lapping at these shores. Lots are on the market, developers are developing and a few fee simple homes are for sale in the middle to upper price range.