Hawaii Life Acquires East Oahu Realty
Hawaii Life has announced the acquisition of East Oahu Realty, Hawaii Kai’s leading real estate brokerage, which has been serving Oahu for 27 years. The move strengthens Hawaii Life’s commitment to the Oahu real estate market. Hawaii Life was founded on Kauai in 2008 and has expanded into a statewide real estate company serving all islands.
Cherie Tsukamoto, Director at Hawaii Life East Oahu and Matt Beall, CEO & Principal Broker at Hawaii Life.
“We are honored to welcome East Oahu Realty to Hawai’i Life,” said Matt Beall, Hawai’i Life CEO and Principal Broker, “They are a team of absolute professionals. The average agent at East Oahu has 21 years of experience in real estate. It’s both validating and exciting to get to work with them,” he continued.
“We are excited to offer our clients the tremendous marketing capabilities and exposure that Hawaii Life offers, along with new tools and technology that will help our agents stay relevant in today’s real estate landscape,” said Cherie Tsukamoto, Principal Broker at East Oahu Realty. Tsukamoto will continue to lead the team and operations as Broker-in-Charge at Hawai’i Life’s East Oahu office, located in the Hawaii Kai Towne Center.
Founder Jack Leslein launched East Oahu Realty in 1992 using funds from the sale of his home. He set out to build a business that would give back to his clients and his community while offering flexibility for agents. Fulfilling Leslein’s dream, his East Oahu team developed a highly respected reputation for personalized client service, growing over the years to more than 70 agents, brokers and support staff.
Leislein’s fundamental principle of servant leadership shaped the company’s culture. It continues to inform his team’s decision-making, even beyond his recent passing in December 2018. Tsukamoto has carefully observed Hawaii Life over the years, watching their decade-long emergence as the leading listing brokerage in the state. She noted the similarities that led to their decision to join Hawaii Life.
“Naturally, we were impressed with Hawaii Life’s image and brand,” said Tsukamoto, “but more importantly, we liked their culture and the company’s leadership. Like us, they are locally owned and operated. While they are tech savvy, they have also focused on building relationships to achieve their remarkable growth,” continued Tsukamoto.
East Oahu Realty clients will benefit from Hawai’i Life’s unrivaled statewide network, exclusive affiliations and brand recognition. Hawaii Life is the exclusive statewide affiliate of CHRISTIE’S International Real Estate and an affiliate of Luxury Portfolio International®, both of which serve top-tier markets around the world. Hawaii Life leads the state in listings and sales above the $3 million luxury benchmark.
Highly attuned to the impact of quality design in real estate marketing, as well as the reach that brand recognition and digital platforms could provide, Hawaii Life founders Matt Beall and Winston Welborn set out in 2008 to create a cutting-edge, innovative brokerage that put digital marketing and design ahead of more traditional real estate selling tools.
Hawaii Life now operates the state’s most trafficked real estate website, with more than 3 million online visitors per year. Online buyers are attracted by Hawaii Life’s robust and relevant real estate content, driven in part by the Hawaii Life television program which airs on the HGTV network. The show reaches a television audience of more than 20 million viewers nationwide, with millions more in Canada and online. HGTV has produced 169 episodes spanning 12 seasons. Each one follows a Hawaii Life agent and their client in the homebuying process.
