Across the U.S., demand for second homes is rebounding from Cape Cod in Massachusetts to Lake Tahoe, California. Buyers returned to the housing market as surging stock prices, job growth and low interest rates boosted purchasing power. U.S. vacation-property sales jumped 57 percent last year to an estimated 1.13 million, a record in data going back to 2003, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In Hawaii, the surge in property prices has reached into the luxury market. Actor Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, sold their home on Kauai’s North Shore in 2011 for $20 million to a trust linked to Russian heiress Ekaterina Rybolovleva. Last month, it was listed for $29.5 million. The 28-acre (11-hectare) property boasts an ocean view; a gym, pool and adjoining hot tub; and an orchard with avocado, grapefruit, star fruit, banana and orange trees, according to the listing.

Ellison, Zuckerberg

While celebrities like Smith and Young have long used Hawaii as a retreat, some of the biggest Hawaiian purchases are now being made by technology-industry stars. In 2012, Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Redwood City, California- based Oracle Corp., bought 98 percent of Lanai, Hawaii’s sixth- largest island. Last year, Mark Zuckerberg, cofounder and chief executive officer of Menlo Park, California-based Facebook Inc., acquired two adjacent Kauai parcels totaling more than 700 acres for more than $100 million.

“There’s no question, Northern and Southern California are the top sources of high-end buyers in the Hawaiian Islands,” said Chris Fair, president of Resonance Consultancy, which produces reports on travel and leisure spending by affluent Americans.

Quicker Sales

The listing time for luxury properties has fallen on all of Hawaii’s main islands except Maui, according to Hawaii Life’s Beall. On the Big Island, homes stay on the market for an average of 136 days, down from 236 last year, and on Kauai, homes take 121 days to find a buyer, less than half of last year’s average, data from the brokerage show.

“The next migration of wealth and development is now moving to Kauai,” Fair said.

Completing a sale in the luxury market, defined by Hawaii Life as transactions of more than $3 million, isn’t as simple as holding an open house. Buyers may have to fly in on private planes, bringing their families and staffs. Deals can involve multiple teams of lawyers and extensive non-disclosure agreements to protect buyers’ and sellers’ privacy, Beall said. Many homes for sale are never listed on the multiple-listing service, which is used by real estate agents searching for properties.

Earned Wealth