Hawaii Kai’s Leading Real Estate Brokerage Firm

Hawaii Life announced this week their acquisition of East Oahu Realty, a 27-year old locally-owned company in Hawaii Kai. The move is the latest in a series of acquisitions over the past 12 months for Hawaii Life, which was founded on Kauai in 2008 by principals Matt Beall and Winston Welborn. Also locally owned and operated, Hawaii Life is a statewide real estate brokerage serving all islands. The company achieved $1.7 billion in real estate sales in Hawaii in 2018.

“We are honored to welcome East Oahu Realty to Hawaii Life,” said Matt Beall, the company’s 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.

East Oahu Realty was founded by Jack Leslein in 1992 with capital from the sale of his own home. His team has grown to include more than 70 agents, brokers and support staff. Over the

“What’s so important to us and our family is that there will be a continued legacy of East Oahu Realty,” said Kim Soares, Leslein’s daughter and president of her family business. “To be able to show my parents that everything is continuing – it’s a good thing. It’s exciting!”

East Oahu’s principals decided to join Hawaii Life to keep pace with an evolving real estate industry that demands digital marketing and technological capabilities in an increasingly global economy.

“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, who has observed Hawaii Life’s significant growth over its first decade of operation.

“Naturally, we were impressed with Hawaii Life’s success, their image and brand,” said Tsukamoto, “but more importantly, we liked their culture and the company’s leadership. Like us, they are a local company. While they are tech savvy they have also focused on building relationship to achieve their remarkable growth,” noted Tsukamoto.

With the addition of East Oahu’s team, Hawaii Life is comprised of approximately 350 agents and brokers, with a support staff that incorporates content development, digital marketing, social media and technological capabilities.