Kauai Real Estate Update- Significant uptick in the number of closed sales on Kauai. I’ve been seeing more activity so I looked at our closed transactions and there is a huge uptick in the numbers. From 9/1/25 to 10/6/25 we had sold 47 homes on the island and 11 of those were listed at north of $3M. Compare that to 9/1/24 to 10/6/24 where we had 26 homes sold and 6 were listed at north of $3M. This is continuing with our current number of 81 homes under contract and 18 of those are listed north of $3M.
The numbers are telling the story of Buyers starting to pull the trigger at higher numbers both in the number of sales and the prices they are paying, then this same time last year.
For a complete list of the Kauai Real Estate activity for last week on the island click here; Kauai Real Estate Update September 29 to October 5, 2025
Poipu Beach Real Estate Update- The South Shore is contributing to these huge real estate numbers that we’re seeing, at this time 10 out of the 18 homes north of $3M are located on the South Shore, most of those coming from the Kukui’ula subdivision. For a complete list of all the fee simple real estate activity click here; Poipu Beach Current Market Analysis
For the Kiahuna Plantation click here; Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis
The Cost Of Rewriting The Real Estate Market
I’d guess buyers and sellers creating their own version of the market happens more in the second-home world. Where you live, you’ve got a feel for what’s selling and the pace of things. But if you own property somewhere else, staying connected isn’t as easy. You’re relying on secondhand info, online listings, or assumptions—and that can be very different from what’s actually happening on the ground.
Buyers do it too. If you’re shopping for a vacation rental or second home on Kauai, it’s easy to project what you think the market should be doing based on where you live. It makes sense—that’s what you know. But this market may not follow the same rules. Inventory, rental demand, financing, and HOA dues all factor in.
When people don’t really know their Realtor, things can get interesting—and sometimes expensive. The moment something doesn’t add up, they often turn to someone “back home” who may or may not know what they’re talking about.
What’s even stranger is how quickly trust is handed over. Someone meets an agent and, in no time, they’re ready to spend hundreds of thousands based solely on that advice. That happens a lot in second-home markets, and it’s not a great plan.
The takeaway: make sure you trust who you’re working with and base your decisions on what’s actually happening—not assumptions.
Q3 Luxury Home Sales In Hawaii Surpass 2024
At the end of September the sales in our Luxury Market in the State of Hawaii have surpassed all of 2024, and we still have 3 months to go.
This is valuable information backed by numbers. When the market has been moving at a slower pace and activity starts to pick up at the high end, that’s worth noting. When top-tier buyers re-engage, it can be the first sign of broader momentum. This is good news for property owners across the board. Here are the highlights;
For the State of Hawaii:
Home Sales First nine months of 2025;
💵 38 sales of $10 Million or more compared to 26 for all of 2024
💵 18 sales of $15 Million or more compared to 12 for all of 2024.
💵 7 sales of $20 Million or more compared to 5 for all of 2024
Statewide Condominium Notable Activity:
💵 Howard Hughes Holdings is building two luxury towers in Oahu; the Melia and Ilima towers have a record hitting $1.2 billion in presales and the penthouse under contract for $40 Million.
Big Changes Coming For Reporting Cash Real Estate Sales
Have you heard of FinCEN? Starting March 1, 2026, this will be on the radar screen for every cash sale that is being transferred into a legal entity such as a Trust or an LLC. This started last year on August 29, 2024 by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is being called FinCEN, who rolled out what’s called the “Residential Real Estate Rule”. If a residential property is transferred without financing—like to a trust or LLC—there’s going to be a reporting requirement.
When there’s a loan involved, banks already have to monitor for suspicious activity. But with cash deals, there’s no bank in the middle. And historically, that’s where some pretty unsavory characters like to slip through—fraudsters, organized crime, international cartels, human traffickers, and yes, the occasional corrupt politician. Not exactly your ideal neighbors. FinCEN was supposed to start this year but they are pausing this rule until March 1, 2026 to allow time for the title companies to give everyone time to put the right systems and procedures in place before reporting officially.
The risks are still real, but this delay gives the industry some breathing room to get it right before reporting officially kicks in.
If you would like to read the news release click HERE I’m also including a little video of the paperwork that the title companies will now be filling out.
Kauai Real Estate Year-To-Date 2025 vs 2024
What are you doing in October? Specifically, October 12 through the 18th? Realtor.com says that this is the time frame to buy real estate for these reasons; Less competition, homes have longer days on market, recent price drops, recent lowering of interest rates and October is historically the month for the most price cuts and that the listing prices at this time of year are below seasonal peaks. My two cents is the buyer pool could get a little bigger with people buying before the end of the year for tax purposes.
It's the beginning of October and in the graph below are the Kauai real estate market for the first 9 months of this year and comparing it to this same time last year.
