Kauai Real Estate, Poipu Kapili Under Contract, Hurricane Lowell Recovery Update, Kauai Home Sales Year To Date 2026 vs 2025

Kauai Real Estate Update- For a complete list of what Sold, was Just Listed and what went Under Contract last week on the island of Kauai click here:Kauai Real Estate Sales September 14 to 20, 2026

Poipu Beach Real Estate Update- Under Contract |Poipu Kapili #6 $2,148,000 (FS)
I am representing the buyer on their purchase of Poipu Kapili #6 which is an oceanfront 2 bedroom 3 bath. What I love about this unit: no unit above or below, it’s a corner unit with an extra side lanai and lot’s of louvers on the side wall. With this floor plan you have a full bath on the ground floor. This unit feels like a home and this complex, despite being so close to the ocean, was not impacted by Hurricane Lowell.
To see all the Fee Simple real estate activity in Poipu since the beginning of this year click here: Poipu Beach Fee Simple Current Market Analysis
For the Kiahuna Plantation click here: Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis

Here Is How You Can Help Kauai

❤️ Understanding that things are moving slower and that people are doing the best they can would be #1 on the list.How people are treated will remain with them long after we get things back in shape. The people on the other end of the phone could have their own challenges but are still showing up to do their jobs. This includes those people serving on a volunteer basis like HOA Boards.

🤝 If you have a local Kauai business that you like contact them and ask how you can help.  Maybe purchase a gift card or buy a gift and ship it to someone for a birthday.  Until tourism starts coming back a lot of them will be feeling the pinch. There are many communities that are up and running and doing very well, some others not so much.

🆘 Our County put together a site with links to legitimate places that you can donate to. I think the food banks would be a great place to start.Here is the link: https://www.kauairecovers.org/help

97% Of Kauai’s Electricity Restored
On the morning of Tuesday September 8^th, after Hurricane Lowell passed by Ni’ihau, 95% of the island had no power. The magnitude of getting power restored took a village which Kauai Island Utility Company was prepared for by way of partnering with Hawaiian Electric Company on Oahu (HECO), who arrived on Kauai two days after the storm with trucks and crews, and Southern California Edison (SCE) who had an assist from Governor Josh Green and the U.S. Air Force that flew six SCE utility trucks to Kauai by Saturday.
I’m originally from Southern California and when I saw the Edison trucks over here I almost cried, it was like seeing an old friend come and help out.
The three companies, and mutual aid partners that have been clearing vegetation, have been working 7 days a week and nights too. As of Sunday, September 20^th, 97% of those that lost power has it back.

Possible New Kauai Mandatory Evacuations

The damage done by Hurricane Lowell was mostly by ocean surges, this is a part of the reason that our recovery, for most areas, has been moving at a fast pace.
Did you know that a storm surge is much like a tsunami only worse. A tsunami comes crashing over low-lying areas, a storm surge just keeps comings for hours on end to low and high-level areas.
But, Kauai had no mandatory evacuations like we do for tsunami warnings.
Kauai officials “urged” voluntary evacuations for south and west shore residents but it was not mandatory.
Kauai had one death directly attributed to the storm surge; it was a man who stayed at this home to protect it and was later found in the debris.
In the future this may change. Our Mayor stated: “I mean, it is crazy when a tsunami warning gets issued. We issue a mandatory evacuation. A tsunami doesn’t come, and people are upset. I’m like, but it is what it is. So yeah, if I gotta make that call, I do it in a heartbeat.”

Key Kauai Departments Remain Closed Following Fire

The fire at the Lihue Civic Center impacts pretty much every government department we have (Planning Dept., Building Dept. etc), as you can imagine this is not helping our recovery efforts.
In person services are not available right now with the exception of the Real Property Tax Division and this is especially important because if you need to file your Homeowners Exemption that is due by September 30^th, 2026 and if you are eligible this is something you’d want to do as it can drastically reduce your property taxes.
The Property Tax Division is open for in person visits in the “Purchasing Office” which is right across from the Civic Center Building (known as Kapule Building).They are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For now, if you call any of the county phone lines and leave a voice message, they may not be able to pick them up.Email at this point is best.

Kauai Real Estate Year To Date End Of August 2026 vs 2025
Real Estate marches on and we’ll look at where things are at the end of August of this year compared to this same time last year.

Kauai buyers and sellers are both frustrated right now.  Buyers are up against high prices and limited inventory. Sellers are dealing with fewer showings and offers than they expected. And agents are trying to explain a market that seems to have no rhyme or reason to either side.

After 22 years of selling real estate on Kauai, I can tell you this is the strangest market I've ever worked in. Great properties are sitting like stones, while others sell for surprisingly high prices, sometimes without ever hitting the market.  It’s September 2026, I pulled the numbers for the first eight months of 2026 and compared them to the same period in 2025. Here is what they show;