Kauai Real Estate Update- For a list of what Sold, went Under Contract and what was Just Listed on the island of Kauai last week click here: Kauai Real Estate Sales December 29, 2025 to January 4, 2026.
Poipu Beach Real Estate Update- Just Listed | Pili Mai 3/3 $1,695,000 (FS)
Top-floor corner villa with no one above you and three sides without shared walls. Access is by a single staircase that leads only to this residence, ending at a private landing with its own storage closet. Set back from the neighboring building with a bit of an ocean view from the spacious lanai. No foot traffic or shared entry, just your space. The association dues for Pili Mai decreased as of January 1, 2026 do to some proactive leak detection done by the Association, and stabilizing insurance premiums. To see this unit click here: Pili Mai 4J
For the fee simple market in Poipu click here: Poipu Beach Fee Simple Current Market Analysis
Kiahuna Plantation Real Estate Update- Just Listed | Kiahuna Plantation 178 $595,000 (LH)
Top-floor, ocean-facing, and just steps to the sand, this Kiahuna Plantation condo delivers big white-water views. The outlook is open and unobstructed—lawn, palms, and the Pacific doing what it does best. For buyers focused on view, proximity to the beach, and overall value, this one stands out for the right reasons. To see this listing click here: Kiahuna Plantation 178
For the Kiahuna Plantation click here: Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis
U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Halts “Green Fee” For Cruise Ships
Last week I wrote about the Cruise Lines International Association filing a lawsuit against Hawaii with the U.S. District Court alleging that the 11% Transient Accommodations Tax, that was going to be applied to passengers on cruise ships, was dismissed. The “Green Fee” is a .75% hike in our TAT but had never been applied to passengers on cruise ships. However, we have a plot twist.
The .75% “green fee” hike in the TAT went into effect as planned with the exception of cruise ships. The 9thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the tax on cruise ship passengers while it goes through the appeal process.
For hotels and vacation rentals it applied as planned on January 1, 2026
Hawaii Bans Sales Of Fluorescent Lighting Jan 1, 2026
Hawaii joins 15 other states in banning the sale of fluorescent light bulbs and switching to LED’s. The “Hawaii Clean Lighting Standard Act” was signed into law in July of 2023. There is now a total of 16 states that have this ban, some have had this law in place while others will be staring at a later date. Some of the other states that have this law are California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada and Oregon.
Hawaii businesses will have until February 28 to claim rebates on LED lights when they make the switch. Residents and those who own second homes and condominiums do not need to switch out their fluorescent light bulbs, however if you have a burned-out bulb only LED lights will be available.
Hawaii SNAP Benefits In Jeopardy
The state of Hawaii has 162,000 people receiving “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” or “SNAP” benefits. That’s roughly 11.2% of our population. However, this benefit is in jeopardy which means a loss to the state of $33 million dollars in federal funding.
The Federal Government is now requiring states to turn over data on residents who receive these SNAP benefits, that information includes five years of recipient’s names, addresses and immigration status. 28 other states have complied but Hawaii, at this time, is not complying saying that they are committed to protecting the personal information of those receiving SNAP. In fact, Hawaii and 21 other states sued the USDA saying that this is an unlawful request.
The only facts I found about our current SNAP program is that 13,190 people who have “unspecific citizenship” are receiving SNAP. Also, Hawaii’s error rate in 2024 was 8% which is down from 21% in 2023 and 2022. The national error rate is 11.7% in 2023.
Year End Kauai Real Estate Numbers, 2025 vs 2024
A new administration, tariffs, political unrest, global unrest, insurance hikes, assessments and rising association dues. These are just some of the headwinds that Kauai real estate faced in 2025. It has been a very, very bumpy year and I really didn’t know how it was going to play out. I chose to stay above the fray and focused on the numbers as the months rolled out.
The number of Home Sales were up overall however, the North Shore was down and this area of our island will typically contribute huge numbers with their multi-million dollar sales. This year that did not happen and it’s showing up in our Median Price.
Condominiums were surprising as they had more challenges. The North Shore was way up in their sales and the South Shore was only down 10%. However it was the South Shore, which had more Fee Simple Sales this year, that lead the way in the increase in their Median Pricing.
Land Sales struggled pretty much island wide but, the pieces of land that did sell saw an overall increase in their Median Price.
The indicators for 2026 are positive for our real estate market and our 2025 performance does not have us climbing out of a hole.
