To be blunt, this home took “fixer upper” to another level. The buyer needed to be one who saw the potential and wanted to restore this to its former glory. This was also complicated because the former owner, who passed away, divided the property in two but did not file it correctly. So it all had to be refiled. A clear case of a listing needing Realtors, a Title Company, a Loan Officer and a Lawyer to navigate the way for the Seller and Buyer.
Lesson of the day: If a price seems too good to be true, there’s a reason.
For a complete list of everything that Sold, was Just Listed and what went Under Contract last week on the island click here: Kauai Real Estate Sales January 19 to 25, 2026
Poipu Beach Real Estate- Under Contract | Poipu Crater #16 | $1,295,000
Total mind-blower. That’s the best way to describe this condominium. It’s the most extensively renovated unit I’ve seen in this complex, and at today’s costs, the work simply wouldn’t be feasible to replicate. Even starting with a standard Poipu condo at current prices, taking it through a renovation of this scale—while carrying costs and losing rental income—would put you well above this purchase price. The property is now under contract, and backup offers are being accepted. Reach out if you’d like details.
To find out what else is happening in the Fee Simple Poipu Beach market click here: Poipu Beach Fee Simple Current Market Analysis
For the Kiahuna click here: Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis
Kauai’s Jail Moving
The Kauai Community Correction Center, known locally as KCCC, is the only jail on Kauai. It was built in 1977 and could hold up to 12 inmates. Over the decades buildings have been added and it can now accommodate 128 men and women but has gotten up to 250 inmates.
Heavy rains will flood this low lying facility, they are also in a tsunami zone and the highway is going to be widened. So, it’s time to move.
The new facility will be located nearby in Hanamalu and is expected to be completed by 2030 or 2031.
The new jail will have multi use chapel, additional recreation space, a farm to teach inmates how to grow produce and rooms for attorneys to meet with clients.
To see more details click on this link: Kauai New Jail
Should You Take Your Vacation Rental Off the Market?
Short answer: I wouldn’t, unless it’s been a year.
If you are on the mainland, and thinking in traditional home selling terms, you probably are picking yourself off the floor right about now thinking that a year on the market is a normal. For vacation rentals it can be.
Vacation rentals naturally build up more days on market because access is limited and the buyer pool is smaller. These aren’t primary-residence buyers who need to move; they’re discretionary buyers with the cash to take on a second property, and there simply aren’t as many of them. So, the longer days on market aren’t a signal that something is wrong, they’re a byproduct of a slower, more selective buyer category and the challenge of working around guest bookings. Taking the property off the market usually just creates unnecessary downtime.
What you can control is your pricing. Make sure it reflects the current market. What worked five or six months ago may not line up with today’s data, so stay on top of recent sales and adjust when needed.
And keep in mind, you never know when the right buyer is going to show up. I’ve seen plenty of situations where someone has been watching a property online for months leading up to their trip to Kauai. The timing is unpredictable, which is exactly why staying active on the market gives you the best shot.
Kauai Security Guard Makes Off With $400K
The incident happened in the summer of 2023 but, the complexity of the case has just recently brought the $400K Kauai heist into the public eye.
The employee had been working for Loomis since 2011 and was transferred to Kauai in 2018. Loomis has security vans that drive around the island doing a variety of cash management services, such as stocking ATM machines for banks which is where this story starts.
The employee got a shipment of cash from the Honolulu office and picked it up at the Lihue airport. At the Central Pacific Bank ATM machine he allegedly set aside $50K, and $200K in cash that was a pick up from Bank of Hawaii and $130K for American Savings Bank ATM’s.
He then resigned from the company and moved to Massachusetts using airline tickets bought a couple of weeks before for himself and his family, he was gone before anyone knew what had happened.
And he remains gone to this day. Loomis had repaid the cash taken, the only amount they were able to recover was $98K in coins that were in a Lihue Guardian Storage Locker under the name of the Loomis employee.
National Year End Real Estate Sales 2025 vs 2024
How did the county do for real estate at the end of 2025 compared to 2024?
Just like Hawaii; the Fourth Quarter was one that saw things starting to turn around due to lower interest rates and slower home price growth, December home sales were the strongest in the last 3 years.
