Kauai Real Estate Update- Price Reduced: Newer Kauai Home | Rental Income Opportunity | Modern Island Living $990,000 (FS)
With a recent price reduction this 2 Bed 2 Bath Kapaa home is an incredible opportunity as a primary home or long-term rental, with potential income of $3,900–$4,200 per month. Built in 2019 and thoughtfully upgraded with split A/C, Lifeproof flooring, and an on-demand water heater, this 2-bedroom, 2-bath home is move-in ready. The screened-in lanai and spacious 546-square-foot garage add to its appeal, making this a rare find at this price point.
For a list of the real estate activity for last week on the island click here; Kauai Real Estate Activity January 26 to 26th, 2025
Poipu Beach Real Estate Update- Taking advantage of our good weather (for now!) I did a bunch of Open Houses this week and it was really busy. Real estate was as well, click here for a Poipu Beach fee simple update; Poipu Beach Fee Simple Current Market Analysis
Kiahuna Plantation Real Estate Update- Since December 16, 2024 we’ve had four Kiahuna units that have all gone under contract, the listing prices ranged from $337,500 (LH) to $499,000 (LH), this has been a nice start to the year at this resort. For all the real estate activity since the beginning of this year click here; Kiahuna Plantation Current Market Analysis
3 Essential Tips to Avoid Sabotaging Your Kauai Vacation Rental Purchase
I’ve seen buyers unwittingly sabotage their Kauai Vacation rental purchase before they get on the plane to come over here, it’s really easy to do. Buying a vacation rental is very different from when buying a home that you would live in full time. With those homes your agent can make phone calls to the listing agents and set up showings. The Sellers, after getting the showing time from their agent, spruce up the house, put the kids and dog in the car and go sit in a parking lot. In a way it’s much easier than seeing vacation rental properties.
I did a short video with just three things to keep in mind;
1️⃣ Schedule ahead: Many vacation rentals are occupied by guests, making showings tricky. No one wants strangers (and their Realtor) touring their space during their vacation. You’ll need to see it when it’s empty which means planning viewings well in advance.
2️⃣ Be flexible with your time: High occupancy means showings might take several days and various time slots. Flexibility is key to ensuring you can see the properties that interest you.
3️⃣ Understand HOA fees: Not all homeowner dues are created equal. Some can be significantly higher than others impacting your monthly expenses. Finding this out after you fell in love with a property is no bueno, you and your agent can know all of this information well in advance.
Proposed Extension Of Excise Tax Surcharge
Governor Josh Green is proposing an extension of the one half of 1% state excise tax from the current expiration date of 2030 to 2047. Ted Kefalas from Grassroot Institute of Hawaii had this to say about this proposal; “It just proves once again that there’s no such thing as a temporary tax hike.”
The one-half of 1% surcharge originally started on Oahu in 2005 for the rail project and was supposed to end for Oahu but didn’t due to the rising costs of installing the rail.
Somewhere along the way, lawmakers allowed the neighbor islands to impose their own surcharges which Kauai did in 2019 and earmarked the money to be used for transportation projects. The Big Island started their tax in 2019 as well and Maui just imposed theirs last year.
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said losing this income would be “crippling” to the building industry.
The House and Senate Bill would extend the surcharge until 2047, to read these Bills click here; House Bill 1014 and Senate Bill 1333
North Shore Community To Build Comfort Station
This Kauai story is amazing. It’s one of money spent wisely, people being logical and executing excellent planning in a timely manner.
The Hanalei Initiative has teamed up with the State Park Division and, with no tax dollars being spent, will be installing a comfort station at the Ha’ena bus stop. This is the same group that came together during the COVID shutdown and formed a bus service from Hanalei to the very end of the road where the trailhead starts to hike the Napali Coast. This area was being loved to death and their community-based system has brought restoration to the area and order to the amount of people accessing the area and they did it all during the pandemic. They moved quickly and efficiently.
A portion of the bus fee that are collected have been saved for this project. The bus will let people off in an area that is a 5-minute walk to the beach where the only public restroom is.
They put together a wonderful video, have your sound on.
National Home Sales 2024 vs 2023
The National Association of Realtors released their homes sales data comparing the end of 2023 to 2024.
Nationally 2024 “existing home sales” which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops ended with the Median Price at a record level of $407,500. The number of sales were at the lowest since 1995. Looking at the activity here on Kauai for 2024 and the activity since after the election I feel 2025 will be a positive year for real estate. That also seems to be the general consensus among a number of other colleagues and vendors here on Kauai.
Here are some highlights from the National Association of Realtors statistics for National sales at the end of 2024 compared to 2023;
✴️ National existing-home sales (includes condominiums, townhomes & co-ops) Median Sales Price has a record high of $407,500 at the end of 2024.
✴️ The number of existing-home sales (4.06 million) fell to it’s lowest level in 30 years.
✴️ The month of December 2024 was the 18th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases and biggest year-over-year growth since October 2022 (+6.5%).
✴️ The inventory of unsold existing homes dropped 13.5% from the previous month to 1.15 million at the end of December, or the equivalent of 3.3 months' supply at the current monthly sales pace.
