Your search results

Maui Real Estate Update: Kīhei Condos, Wailea Luxury, and the H-3/H-4 Rezoning Fight

Posted by benjamen.harper@gmail.com on November 7, 2026
Hawaii Real Estate, Maui
0

Maui’s market held steady through October. Prices are a little below last year, condo sales picked up, and buyers are taking their time. The bigger story is still the vacation rental phase-out. This fall the fight moved from creating the new hotel zoning to deciding which specific condos get it, and so far the answer has mostly been no.

October sales

Coldwell Banker Island Properties’ October report:

October 2026SalesYoYMedian priceYoYMedian DOM
Single-family59-3%$1,179,000-2%108
Condo68+19%$634,500-2%146
Land11—$625,000—101

Sellers got about 95% of list price on both homes and condos. Very few homes sold over asking, 3% of homes and 6% of condos.

Year to date, home sales are about even with last year (587 vs. 591) and the median is down 6% to about $1.22 million. Condo sales are up 18% (679 vs. 573), but the median is down 7% to $650,000. More condos are selling at lower prices. Buyers are getting deals, and the sellers who adjusted are closing.

South Maui led the month

Kīhei condos were the busiest part of the market. There were 32 sales, up 78% from last October, and the median rose 3% to $565,000. All of South Maui had 44 condo sales, up 52%.

Wailea and Mākena are a different market. The median condo sale there was about $3.3 million, and the median time on market was 703 days. Those long listing times are a big part of why the island-wide condo days-on-market number looks so high.

Luxury was mostly a South Maui story. Of the 21 luxury sales in October (homes over $2.5 million, condos over $1.5 million), 15 were in South Maui, including 4 of the 8 luxury homes and 9 of the 13 luxury condos in Wailea/Mākena. Luxury condos sold for 98% of list on average but took a median of 318 days. Luxury homes went for 94% of list after a median of 143 days.

Elsewhere, South Maui single-family sales were 13 with a median near $1.6 million, pulled up by Wailea and Mākena. The North Shore had 10 home sales, up 25%, with Haʻikū pushing its median close to $1.6 million.

Vacation rentals: who gets to keep renting?

Quick background. Bill 9 (Ordinance 5909) phases out vacation rentals in apartment-zoned condos on the “Minatoya list.” The deadline is December 31, 2028 in West Maui and December 31, 2030 everywhere else, including Kīhei and Wailea. Bill 88 (Ordinance 6008) took effect June 22 and created new H-3 and H-4 hotel zoning districts. If a complex gets rezoned into one of them, it can keep renting to visitors. No property is rezoned automatically, though. Each one has to go through the Maui Planning Commission and then the council.

Here’s what happened this fall:

  • September 22: The Maui Planning Commission took up the first batch of 48 properties, about 3,402 units. According to Council Chair Alice Lee, it recommended approval for only 5 of the 48.
  • September 29: The council voted 5-4 to send another 32 shoreline complexes in Māʻalaea, Kīhei and West Maui to the commission. To qualify, more than half of a building’s footprint has to fall in a sea-level-rise exposure area, a flood zone or the shoreline setback.
  • October: The council voted 5-4 against sending four more complexes (Nohonani and Hoyochi Nikko in West Maui, Māʻalaea Kai and Island Sands in Māʻalaea).

The math to watch: if the Planning Commission recommends against a rezoning, the council needs 6 of 9 votes to approve it anyway. These referrals have been passing 5-4. At least two lawsuits challenging Bill 9 are also still in state court.

If you own a Minatoya condo, check whether your complex is in one of the referred batches and what the Planning Commission recommended. If you’re buying, the price of these condos depends heavily on whether the complex keeps vacation rental rights. Get the specific complex’s status in writing before you make an offer.

Rates and affordability

30-year fixed rates in Hawaiʻi are close to 7%, and the Fed raised rates in September. A Civil Beat analysis of Zillow data put the typical monthly mortgage payment in Kahului at about $5,155, up from about $2,461 in 2019. Redfin data in the same piece showed Kahului listings back near 2019 levels, and about 84% of homes there sold below list in September.

Property taxes for second homes went up

For FY2026–27, the county raised rates on non-owner-occupied homes. The first $1 million of value is now taxed at $6.25 per $1,000 (up from $5.87), the next tier at $9.00 (up from $8.60), and the top tier stays at $17.00.

If you live in your Maui home and haven’t filed for the home exemption, the deadline to qualify for next year’s lower owner-occupied rates is December 31, 2026.

What this means for you

Buyers: You have the upper hand in most of the market, especially for condos. Kīhei is busy, but prices there are still reasonable. In Wailea and Mākena, sellers have been waiting a long time, which gives you room to negotiate.

Sellers: Sales are happening at about 95% of list. A home priced right sells in a few months, and one priced high can sit for a year or more, especially at the luxury end.

Vacation rental owners: Pay attention to the Planning Commission hearings on the 32-complex batch. Those decisions will set what your unit is worth.

Thinking about buying or selling on Maui? Call or text us, or start here: Buying · Selling

Sources

Market figures come from the sources above and from MLS data reported by third parties. They’re deemed reliable but not guaranteed.