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Kohala · Big Island

North Kohala

North Kohala is the island’s northern tip, centered on the small towns of Hawi and Kapaau.

Mostly houses

About North Kohala

About 32 single-family homes sold in the first nine months of 2026, with monthly medians mostly between about $1.1 million and $2.2 million. Many sales are larger agricultural or ocean-view parcels, so prices vary widely.

What homes sell for

Property typeSales, Jan–Sep 2026Median or range
Single-family homesAbout 30$1.1M–$2.2M

Source: Title Guaranty monthly Hawaii Island residential sales reports, January–September 2026.

Can you rent to visitors?

HousesResort and commercial zones onlyHawaii County’s 2018 short-term vacation rental law (Ordinance 18-114, from Bill 108) allows unhosted rentals of 30 days or less in resort, hotel and commercial zones. In residential and agricultural zones, a home can be rented that way only if it holds a nonconforming use certificate from the county’s 2019 registration. In 2024 the Hawaii Supreme Court held that farm dwellings in the state agricultural district can’t be used as short-term vacation rentals, and upheld the county’s rule limiting certificates on agricultural land to single-family homes on lots that existed before June 4, 1976. Rentals where the owner lives on site fall under separate rules.

Land, title and what to check

Much of North Kohala is agricultural land, where farm-dwelling rules apply and a farm dwelling can’t be used as a short-term vacation rental.

Hazards, water and access

Kohala Volcano hasn’t erupted for tens of thousands of years and is in USGS lava-flow hazard zone 9, the lowest-hazard zone on the island.

Check any address for its FEMA flood zone, tsunami evacuation zone, sea level rise exposure, lava zone and wildfire risk with our Hawaii flood zone lookup.

Public schools

The public high school for most addresses here is Kohala High School. Assignments go by address, so confirm with the Hawaii State Department of Education.

Sources: Title Guaranty Hawaii Island sales reports; Hawaii Supreme Court, SCAP-22-0000371 (2024); USGS lava-flow hazard zones; Civil Beat: lava zone insurance (Oct 2024); DHHL awards 200 Panaewa lots (July 2026). Checked October 2026. This guide sticks to public facts about prices, rules, land and hazards. It doesn’t rate neighborhoods or describe who lives in them.