Kauai Real Estate Update, Hawaii Vacation Rental Bill Passes, Monumental Hawaii Income Tax Bill, Kauai Year To Date 2024 vs 2023 Sales

Hawaii Vacation Rental Bill Passes
Signed immediately by the Governor was Bill 2919 which allows the individual counties in Hawaii the right to regulate and/or shut down short term vacation rentals. 
The passage of this Bill generated a lot of click-bait press across the county.  The headlines oftentimes did not match the content which is pretty clear; this is targeted towards illegal vacation rentals.
Here is a recent statement from our Mayor on Kauai;
“Illegal short-term rentals are an increasing problem in many parts of our state and it can affect our housing inventory. On Kauai, we are fortunate that we have been able to crack down on illegal TVRs through constant World Wide Web monitoring, proactive enforcement, and negotiated agreements between third-party platforms who now assist in our enforcement actions and only advertise legitimate units on our island. This effort reduced illegal vacation rentals on Kauai from 1,500 in 2017, to less than 50, today. We continue to stay the course in these efforts to address the illegal transient vacation rental market on Kauai.” – Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami

Kauai addressed this problem in 2008 after vacation rentals started popping up in residential areas and condo complexes that were never meant for that type of usage.  Kauai got even more aggressive in 2020 when platforms like Airbnb, Expedia and VRBO started data sharing with our county who was already performing “sting-like” operations against suspected illegal rentals.  
To read this bill in its entirety click here:  Hawaii Short Term Vacation Rental Bill

Additional Dwelling Unit Bill Passes
Bill 3202 is now going to the Governor for his signature and once that happens (which it is expected to) this bill to allow ADU’s anywhere on Kauai goes into effect. 
Here is the description taken from the Bill:  Requires the counties, no later than 12/31/2026, to adopt or amend an ordinance to allow at least two accessory dwelling units, subject to certain restrictions, on all residentially zoned lots. Prohibits private covenants for residentially zoned lots within an urban district from limiting the number of accessory dwelling units below the amount allowed pursuant to State law or the long-term rental of residential units. Part II: Requires any administrative authority to act on any application for subdivision, consolidation, or resubdivision for certain parcels to be vested in the director of the county agency responsible for land use or another county officer. Part III: Amends the calculation of impact fees for certain developments. (CD1)
It looks like no matter where you are at, and no matter what your CC&R’s say, you are able to build an ADU provided you abide by Kauai County building codes, setbacks, lot coverage etc. 
To see this bill in its entirety click here:  Bill 3202

Kauai Real Estate Year To Date 2024 vs 2023
Home sales on Kauai continue their upward trend, the numbers just keep getting better every month.  I had hoped by now that interest rates would have softened a bit more, they have not but this is not stopping the Kauai housing market.  
The Kauai condominium market is showing more signs of life despite the fact that the inventory remains low.  We’re looking at the first 4 months of 2024 and comparing that to this same time last year and, with the exception of the North Shore, the number of sales are down however, island wide the prices are up. 

The graph below shows the first four months of this year and compares it that to the same time last year.  This information is general in nature, contact me to find out how this relates to your particular area of interest.