Lahaina Real Estate in 2026: Rebuilding, Rules and What Buyers Should Know

By Tony Kawaguchi, REALTOR (RS-66616), The Kawaguchi Group, eXp Realty (RB-21841). Selling in Hawaii since 2005. Updated November 13, 2026.

On August 8, 2023, wildfires burned through Lahaina and parts of Upcountry Maui. The Maui Police Department's final count is 102 lives lost, and the county says 2,746 housing units were lost. Anyone looking at property in Lahaina should start there, with respect for the people who lived through it and are rebuilding their homes and town.

This page is for buyers and owners who need the practical facts: where the rebuild stands by the county's own numbers, how permitting works, what the vacation rental phase-out means for West Maui condos, and how to evaluate a lot or a home. I keep it to official sources and update the dated figures as the county publishes new ones.

Where the rebuild stands, by the county's numbers

Those figures come from the County of Maui Office of Recovery dashboard, update dated November 2, 2026, and cover Lahaina and Kula together. "Completed" means the home passed final inspection and is ready to live in. In its August 7, 2026 milestone update, the county said 2,248 of the 2,746 housing units lost, about 81.9%, were on a path to rebuild; all wildfire debris had been removed from residential and commercial lots; the final unsafe-water advisory was lifted in August 2024; sewer service was fully restored in April 2025; and all Lahaina roads had reopened as of August 1, 2026.

The historic Front Street commercial core covers 46 properties in the 600, 700 and 800 blocks. The county reported that 10 shoreline properties there are being offered buyouts to create public shoreline open space, and 14 of the 36 remaining mauka properties were moving through planning and permitting as of August 2026.

Rebuilding a home: permits and programs

Rebuild permits for fire-affected properties are handled through the County of Maui's Recovery Permit Center at the County Service Center, 110 Alaihi Street in Kahului. If you are buying a burned lot or a partly rebuilt home, ask for the permit history, the current permit status in the county system, and any plan approvals that come with it. Ask too whether the lot is in a special flood hazard area or the Special Management Area, because both can change what you can build and how long approval takes.

The county's Ho'okumu Hou programs help eligible survivor homeowners rebuild, and the County of Maui is using federal CDBG-DR disaster recovery funds to help rebuild 607 affordable rental units lost in the fire. Those programs are tied to the original owners and their circumstances; they generally do not transfer to a new buyer, so do not price a purchase as if they will.

What you can buy in Lahaina today

The inventory is unusual. Expect a mix of vacant cleared lots, homes under construction, newly finished rebuilds, homes outside the burn area that survived, and condos in buildings that were not damaged. The October 2026 Title Guaranty Hawaii market report did not show a separate Lahaina line; West Maui figures that month were reported for Napili, Kahana and Mahinahina (4 house sales at a $1.2 million median and 6 condo sales at $472,500), Kaanapali (7 condo sales at $1.3 million) and Kapalua (1 condo sale at $1.3 million). With so few sales, I price Lahaina property from specific comparable sales and, for lots, from the realistic cost and timeline of building.

For a lot, the questions are permit status, utilities, flood zone, the cost to build, and insurance. For an existing condo, they are the building's zoning, its insurance and reserves, and whether short-term rental use is allowed today and after the phase-out.

Vacation rentals and the West Maui deadline

Apartment-zoned condos: Maui County's Ordinance 5909 (Bill 9) phases out transient vacation rental use in the A-1 and A-2 apartment districts. In the West Maui community plan area the use must end on January 1, 2029; everywhere else in the county it ends on January 1, 2031. Validly existing timeshare units and uses operating under a variance are exempt, and hotel-zoned properties are not covered. A separate 2026 ordinance created new H-3 and H-4 hotel districts that some apartment-zoned complexes are trying to move into, one property at a time, so a building's status can change; I track it in my Maui rezoning update.

Houses: in residential and agricultural districts, nightly rentals generally need a county short-term rental home or bed-and-breakfast permit, and those permits are limited. Never assume a house can be rented nightly because a previous owner did it. West Maui, which includes Lahaina, has the earlier deadline: apartment-district vacation rental use must stop on January 1, 2029 unless the property is otherwise exempt or rezoned.

Nightly rental income is taxed separately from property tax: the state transient accommodations tax is 11% as of January 1, 2026, each county adds a 3% county TAT, and general excise tax is 4.5% in both Maui County and Hawaii County, so plan on about 18.5% of gross rent before income tax.

Flood maps, shoreline rules and insurance

Before you fall for a view, check four maps for the exact parcel: the state's Flood Hazard Assessment Tool for FEMA flood zones, the tsunami evacuation zone map, the Hawaii Sea Level Rise Viewer for shoreline exposure, and the Special Management Area boundary, which adds a permit layer for most work near the shoreline. After the August 2023 wildfires, I also ask about vegetation, defensible space and insurance availability early, especially on dry leeward slopes. Condo buyers should read the association's budget, reserve study and master insurance policy, because master premiums have pushed maintenance fees up across Hawaii.

For Lahaina specifically, I also ask the seller and the association what has changed with insurance carriers since 2023, and I get quotes during the inspection period rather than after.

Land tenure

Most Maui homes sell fee simple, meaning you own the land and the building. Leasehold still shows up, mainly in some condo projects, and when it does, the years left on the lease and the lease rent terms matter as much as the price, because they affect value and financing. Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homestead leases have their own eligibility rules and are not sold on the open market like fee simple homes. On older rural parcels, title can involve kuleana or access questions that a title company should clear before closing.

Getting around West Maui

West Maui is reached from Kahului on the Honoapiilani Highway around the south end of the West Maui Mountains, past Maalaea and the pali. Our own estimates for light traffic from Kahului Airport (OGG): Lahaina 45 to 60 minutes, Kaanapali 55 to 70, Napili and Kahana 60 to 75, Kapalua 65 to 80. Because the corridor depends on essentially one main highway, a crash or closure can add a lot of time, and commuting to Central Maui every day is a real consideration.

Property taxes

Maui County taxes by how a property is used, not just what it is worth, so the same house can carry very different bills. If you live in the home full time and qualify, the county's home exemption takes $300,000 off the assessed value and moves you into the low owner-occupied class. To qualify you must occupy the home more than 270 days a year, not rent out the whole property, and file a Hawaii resident income tax return with a Maui County address; the claim deadline for the 2027 assessment year is December 31, 2026.

Illustration only, before any minimum tax or other credits: on a home assessed at $1,000,000, the owner-occupied math starts by subtracting the $300,000 exemption from $1,000,000 and applying the tiered rates above, for about $1,155 a year. The same home as a second home in the non-owner-occupied class is roughly $6,250 a year. Check the county's assessment for the actual property.

How I approach a Lahaina purchase

Slowly and with documents. I want the county permit record, the flood and SMA status, the utility status, the association's documents for a condo, and an insurance quote before a buyer is past their contingencies. I also think it is right to be honest about why you are buying: Lahaina is a community rebuilding, and buyers who plan to live there or rent long term are part of that. If you want help weighing a specific property, call or text me at (808) 201-3577.

Keep reading

• Kihei
• Wailea and Makena
• Kahului
• Wailuku
• Upcountry Maui
• Paia and Haiku
• Kaanapali
• Napili and Kahana
• Kapalua
• Hana
• Maui real estate overview
• Maui neighborhoods guide
• Maui market report
• Which Hawaiian island should I live on?
• Cost of living in Hawaii

Tony Kawaguchi, REALTOR (RS-66616), The Kawaguchi Group, eXp Realty (RB-21841). Selling in Hawaii since 2005. Phone (808) 201-3577. The Kawaguchi Group is based on Oahu; for neighbor-island purchases we work with buyers through eXp Realty's statewide network, including referrals to agents who work those areas every day. This page is general information, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Market statistics are deemed reliable but not guaranteed and can be revised. Drive times are our own estimates for light traffic and will vary. Photos are of the general area and are not listings.