Maui STR Ban: The First Lawsuit and What It Means for Kaanapali Owners and the Market

Maui STR Ban is no longer hypothetical. Less than a week after the county passed Bill 9, more than 40 condo owners in the Kaanapali area filed a lawsuit claiming the new law strips them of decades of vested rights and slashes property values. This post breaks down the Kaanapali Royal case, the legal arguments being made, and practical implications for buyers and sellers on Maui.

Where this started: Kaanapali Royal and the Kaanapali resort neighborhood

Kopali Royal is a 105-unit condominium complex built in 1980, with two-bedroom, two-bath units sitting on the Kapalua golf course and surrounded by major resorts. For nearly 45 years, apartment-zoned condos in this resort pocket have operated as short-term rentals. Owners point to original…

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Who REALLY Owns Maui ???

Maui's Largest Land Owners: Who Controls the 95% Nobody Talks About

Only about 5% of Maui’s land falls into urban or rural use categories. The remaining 95% is conservation or agricultural land, mostly undeveloped. That raises a simple but powerful question: who actually controls Maui’s land — the parts people live on and the vast stretches they rarely see? Understanding Maui's Largest Land Owners matters for housing, water, wildfire risk, and the future of the island.

Why land ownership on Maui matters

Maui’s built environment — homes, stores, and resorts — occupies a very small slice of the island. The rest is organized around watersheds, native ecosystems, pasture, and former plantation lands. Whoever holds these large parcels…

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Lahaina Maui Recovery Update - Nov 2025

It has been more than four months since my last full aerial update of Lahaina, and after driving around town I can already tell you the residential rebuild momentum is real. Hundreds of homes are actively under construction, neighborhoods are changing every week, and some historic and commercial pieces of the town remain in planning phases or under repair.

This report walks through the coastline from the south end of Lahaina to the north, then up Lahainaluna Road into the burn zone and down the Koma Stream corridor. I cover permitting and rebuild statistics, neighborhood snapshots, infrastructure milestones, debris removal updates, temporary housing, economic impacts, and projected timelines. I also share what I see on the ground and in the air so…

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Maui STR Ban - The TIG Recommendations Deep Dive

Maui Short Term Rental Ban: Latest on Bill 9, the TIG Recommendations, and What Comes Next

Aloha. If you have been following the Maui Short Term Rental Ban discussion, this is a focused update that breaks down the Temporary Investigative Group recommendations, what the mayor had to say, and the practical steps being proposed to implement change. This article walks through the core recommendations, the proposed H3 and H4 zoning solution, how Exhibit 2 factors into the process, the timeline questions raised by the planning commission and council members, and what property owners should expect. I aim to give you straightforward clarity so you can understand the implications of the Maui Short Term Rental Ban and make informed decisions.

Quick…

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Maui Short Term Rental Ban Update: County Council releases investigative report with proposed changes

Maui Short Term Rentals for Sale: Major Update on Bill 9 and TIG Recommendations

If you are researching Maui Short Term Rentals for Sale, this update is important. The County Council's Temporary Investigative Group or TIG has released recommendations that clarify which apartment zoned properties the council is considering rezoning to hotel status and which properties may still face a phase out under Bill 9. These are recommendations only and do not yet change any law, but they significantly narrow the scope of the original proposal.

Quick summary

The TIG report includes an exhibit listing apartment zoned properties they suggest be rezoned to allow continued short term rental use as hotel properties. If the exhibit 2 list stands, the…

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Kapalua Golf Tournament Canceled

Kapalua Golf Tournament Canceled: Where Did the Water Go?

The Kapalua Golf Tournament — the annual Tournament of Champions that has called Kapalua home for 26 years — will not be held this year because of drought conditions on Maui's west side. That decision affects more than players and fans. The Kapalua Golf Tournament has been an economic engine, bringing an estimated $50 million into the local economy over a few days, and its cancellation is a stark signal that our water systems need urgent attention.

What changed at Kapalua

The Kapalua Golf Tournament was scheduled to return to the Plantation Course, a venue that has hosted the season-opening event since 1999. Instead the PGA Tour announced its cancellation citing lack of reliable…

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Maui's Best Real Estate Deals

Maui Real Estate Best Deals: A Deep Dive into a 20% Off Oceanfront Condo

Maui Real Estate Best Deals are surfacing right now, and if you are actively looking for value on the island this is the moment to pay attention. I want to show you a concrete example that illustrates what I mean: an oceanfront, hotel-zoned condo listed at $1.695 million that is nearly 20 percent below a very recent, nearly identical comparable sale. In this post I will walk you through location, zoning, unit specifics, the comparable sales that prove the discount, projected rental income, and how I compiled a broader list of Maui Real Estate Best Deals for serious buyers.

Where the value starts: Location and zoning matter for Maui Real Estate Best Deals

The…

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Lahaina Fire Recovery 2 Year Recap

Lahaina Fire Recovery Update: Two Years After the August 8, 2023 Fire

Aloha. As we mark the two year anniversary, this Lahaina Fire Recovery Update reflects on the losses, the milestones, and how far our community has come since the devastating wildfire of August 8, 2023. This update focuses on concrete milestones, key dates, and what Lahaina looks like now as rebuilding slowly continues.

Immediate aftermath and search efforts

The Lahaina burn zone covered roughly 2,170 acres, about 3.4 square miles. The first three weeks were dedicated to search and recovery. Local fire and ocean safety crews, supported by FEMA urban search and rescue teams, completed nearly all physical searches by late August 2023.

Hazardous materials and…

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