With my second closing of 2026 in Kohala Ranch this week, I am reminded that I have yet to publish my annual market report for the gated communities of lower North Kohala on the Big Island. For reference, here is a link to the 2024 North Kohala Gated Communities Market Report.
Note that I separately write about the portion of North Kohala at the other end of Akoni Pule Highway (Highway 270) with zip codes of Hawi and Kapaʻau. Here is the link to that North Kohala 2025 real estate market report.
Fewer North Kohala Gated Residential Real Estate Sales in 2025
When I reviewed this market in 2023 and 2024 I noted the level of sales was constrained by lack of inventory, resulting in tight margins of sold price/list price and days on market to sale much quicker than pre-pandemic levels. While a listing that is “optimistically priced,” a kinder phrase that the blunt “overpriced” will linger, and sell only after a price reduction to take it more into line with comparable sales, well priced listings continue to sell strongly in the North Kohala gated communities.
In 2025, there were only ten residential sales, compared with 17 homes sold in 2024 and 15 in 2023. Days on market actually came down from 2024 levels due to the lack of inventory, with the median sale at 31 days and 98.65% of list price.
Kohala Ranch Home Sales Steady in 2025
Kohala Ranch is the largest subdivision with typically the most homes for sale and sold. 2025 was no exception, with seven sales (nine in 2024). Once again they were distributed between the sections/elevations. Four of the seven sales were in the mid-elevation Meadows section, ranging in price from $1,550,000 to $2,595,000. What factors into a million-dollar range? The obvious factors: square footage, quality of construction, age of home, quality of view. Surprisingly, only one of the homes lacked a pool, and it sold for over $2 million. (Traditionally fewer homes in the Meadows had pools due to the elevation and wind, but they are now becoming standard).
Two of the Kohala Ranch homes sold in 2025 were on the larger Summit lots, also selling in the mid-$2 million range, which tells us that acreage is not in itself a factor. The one home sold in the lower Heathers section also sold for $2,625,000. This is the first year in memory that elevation seemed to be not much of a factor in Kohala Ranch residential pricing.
Kohala Estates, Kohala by the Sea, Kohala Waterfront – Home Sales Constrained by – nothing on the market!
The lowest price sale in 2025 was again in ungated Kohala Estates, $1,225,000 for a 3 bedroom home on a little over an acre – with ocean views.
Kohala by the Sea was short on listings, with one sale for $2,250,000 — right in the middle of the price range of the five 2024 sales in this subdivision.
Similar to the past few years, there was also a single sale at Kohala Waterfront, the only one of these gated communities that is makai (ocean side) of the coastal highway. Listed for $5,550,000, it sold within a week for over asking price, closed at $5,575,000.
January 2026 Starting Off With Activity Equal to All of 2025
The current listing MLS 717941 has different furniture, but this is from when I had it listed years ago. This property includes two lots, over 20 acres.
Read that headline again! As of this writing in early February 2026, we have already seen six homes close escrow and five pending sales in escrow — that is more homes sold in the lower North Kohala communities than in all of 2025!
There are still eight active listings – one in Kohala Estates, two in Kohala Waterfront, and five in Kohala Ranch. While the Kohala Estates listing at $1,295,000 and the Kohala Waterfront listings at $5,275,000 and $5,899,000 are in line with recent sales in those subdivisions, the Kohala Ranch listings skew towards the upper end of the price spectrum at $3 million and up. Some of these appear to be pushing for a continued strong sellers market — but with three of the listings at or near the one year mark, I will be watching closely to see where they end up selling.
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