In Wait for Vote on STR Ban, Maui Condo Sales, Prices Drop Significantly

5/27/2025

In the year since Maui Mayor Richard Bissen proposed a bill to phase out more than 7,000 short-term rentals to create more housing for local residents after the 2023 wildfires, far more condos are going up for sale, and they’re selling for a lot less. University of Hawai‘i economists predicted a 20% to 40% drop in condo prices if the ban passed. But the decrease is happening even before the Maui County Council has made a decision about the bill, in which Bissen requested that the ban take effect on July 1 for West Maui and on Jan. 1, 2026, for the rest of Maui County. The council originally planned to discuss the bill at the end of 2024, but delays caused by problems conducting a study have led to the bill now expected to be taken up shortly after the fiscal year 2025 budget is completed in the coming weeks.

Maui Now (05/23/25) Colleen Uechi