The median North Shore condo sold for $1,025,000 in the twelve months ending August 31, 2026, and carried $1,541 a month in total fees. That second number is the one worth studying, because it is not really one number. Across the projects that actually traded, the median monthly fee runs from $1,098 to $4,436 — a fourfold spread — and it barely tracks price at all.
I want to be clear about what this piece is not about, because it is the thing people usually ask first. Up here, whether a condo can be rented nightly is mostly settled. Princeville sits inside a Visitor Destination Area, and so does nearly every North Shore condo project. Of the 18 projects that sold a unit this year, 17 sold at least one that was operating as a vacation rental. In nine of them, a unit that was being rented and a unit that wasn't both changed hands in the same twelve months — same building, same zoning, different owner's choice.
The rental permit is table stakes on the North Shore. The fee schedule is the actual variable, and almost nobody compares it before they make an offer.
The Kauai condos that genuinely sit outside the visitor market are elsewhere on the island — a couple in Kapaʻa on the east side, a few in Puhi, one in Kalaheo. It shows in the numbers: in the Lihuʻe district, only 24% of condos that have sold since 2021 were operating as vacation rentals, against 60% on the North Shore, 78% around Poipu and 81% in the Kapaʻa area.
Median monthly fees by North Shore project
Fee-simple units, either sold in the twelve months ending August 31, 2026 or on the market today. Projects with at least four such units.
| Project | Median monthly fee | Median price | Share operating as a rental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanalei Bay Resort | $4,436 | $1,675,000 | 100% |
| Kaiulani of Princeville | $3,269 | $2,222,500 | 0% |
| Hanalei Colony Resort | $3,250 | $499,000 | 78% |
| Sealodge II | $2,006 | $832,500 | 67% |
| Princeville Sealodge Ph I | $1,970 | $981,250 | 50% |
| Princeville Mauna Kai | $1,817 | $1,095,000 | 100% |
| Pali Ke Kua II | $1,705 | $1,472,500 | 75% |
| Alii Kai at Hanalei | $1,534 | $1,273,750 | 100% |
| Princeville Paniolo | $1,514 | $882,000 | 100% |
| Puamana | $1,495 | $950,000 | 56% |
| Plantation at Princeville | $1,456 | $999,500 | 67% |
| Nihilani at Princeville Resort | $1,166 | $1,300,000 | 43% |
| Villas of Kamalii | $1,157 | $1,375,000 | 25% |
| Cliffs at Princeville | $1,153 | $950,000 | 85% |
| Sandpiper Village I | $1,098 | $1,030,500 | 75% |
Read the top and the bottom of that table together. Hanalei Colony Resort carries $3,250 a month against a median price near $499,000 — roughly 7.8% of the unit's value every year, before you have paid a property tax bill. Cliffs at Princeville carries $1,153 against $950,000. Nihilani and Villas of Kamalii are among the higher-priced projects on the list and among the lower-fee ones.
Fees follow what the association has to pay for — building insurance on the North Shore, roofs, elevators, resort-level amenities, shared water and sewer, and any special assessment working its way through — not what your unit is worth. Two units at the same price can differ by $2,000 a month in carrying cost, and that is the difference between a second home that pencils and one that doesn't.
The tax stack moved this year, too
On January 1, 2026 the state transient accommodations tax rose from 10.25% to 11% under Act 96, the climate impact fee. Kauaʻi County's 3% surcharge sits on top, so a nightly stay now carries 14% in accommodations tax before general excise tax.
That is not a large change on its own. But set against a median of roughly $18,500 a year in fees, it means a buyer underwriting a rental needs a clearer view of occupancy and nightly rate than they did in 2021 — and the ones who cannot get comfortable simply keep looking.
Where the market sits right now
As of September 3, 2026 there are 50 active fee-simple North Shore condo listings plus nine under contract, against 50 sales in the previous twelve months. That is roughly a year of supply. The typical active listing has been out for 119 days, and the ones now under contract sat a median of 169 days before they found a buyer.
Sellers are meeting buyers at 93.6% of the original asking price — a 6.4% concession off the first number, and remarkably consistent across the market.
One thing I checked and will not claim: you will read that units in rental use are slower to sell right now than units that aren't. This year's North Shore numbers lean that way, last year's leaned the opposite way, and at these volumes neither gap is reliable enough to base a decision on. The fee spread, by contrast, is a hard fact about each building.
The South Shore is a different price point
If you are weighing Princeville against Poipu — and most second-home buyers do — Poipu costs more on every axis:
| Fee-simple condos, 12 months to Aug 31, 2026 | North Shore | Poipu / Koloa |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 50 | 61 |
| Median price | $1,025,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Median price per square foot | $870 | $1,078 |
| Median monthly fees | $1,541 | $1,805 |
| Closed at % of original ask | 93.6% | 95.8% |
More per square foot, $264 a month more in fees, and less room to negotiate. That is a real difference in both the entry cost and the annual cost, and a comparison of asking prices alone will show you none of it.
What I'd do with this
If you own one and are thinking of selling: have the current fee schedule, the last three years of fee history, any pending special assessment, and the association's rental rules assembled before you go live — plus two years of actual rental revenue if the unit has been in the pool. Buyers are underwriting now, and the listings that sit are usually the ones that make a buyer go and find those documents themselves.
If you are buying: compare the fee before you compare the view. Ask what the fee has done over the last three years, not just what it is today, and ask specifically whether a special assessment has been discussed. On a ten-year hold, a $500-a-month difference is $60,000.
I live in Princeville and I follow these projects one at a time. Have a look at what is currently on the market, and if you want the fee history and rental picture for a particular building, get in touch — I am happy to pull it.