Maui Estate Fetches $18.5 Million: Renovated Makena home tops 2026 sale; big price cut reflects cooling market

A renovated oceanfront estate in Maui’s exclusive Makena neighbourhood has sold for $18.5 million, making it the Hawaiian island’s most expensive on-market residential sale of 2026 so far. The four-bedroom property, which sits on more than an acre of coastal land, attracted a buyer despite a slowdown in Hawaii’s ultra-luxury housing market, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Mansion Global and Robb Report. Originally purchased by a family for $8.05 million in 2014, the home underwent a comprehensive renovation six years later. Its eventual sale price was substantially below the $24.85 million asking price at which it entered the market in 2024, reflecting the gap between sellers’ expectations and buyers’ growing selectivity in the high-end property sector.A complete transformation of the oceanfront homeBuilt in 1991, the 4,500-square-foot residence was extensively outdated when the owners decided to renovate it. In 2020, the family stripped the interiors back to the structural framework, creating an opportunity to redesign the home around its coastal setting. The renovation was led by the owner and her mother, working alongside KLC Design & Build, a woman-led co...