The Median Price of Single-Family Homes on O‘ahu Hits 1 Million Dollars

It doesn’t seem that Hawai‘i’s blazing real estate market will be settling down soon.

Photo: Channey on Unsplash

Now might be the time to sell your home on O‘ahu. That is, as long as you won’t need to buy another one anytime soon because that could be difficult to do. Locations released its July 2021 report on Thursday, Aug. 5, showing the price of single-family homes increased 23% from 2020 to $1,000,000, setting a new record high. The median price for condos also reached a record high of $467,500.

The Honolulu Board of Realtor’s July numbers are a little lower, showing a record-high median price of $992,500 for single-family homes in July, which is almost 22% above the board’s prices in 2020. Homes continue to get snapped up little more than a week and, with the board of realtors reporting that 70% sold for above asking price during a time of record low inventory, it looks like buyers are moving on to typically more affordable condos. Sales of those, according to Locations, increased 50% from 2020. The Honolulu Board of Realtors reported a 57.5% increase in condo sales, where the median price was up 8% to $475,000.

According to Location’s numbers, ‘Ewa is still seeing the most activity, as it has been for months, with 906 homes and 673 condos sold. The median price there is $775,000, with only the Leeward Coast properties selling for less. Though the total number of sales on the North Shore remain relatively low—160 is fewer than any other neighborhood except East O‘ahu and Mānoa—it was a 60% increase from July 2020. Condo sales increased the most in the Leeward O‘ahu where the median price is just $202,000, versus the top prices of $705,000 in Ala Moana-Kaka‘ako.

O‘ahu’s not the only island seeing prices soar. The Realtors Association of Maui reported the median price of single-family homes increased 44.5% year-over-year to hit $1,117,500 in June while condos sold for a median price of $635,000. On Kaua‘i, the board of realtors says the median price of homes fell from May to June, but still held at $1,100,000, up 82% from June 2020; $620,000 for condos. Hawai‘i Island remains the most affordable; the median price for single-family home was $472,500 in June with the price of condos actually surpassing it at $485,000.

Realtors we spoke to for our article in the May issue of HONOLULU, “Raging Real Estate,” say they expect the demand and high prices to last at least through the summer. We’ll have to wait until the fall to see if it starts cooling down.